AN: I co-wrote this with falcon4crane. She is awesome! And it is only with her help that this story has come to fruition. This is the first of a three or four chapter story. I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing so don't bug me! The only thing that is mine is the song.

Consequences of Being Trapped in small spaces

A P.R. fan fic.

Tuesday 9:45 am

The Woodruff Building

San Francisco, California

"I'm late. I'm late, for a very important date." Kim sang as she dialed the phone while rushing toward the building. It was a sunny Tuesday morning as Kim rushed through the lobby of the Woodruff building. Only seconds ago had her car pulled into the parking lot on two wheels so she was a little out of breath. She was talking to one of her closest friends on her cell phone as she rushed towards the elevators at the back of the lobby. Why had they placed the elevators at the back of the lobby? Really they could have helped her out by having them closer to the front. There was plenty of room to the side for a bank of elevators that would take her up to her dream. She couldn't be late today of all days.

"You would not believe how horridly snarled the traffic is in this city girl. I thought it was bad in our little part of California, but that was nothing compared to here. I've got fifteen minutes to get to the 64th floor and to Ms. Glacier's office." She said trying to catch her breath as she spotted an open elevator.

"Don't worry Kim you got plenty of time. You're already in the building, only an act of divine intervention is going to keep you out of that music studio. Trust me on this," said Aisha with her usual upbeat tone. It was one of the reasons that she had called Aisha. She knew how to soothe Kim's nerves better than anyone else.

"I guess I'm just nervous. I mean after all the hard work over the past couple of years on my music, to be discovered by the co-founder of Fire and Ice records while performing in a small coffee shop last Sunday, it was like something out of the movies. Stuff like that doesn't normally happen in real life, so I just don't want to make a bad impression, or seem ungrateful by showing up late for my first meeting," Said Kim as she neared the open elevator only to have it close before she got there. Was the universe conspiring against her?

"Take a deep breath and relax girl!" Aisha said with a laugh. "If you could survive having to change careers after your accident, which you recovered from amazingly well, you can do this no sweat. For as long as I have known you, anything you put your mind to you have achieved. This should be no different." She stated in her most reassuring tone.

"Thanks for the pep talk I so needed it! Let me call you back afterwards, my cell phone is notoriously bad at getting any kind of service in elevators." Kim said as glanced at the closed elevators doors. She was really thinking about hiking up the stairs but she knew that she really would be out of breath then if she had to walk up 64 flights of stairs for the meeting.

"No problem girl. Anytime you need support you got it from me. I'll talk to you later Kim." With that being said Aisha hung up the phone, not knowing it be the last time that day that she would hear from Kim.

Kim hung up her phone as she pressed the elevator call button and prayed for one to magically open in the next five seconds. She then dropped her phone into her messenger bag- sized purse. She looked up as she heard the ding that announced the arrival of the elevator car on her left. Apparently someone was listening to her prayers because that car had come super-fast. The doors opened to an empty car, and she smiled. Without any other stops along the way she might just make it after all. She stepped into the car and pressed the button marked 64. While she was waiting for the doors to close, she turned away from the doorway and to her purse just to double check she had everything she needed. She didn't have time to actually go back if she forgot anything but she wanted to make sure that if she didn't have something that she wouldn't be so shocked later when she couldn't find it.

She was so intent on her task that she paid very little attention to what was going on around her that she barely heard another person enter the elevator just as the door closed. She didn't notice that the newcomer was so distracted by the hunt for his ringing cellphone that he didn't even notice that there was another person in the car. Or that this newcomer was someone she knew very well even if she hadn't seen him in years.

The newcomer quickly stabbed the button marked 50 with the hand holding a coffee cup as his other hand searched in vain for the ringing phone in his satchel. Finding it only after it had stopped ringing. He quickly pulled it out to see that not only had he missed the call but had no signal as well on his phone in which to call the person back.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed out loud in frustration. This was just not his morning. First the coffee shop had taken twice as long this morning and he had missed a call that he had been waiting on for over a week. He felt like punching something but knew that if he hit the wall of the elevator that it would possibly break his hand so he refrained from the violence that he wanted to commit.

At the sound of the voice next to her, Kim instantly froze in place as the hair on the back of her neck rose. This was like a nightmare only she knew that she wasn't asleep. She would know that voice anywhere, no matter how long it had been since she heard it. For her it was, and always would be unmistakable. She had heard it so many times in her sleep that she knew she could pick his voice out of a crowd with a thousand voices and her eyes closed.

"No!" Her mind screamed. "It can't be." She whispered to herself unable to believe who was in the elevator with her.

She slowly turned and looked at the person next to her. As he came into view the shock of seeing him here, of all places was so overwhelming that it caused the handle of her guitar case, that she had actually forgotten that she had with her, to slip from her hand. The case landed on the elevator floor with a loud thump. The unexpected loud noise caused his head to suddenly turn to his right. What he saw managed to make his breath catch in his throat. Was his eyes playing tricks on him or was that really Kimberly Anne Hart standing beside him?

"Tommy?" Kim managed to stammer out once she found her voice.

"Kim?" He managed to ask once he was able to breathe again. He still wasn't sure that she was really in here with him. His mind could have just heard her voice echoing through his brain like it always did.

The past swirled around them as the doors closed soundlessly and the car rose swiftly. Neither spoke as they let the past take control of their minds. They shared so much that it was hard just to act like they were just two people riding in an elevator. Memories flooded both of their minds as they remembered high schools days, stolen glances, sweet kisses, and a million other things that had defined their relationship of three years.

Kim looked over Tommy and noted the changes in his appearance. The long locks of hair that she had run her fingers through so many times, were long gone. In its place was short spikey hair that had more gel than she had used in her lifetime. What had caused this change in him, she wondered.

Tommy was doing the same thing as Kimberly. He could see the small changes in her but mostly she was the same girl that he had fallen in love with that first day in Angel Grove. She even smelled the same, he noted.

As each one was lost in their thoughts the city began to experience something that everyone hated but prepared for anyway. The elevator started to shake uncontrollably, as the lights start to flicker on and off very quickly almost as if they were strobe lights; until finally the elevator stopped moving completely. The lights then went off and stayed off throwing them into total darkness. A few moments later the emergency lights kicked on.

"What just happened?" asked Kim looking up at Tommy. Concern was written all over her face.

"I think it was an earthquake." Tommy replied looking down at her. He could feel her fear bouncing around the car. It was then that he remembered she had been trapped in a jug years ago. This was probably bringing up all kinds of bad memories.

"We've stopped," stated Kim pointing out the obvious but Tommy knew that this wasn't an everyday occurrence for her or him.

"Yeah the building must have lost power." He remarked looking up at the lights. The one good thing was that the elevator was stable for the moment. If they didn't experience very many aftershocks then they should be fine until someone could get them out.

"Great!" She stated in a higher pitch. "So we are stuck in here for the foreseeable future. Just how long do you think this will last?" Kim asked getting a bit agitated now.

"I don't know, till the power comes back on I guess." He answered. "But there should be a phone or something in here for just such a situation. We can let someone know we are stuck in here. We just need to find it." He stated looking around while trying to stay calm for the both of them. Since she was losing it, he needed to keep his cool. They needed a rational mind for whatever was coming next

After ten minutes of searching in the dimly lit car they find the emergency call box but phone in it had a sign that read out of order.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kim growled. "How can it be broken? Aren't they supposed to maintain this stuff?" asked Kim in a rather stressed and frustrated tone that Tommy knew so well. It was the one that he heard often even when Zedd or Rita sent a monster to Angel Grove.

"Well I guess we will guess we're just going to have to dangle here between..." He paused as he looked up at the dial that indicted the floor number the elevator was at. "The 35th and 36th floor till the power comes back on." He snapped back at her but he made sure that it wasn't mean. He didn't need her fury directed at him for the time being since they were in this small, confine space.

"Well if the phone doesn't work maybe we can get someone's attention if we make enough noise." She suggested looking around the car.

"I guess it can't hurt. It will at least let people know that there are people in the elevator that need to be rescued." He sighed as she nodded. If only they had their morphers, he was pretty sure that they could get out of here if they were morphed.

With Tommy in agreement, the two of them started to bang on the walls and doors of the elevator. They also yelled for help. After a few minutes of no response, he stopped. Then he pulled her away from doing the same. "Stop Kimberly, don't bother. I don't think anyone can hear us, or they would have responded by now." He stated rubbing her small shoulders.

"So that's it? We are stuck with each other until someone learns that we are in here." She asked as he released her shoulders. She backed away from him waiting for his answer.

"For now yes." He replied with a sigh. This wasn't what she wanted, he knew but there was nothing he could do about it.

She sighed heavily at that thought. Seeing that they were not going anywhere, anytime soon she sat down on the floor of the car with her back to the far wall away from him and rubbed her eyes with the heels of palms. She should have just taken the stairs because then she would have been at her meeting and not in the elevator with her first love.

Tommy looked down at her and groaned. He did not want to be here right now but there was nothing he could do about that now. Giving up, he leaned back against the wall and slid down the wall to sit down. He was facing her as he stretched out his legs. He made sure not to touch her and wondered how they would pass the time. Talking was probably not a good idea with Kim's present frame of mind but he wasn't going to just sit and stare at her the whole time they were in here.

"So what brings you here today?" He asked hoping that she wouldn't freeze up on him and refuse to talk.

"I had an opportunity with a record company although I'm sure my not showing up has thrown that out of the water." She replied bending her knees and pulling them to her chest. She rested her head on her knees and looked at him.

"Why were you here today?" She asked picking up the conversation. She knew why Tommy had asked her first and understood that they couldn't be just sit here like they didn't know each other. She wished they could but they never could sit in the same room and not talk. Tommy might be quiet with everyone else but with her, he could talk more than her.

"I had a job interview." He replied finally. This was supposed to be a change of pace for him. This job meant starting over in a new city but here he was again with his past. Only this time, his past was trapped with him so he had to face it.

"Really? I think you're going to be late." She remarked as he nodded.

"Yea it looks like it." He muttered. "So you went back to music? What happened with gymnastics?" He asked as she closed her eyes. He could tell that his question hurt her but he didn't understand why. If she had quit gymnastics then she shouldn't be upset about her decision.

"I got hurt." She whispered. Images of Kimberly lying in a hospital bed flooded his mind. She had been hurt before and just like that time, he hadn't been there. He had been a Power Ranger but he never seemed to be in the right place to save her from falling.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked sounding hurt. Looking over at him, she realized then that she should have told him. They might have been exes but he did deserve an explanation from her. It might be painful to tell him but she would.

"I didn't tell anyone but Jason and Trini. It wasn't that bad just a torn ACL but it meant that I couldn't perform anymore or I would risk injuring myself further. So I gave up my dream and tried for something else." She explained as he nodded.

"Was it a fall from the beam?" He asked.

"Yea, I was doing a double twist and missed the beam. I landed on the ball of my foot and tore the ACL. They told me that they see that type of injury more in basketball players than gymnastics. They said that I must have been doing something wrong if I had that injury." She stated. "Anyway I moved onto music after that. It was a way to help heal and clear my soul." She explained.

"You always did love music." He mused as she smiled sadly. He remembered that last time that she had played for him. She had been home from Christmas and they had just saved Christmas from Zedd and Rita. It had also been the last time that they had kiss but that was neither here nor there.

"Yea second to gymnastics it was another dream." She said looking at the guitar that she had dropped earlier. I moved back on this coast because after my injury, there was nothing left for me in Florida. I started playing again once I moved back. Writing my own songs helped with everything that was going on. I was playing one night and out of a stroke of luck, I got noticed." She informed.

"You were always a good writer. I remember the song that you and Zack wrote for me after losing my powers for the second time." Tommy remarked looking over at her. "So you got noticed and made it here?" He asked.

"Yea basically, Janice Glacier of Fire and Ice records wanted me to come down and play the song she heard me play last Sunday to her partner. Now I was shocked because I didn't even think it was one of my better songs, it is a bit darker than what I used to write. It came out of this one week during my recovery, when I was in this horrid funk." She explained. "Somehow writing the song became this therapeutic experience, and helped me break through it, and allowed me to start moving forward into my future. The title is 'Something Missing.'" She stated.

"Something Missing?" He asked as she nodded.

"Ironic how fitting that is for today, who would have guessed the something missing would be me." Kim quipped bitterly, as she kicked off her high heels one by one and made herself more comfortable. It looked like they were going to be here for a while so she might as well get comfortable.

"You're not the only one that's missing at the moment." He muttered as he loosen his tie and unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt.

"It's funny I was talking on my phone to Aisha right before I got into this elevator. She told me only an act of divine intervention would keep me out of that meeting. Man, did she hit the nail on the head with that one!" Kim scoffed and shook her head then said. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I mean a once in a lifetime golden opportunity, the kind that only ever really happen in the movies or storybooks, fell right into my lap, and I can't get there though because I'm stuck in here. Is that supposed to be some kind of a sign? Is someone, somewhere trying to tell me something?" She growled as Tommy sighed. Kimberly had changed over the past few years that it was like he was seeing someone different instead of a girl that he had known and loved for years.

"I would like to hear it." He requested as Kim looked over at him.

"Really?" She asked not sure that she heard him correctly. "You actually want to hear my song?" Kim asked.

"Why not?" He replied with a shrug. "What else do we have to do? Besides you used to play for me and the others all the time, how is this any different?" He asked remembering all the times that she had played in the Youth Center and the park.

Kim tilted her to the side, as she raised one eyebrow and just looked at him strangely for a moment. Was Tommy really asking her to play because he wanted to hear her new sound? A smile slowly began to form before she started to laugh softly. She shook her head slightly and said, "Only you would ask that!" She paused for a few moments, before finally said, "Alright I'll play it for you. But fair warning it is a bit depressing."

Leaning over to her guitar case she opened it. She took out her instrument and quickly tuned it. "Ok, ready," she told him as she looked up at him and smiled.

A soft, slow, melancholy melody began to pour from her guitar and she started to sing.

The day is new and the sky is blue.

I look around to find that I am too.

I don't know why I feel the way I do.

Like a part of me has come unglued.

There must be something I'm missing to make me feel this way,

Something I've lost along the way.

Something I'm missing, that I should have here with me today.

Cause every time I go looking, I only find a hole in my heart.

The cold wind blows across my soul.

Pulling my mind back to the days of old.

The only place I know for sure I was ever whole.

What has gone astray I cannot say, but I hope to find out someday?

There must be something I'm missing to make me feel this way,

Something I've lost along the way.

Something I'm missing, that I should have here with me today.

Cause every time I go looking, I only find a hole in my heart.

Will I ever shake this feeling and find a sunny day?

Because it seems right now that the shadows are here to stay.

Painting my life in shades of gray.

I really need to find that piece today.

There must be something I'm missing to make me feel this way,

Something I've lost along the way.

Something I'm missing, that I should have here with me today.

Cause every time I go looking, I only find a hole in my heart.

As she finished her song she finally looked up from her guitar to him. The silence that filled the elevator was even more uncomfortable than it had been before. It stretched out for a few minutes; until she couldn't take it anymore. "Well? Say something!" She pleaded. "I told you it wasn't one of my better ones…" She started but was cut off quickly by Tommy raising his hand.

"I like it. I mean it is very different but you're different." He stated. "I can see the changes that have happened over the years." He remarked with a slow smile.

"Thanks." She whispered. Tommy's praise had always warmed her heart. It didn't matter if it was a new move that she had performed on the beam or just kicking some monster's butt, his praise was something she had always wanted.

"Kimberly…"He began as the elevator began to shake again, leaving the two of them in terror of what this shake would cause.