Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Author's Note: This is the sequel to St. George's Day and Arbor Day. Both are one-shots and even this is pretty self-explanatory so you might not have to read the other two.
Mother's Day
by JDPhoenix
The sun was just rising when the Renoirs exited the cab to look at the two-story house.
"Kimmy," Shelley Hart-Renoir sighed, leaning for a moment against the side of the cab, "be a dear and tip the driver."
"Come on, sweetheart," Mr. Renoir, Kimberly's stepfather, said. He took his wife's arm and led her up the steps into the house.
"I don't understand why we had to come all this way," Shelley said when she was comfortably seated on the green couch. "Why couldn't you just meet us in New York, like usual?"
Kim took a deep breath and poured her mother a cup of tea. "Because I have some pretty big news, and it's best if you hear it here."
"Bigger than moving?" Shelley asked. The tea was helping her gain back some of her strength – a flight across the Atlantic followed by a flight across the U.S. would tucker anyone out. She looked around the living room and noted the distinct lack of taste. It was as if four colors were fighting for dominance in the room. She dearly hoped this wasn't a rental. This room could certainly use some of Kimberly's signature style.
"Well," Kim said uncomfortably, "moving is a part of it." She looked quickly at her watch and bit her lip.
"Are we waiting for someone?" Mr. Renoir asked.
"Yes, but – maybe it's better if I tell you myself." Kim took a seat on the coffee table and took her mother's hands. "Mommy, I—"
Shelley gasped. She pulled one of her daughter's hands up to her face, examining it closely. "When?" she breathed.
"Fifteen days ago."
"Who?" Shelley asked, tearing her eyes away from the diamond to look at her daughter.
Kimberly was saved from having to answer by the sound of a car pulling up to the house. "That should be him now." She jumped up and ran for the door.
The Renoirs looked at each other. Sure, Kimberly went on the occasional date, but if it amounted to more than that the boy was extraordinarily lucky. Kim was notorious for her reluctance to settle. She would date a boy once and halfway through dinner anyone watching could tell she was done with the guy. No one seemed to satisfy Kimberly's impulsive spirit. How could she have gotten married?
"What are you doing here?" Kimberly's roar echoed through the house.
The Renoirs jumped to their feet and ran to the door. Kimberly was standing on the porch, hands on her hips, and glowering at a boy who looked like he should be in college.
"He ran into a teensy bit of trouble and wanted me to come and tell you," the boy said. He was slowly moving behind his red convertible, as if that would save him from Kimberly's wrath.
"Talk quickly, Conner, or you just might find out why I'm famous."
Mr. Renoir took note of this moment. Ever since he had first become involved with Shelley he had noticed something strange about her daughter. Nothing big, usually. A glint of the eye, a motion she made when she thought no one was looking, the way she would quickly change the subject even when they weren't talking about her at all. But sometimes, like now, it was unavoidably big. Just like the Pan Global Games.
The Renoirs had arrived in Florida and been assaulted by reporters. Before they could find out why they were ushered by Game officials into a back room. They were informed by Coach Schmidt that some of the equipment had "malfunctioned" – rumors of sabotage were never proven, but circulated furiously. Kimberly had broken an ankle the day before the competition began. She insisted, despite the doctor's diagnosis, that she would be fine to compete. She had been so forceful that Coach Schmidt didn't have the heart to take her off the roster until the very last minute. Kim had woken up the next day and won a gold. Her ankle was fine.
And now a young man who appeared to be in peak physical condition was cowering because she had reminded him of her fame. Surely he wouldn't be afraid of a woman who had won a gold medal in gymnastics a decade earlier. Unless that wasn't what she had been talking about.
"Well, you see," Conner dug furiously in his pockets and came up with a crumpled piece of paper. He glanced at it, then at Kim, then at the Renoirs, and finally back at Kim. "You know how it is," he said it like a bad drama student – he was obviously just saying whatever the paper told him to, "when you go back home, and you're surrounded by um," Conner looked at the Renoirs again, "um, uh."
"Conner!" Kim snapped. Mr. Renoir looked at her sharply. He had never heard her use that tone of voice. It made him feel like a naughty child – and she wasn't even talking to him! "Who told you to say these things?"
"Jason," Conner said meekly.
"Where was he when the bad thing happened and who was he surrounded by?"
"Um, he was at the racetrack."
Kim moaned. Nothing good ever started with the phrase "at the racetrack."
"Jason was there," Conner continued and paled when Kim shot him a "duh" look, "and T.J. and Carter, and I think And—"
Kim gave Conner her best glare. The last thing she needed was for her parents to hear the name Andros. "Anyone else?" she asked.
"There was this quiet guy who beat me at pool and this weird guy who spent the day talking to a rat. Oh! And Trini."
Kim pulled out her cell phone and dialed one number. "What happened?" she yelled, not waiting for the customary "hello."
She listened intently to Trini – who her parents assumed was on the other end – rolled her eyes several times, said something that sounded like "stupid reds," and hung up.
"We're going to the hospital," she announced finally. She marched down the steps to the white beetle parked on the grass. "Conner, drive my parents."
"But-?"
"Do you really want to argue with me right now?"
Conner shook his head.
"I thought not." She slammed the door and drove away before her mother could think of anything to say.
"She's on her way," Trini said, not bothering to hide the smug look on her face. She was leaning back in her visitor's chair, reveling in the looks of panic crossing the men's faces.
The men – in this case meaning Jason, Tommy, Cole, Merrick, T.J., Andros, Conner, and Carter – had decided to celebrate the two week anniversary with a trip to the racetrack. Jason and T.J. had claimed that it was important for Tommy to reclaim his manliness and hang with the guys, just for a day. Kim had given in only because she wanted to measure the rooms in Tommy's house. The boys had gone to Tommy's uncle's racetrack. They'd spent the day racing, challenging Merrick to pool, and – in Cole's case – talking to a rat. The crash had been horrific. If Trini hadn't been a former Ranger she would have been worried about her husband, but she had seen Jason not only walk away from bigger wrecks, but jump, kick, shoot, fight, and practically fly away from them.
It hadn't been anyone's fault really. No one had told Cole that just because his new rat friend was dumb enough to run out onto a racetrack, that didn't mean he should too. Trini was just glad that Cole was on a different floor of the hospital. Kimberly would probably kill him for this mess once she found out.
"Why did you have to pick up your phone, Trini?" Jason asked. He'd broken a leg and his knee had gotten pretty smashed up, but with the Power he'd heal in a few days, a week tops.
"Because Kim has a right to know when you two are being idiots. Plus, she'd probably have killed poor Conner if I didn't answer."
"So?" Tommy and Jason demanded.
"Tommy! You're Conner's Zordon. He's like your Jason. How could you say such a thing?"
"Easy, he's an idiot." Tommy had dislocated a shoulder and had some pretty bad burns on his left ankle.
"Well, he's a lucky idiot. So shut up. Kim will be here in less than an hour – assuming she obeys traffic laws – so I highly recommend working on your apologies."
"What are you looking at me for?" Jason asked. "Cole's the one who ran onto the track!"
"Yes, but you guys wouldn't have taken Tommy out if it hadn't been for your stupidity two weeks ago. So get thinking."
"This is not my fault," Jason pouted.
"Actually," Tommy said, "it kind of is."
"What? Whose side are you on?"
"If you had just believed Kim—"
"Oh, come on!"
"It's true, Jason," Trini said wisely. "This is all your fault."
Two weeks earlier….
Jason listened to Kimberly's rant. He listened to her explanation of why Tommy had thought she had engaged in sexual acts with him. He thought about it while Hayley complained about the mess Tommy had made by running from his beating. And, most importantly, he remembered the old days. He remembered the days when Tommy and Kimberly had always been off together. He remembered their cleverly developed stories about how he had gone for a run and she'd just happened to be working out in the park and Rita apparently decided to interrupt their polite hellos. Yeah. Because the leader of the Power Rangers was an idiot.
"You're full of crap," Jason said. Everyone froze. They had been busy helping Hayley clean up for the past few minutes, but Jason hadn't moved; they had decided it was better that way.
"What was that?" Conner asked, ready to dive behind the bar once more.
Jason crossed his arms over his chest and walked up to Kimberly, giving her his Red Ranger glare – the one that had made Goldar sweat. "You, Kimberly Ann Hart, are full of crap. Even if you're not lying just to save Tommy's life, that doesn't change the fact that I have good reason to hurt him. He thought you had sex. He didn't call you the next day. He didn't even bother to call me to apologize for ever even thinking of doing those things with you. And yes, I know he had those thoughts ten years ago when we were kids, but I give him the benefit of the doubt because he never did anything about it. And so, I am now going to kill him for treating you like some one-night stand."
Jason said all this very calmly – so calmly, in fact, that no one was really expecting it when he pounced on Tommy.
Kim screamed, Trini moaned, Hayley let out a small whine for her furniture, and Conner leapt behind the bar.
"You two stop them," Hayley said.
"There's no stopping Jason," Trini said, taking a seat on the only upright barstool. "He's not going to get over this. At least, not until he beats up a monster or finds out it was all part of some evil villain's plan."
"She's right," Kim said, hopping on the bar to avoid the men tumbling around on the floor.
"Which is why we circumvent the problem," Hayley said. She reached under the bar, smacked Conner's head out of the way, and pulled out a road map of California. She unfolded it on the bar. "Now, I haven't lived in Cali all that long, so if you two could remind me—what?"
Kim and Trini were trying very hard to hide their giggles.
"You got that right," Kim squeaked.
Trini – ever the more serious of the two – managed to regain control faster. "No one from California calls it 'Cali.' That's a sure sign that you're not from here."
Hayley sighed. "Fine, but could one of you tell me the fastest route from here to Vegas?"
"What? Why?" the girls asked.
"Because," Tommy gasped, grabbing onto the bar as if it were a life raft, "I want you to marry me."
"What?" everyone in the room yelled.
Jason whirled Tommy around and grabbed him by the collar. "You're going to marry Kim?" he growled. His eyes widened. "You're pregnant!" he cried, staggering back and pointing wildly at Kim. "I knew you had sex!" He glared at Tommy who was frozen like a dear in the headlights. Jason's gaze softened and a smile lit his face. "My best friend and my little sister! Finally! I thought it'd never happen!" Jason wrapped Tommy up in a bear hug.
Tommy, who by now was completely confused, made the international sign for drinking to Trini, who just shrugged.
"So," Jason said, grinning like an idiot, "when do we leave for Vegas?"
"Jason," Kim began slowly, "I'm not—"
Trini and Tommy motioned fervently behind Jason's back.
"I mean," Kim continued, "Tommy and I aren't—"
"You can't raise a baby by yourself, Kim," Jason said seriously. "There's still plenty of evil out there that would love to get one of our kids, especially if it's Tommy's."
"But, but we can't get married just because of a baby."
"Do you love Tommy?"
"Jason, you know that I've always loved Tommy, just—"
"Do you love Kimberly?" Jason asked Tommy.
Tommy gulped. Jason was giving him a "you had sex with the girl I think of as a little sister, you damn well better love her" look.
"Yes," Tommy finally said. It wasn't a lie. He had actually woken up with a feeling of supreme rightness the morning after they hadn't had sex. It was like everything in the world had just clicked. Then he'd remembered Jason and started running for his life.
"Then it's settled!" Jason declared. "Let's go to Vegas!"
No one had been able to talk Jason out of this insanity – not that many had tried. Kim and Tommy had spent the whole trip freaking out: alternating between praying some monster would attack and save them from this fate and hoping that somehow they actually pulled it off and got married. Trini and Hayley were busy calling every Ranger that ever lived. Thankfully, Andros and Ashley were visiting her parents so the MegaShip was in orbit and capable of teleporting most of the Rangers who wouldn't be able to make the drive. In the end everyone except the Galaxy Rangers and most of Time Force was able to make it. The reformed Rita and Zedd even showed up. Needless to say, the officiating Elvis was a bit shook up by the whole affair.
The Rangers had spent a few days in Vegas – it wasn't often they all had an excuse to get together – while Kimberly and Tommy enjoyed a honeymoon suite.
The door burst open and Kimberly Hart flew in. Tommy and Jason suddenly wished they had died horrible, fiery deaths on that racetrack. She scanned the room quickly. When she saw Tommy she stepped back, shocked by his appearance. She rushed at him and he only had a split second to wonder how to defend himself with his arm in a sling and his foot covered in bandages and ice before he realized that she wasn't killing him. She was hugging him and kissing him everywhere she could.
"Aww," Trini cooed, "that is so sweet." She patted Jason's shoulder.
Conner stuck his head in. "Is it safe?" he asked so quietly that Trini had to make him repeat it. He came in, followed by a very disgruntled Mister and Misses Renoir.
"Kimmy," Shelley said when she saw her daughter, "who is this man?"
Kim pulled away from Tommy very quickly and Shelley gave out a small cry. Tommy Oliver? Well, she probably should have figured. Shelley had always assumed Tommy was the reason her daughter could never settle down.
"Thomas," she said imperiously, "you have married my daughter?"
"Yes, ma'am," Tommy said calmly. He tried to set his jaw, but it didn't have nearly the same effect when he was lying in a hospital bed.
"And no one saw fit to inform me?"
"It was kind of fast," Kim said, taking Tommy's hand for reassurance.
"Hey," Conner said, before the thought of "pregnancy" could fully form in Mr. Renoir's mind, "did anyone ever tell Jason that you're not really pregnant?"
Trini, Kimberly, and Tommy all turned slowly to Jason.
"Oh," he said lightly, "I knew."
"What?" Kim screeched.
"Come on, Kim. If you were pregnant Tommy would have been huddled on the floor in the fetal position. I just figured I might as well ride the whole thing out until it got the two of you back together."
"Jason!" Trini chastised. "That is brilliant! I love you!"
Jason smirked.
The Renoirs were just about to ask what Jason had to do with Tommy and Kim getting married when a man ran into the room and slammed the door. He had a cast on his right arm and a crutch to help him walk with the cast on his left leg, though he still looked to be in a great deal of pain.
"You can't hide from me in there, Carter Grayson!" Dana's voice echoed into the room.
"Hide me," Carter gasped.
AN: You should always review one-shots. Otherwise, how will I know if you actually read the whole thing?
And yes, I might continue this. Not with new chapters, but the general idea of several one-shots dealing with Ranger holiday madness.
Review!