End
"How is he?" Kat asked quietly, coming up the stairs. Adam sighed.
"Still no change. He's burning up, and I think he's delirious. And if we don't get Tommy to rest and eat something soon, he's gonna be in the same state."
Kat mirrored Adam's sigh. Not more than an hour after returning the Gold Ranger powers to Trey of Triforia, Jason had collapsed. Emily, who had been with him at the time, had panicked, but luckily Tommy and Kat had been in the park as well. Calming Emily down, they had assured her that Jason was recovering from a non-contagious disease --and the minute she was out of sight, they had hauled him to the Power Chamber.
Zordon's diagnosis was that the damage done by the Gold Ranger powers, plus the emotional stress caused by their loss, had given Jason a case of what could only be termed toxic shock. The interdimensional being had assured them that the condition was not fatal, but even he was concerned at the strength of Jason's fever. But no one was more worried about Jason than Tommy. The two had been close friends for so long that they could almost read each other's thoughts. The strength of their bond was incredible, but at the moment, it was also a little exasperating. Tommy hadn't left Jason's side for six hours.
Squaring her shoulders, Kat set her jaw.
"Leave this to me," she instructed. Adam grinned.
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, snapping off a salute. Kat smiled slightly, then focused her attention on the task at hand.
"All right, Tommy Oliver, you are hereby relieved of duty," she declared, striding into the sickroom. A small bed had been set up in one of the Power Chamber's many rooms, and it was there that the Rangers were tending to their sick friend.
"Kat, somebody has to stay with Jason," Tommy protested. He had used the same line every time one of his friends had tried to get him out of the sickroom. It was quite obvious that by ësomebody,' he meant himself.
"Somebody, Tommy. Not you." Kat was not about to take Tommy's self-destructive tendencies a second longer. One of the perks of their dating was that she could boss him around, even though he lead the team and had a tendency to pull rank.
>From the shadows under his eyes, though, Tommy was in no condition to give orders. Quashing the first stirrings of sympathy, Kat pulled the Red Ranger to his feet and shoved him towards the door. "Adam, Rocky, grab him," she instructed. "Haul him home and get him cleaned up. I don't care if you have to shove him into the shower by hand. Then feed him. Tanya, you'd better go with them. I know what men consider healthy food, especially Rocky."
"I resent that!" the Blue Zeo Ranger cried, but his tone was jocular. Finding himself shoved unceremoniously into Adam and Rocky's grasp, Tommy struggled fitfully, but not with any real force.
"We'll take care of him," Adam promised. "You keeping an eye on Jason?"
She nodded. "Yes, I'll watch him until you get back. And Tommy, if you don't take a nap after they've fed you, I'll teleport in and sedate you myself!"
Tommy smiled tiredly.
"Yes, ma'am," he yawned. Rocky chuckled.
"Who wears the red tights in this relationship, anyhow?" The four Rangers dissolved into their teleport streams, leaving Katherine alone with the unconscious Jason.
"You're still very hot," she said quietly, feeling his forehead. "I think it's about time we cooled you down." Picking up a towel from the bucket beside the bed, she began bathing his forehead. Kat had been a candy-striper for years, so she knew the procedure by heart. Peeling the sheet off Jason, she stopped suddenly. To keep him from overheating, the Rangers had removed most of his clothing, leaving him only in a pair of black boxer shorts. Kat felt a sudden flush rise in her cheeks as she looked at him.
"This is ridiculous," she quietly chided herself. "You've seen Tommy, Rocky, and Adam in swim trunks all the time. This is no different."
Somehow, though, it was. Perhaps it was because Jason was so much more muscular than the other three male Rangers, or perhaps it was simply that this was Kat's first time seeing so much of him. She had stared at the other three, too, the first time she'd seen them shirtless.
Pushing away the jolt she had felt, Kat returned to bathing Jason with the towel, keeping her mind firmly on what she was doing. After all, it wouldn't do to think about how smooth his skin was, or how firm his muscles were, or....
Pulling away with a groan, Kat tried to get hold of herself. This was silly. Jason was a dear friend to her, and anything else she was feeling was just hormones. They were teenagers, after all, and feelings like that were common. That was it. She just had to keep her mind on other things and ignore the messages her hindbrain was sending.
Returning to her ministrations, Kat only devoted a small portion of her attention to what she was doing. With the rest, she thought about Jason. He was certainly a good friend, the most loyal anyone could have. From all the stories she had heard, Jason had been the perfect leader for the Power Rangers, always putting the team before himself. Some of the close calls he'd had chilled her when she thought about them. With all of that, it couldn't have been easy for him when Tommy assumed the mantle of the White Ranger, and with it the leadership of the team. Despite that, Jason had always been supportive and loyal. Even after his return to the team, when Tommy had been the prisoner of the Machine Empire, Jason had not stepped into his old role. Instead, he had devoted every ounce of his being to rescuing Tommy. It had been that adventure, Kat realized, that had cemented her fondness for Jason.
A faint moan brought Kat back to her senses. Jason's eyes were open, but he obviously wasn't seeing anything in the world around him. He tossed from side to side, fighting some sort of opponent that Kat couldn't see.
"No, don't!" Jason cried, lashing out. "Tommy! NOOOOO!"
Kat tried to pin Jason's flailing arms to the mattress and finally managed to immobilize him. "Jason, it's me, Katherine," she said quietly. "What's wrong?"
"No," Jason cried raggedly. "Tommy, I'm sorry. I should have gotten the candle.... I'm just a failure. I failed them all. They're all gone." To Kat's horror, he began to sob.
"Shh, Jason, it's okay," she told him. "Everyone's all right. Tommy's got his powers back, remember? They're safe. They're all safe." She continued to talk to him soothingly until he calmed down. Slowly, comprehension seeped into his dark eyes.
"Kat?" he asked groggily. "Where am I?" Looking around himself, he raised an eyebrow. "And did I miss something important?"
At his words, Kat suddenly became aware of her position. She was pinning Jason's wrists to the bed, straddling his waist in an effort to keep control of his movements. In addition, her face was only inches from his. The heat that suddenly burned in her cheeks rivaled the heat still coming from Jason's body, the heat she could feel even through her jeans. That brought her back to reality.
"You're sick," she replied, releasing his wrists. She moved to scramble off his body, but his hands clamped down on her shoulders, stopping her.
"Don't get up," he grinned. "I kind of like this position."
"You're feverish," she shot back.
He nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. How long have I been out?"
"About seven hours. Tommy is going to be really annoyed that you've woken up while he was gone."
"Where is he, anyway?" Jason asked. He smiled, an expression that made Kat's blood heat. "Don't want him walking in on us like this."
She chuckled. "He's a very understanding man," she replied, settling a little closer. She wasn't sure why she was carrying the flirtation out, but she couldn't seem to stop herself.
Something flashed in Jason's eyes.
"So, if I had my arms around you, he wouldn't mind?" he asked, suiting actions to words.
"Not at all," Kat replied, swallowing. The feel of Jason's arms around her back was intoxicating.
"And if I were to kiss you?"
Kat's breathing stopped. Slowly, Jason slid a hand up her back to cradle the back of her head. Her lips moved down to his ... and he suddenly pulled away.
"Damn it," he growled. "You'd better get off me, Kat." She did so, not understanding. But she trusted Jason enough not to be hurt by the way he was acting, just confused.
"What was that about?" she asked softly, standing beside the bed.
Jason sighed. "I'm half out of my mind with fever," he replied. "Sometimes my emotions overrule my common sense."
"What emotions are those?"
He looked up at her, one eyebrow cocked. "I want you, Kat. So badly that I think I'm going to explode. But I'd rather explode than go behind my best friend's back."
Kat smiled broadly, startling Jason. "Is that what's bothering you?" she asked. "Jason, Tommy and I aren't really involved. We're just dating ... well, sort of as a cover. When the news got out that Kim had broken up with Tommy, half the female population of Angel Grove High was all over him. And I'd been fighting off guys since I showed up. I like Tommy, and I like being with him. So we decided that we'd let the world believe we were boyfriend and girlfriend, and buy us both some breathing space."
The look on Jason's face was priceless. She had never seen anyone as astonished as the former Gold Ranger was in that moment. Then he smiled.
"I'll be damned," he murmured, looking at her. "So, you're available?" he asked, with an expression that made the room suddenly feel far too small.
"But you're not," Kat replied hurriedly. "Emily, remember?"
Jason smiled again, but this was a bittersweet expression. "Not anymore. She broke up with me, about five minutes before I passed out, I think."
"Oh, Jason, I'm so sorry," Kat sighed. Jason shrugged.
"I'm not. I probably would have broken up with her, if I'd had the chance. I liked her a lot, but ... it wasn't love. And her main complaint was that we didn't spend enough time together. She felt like she didn't know me at all." He snorted. "Maybe she was right."
"Stop looking at me like that," Kat warned. "You may not be on the rebound, but you're still sick. I make it a point never to get involved with guys running hundred-degree temperatures."
"I'm perfectly fine," Jason insisted, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Unfortunately, when he tried to stand, his knees turned to rubber, and Kat had to hurry across the roomforward to help him. No sooner had she steadied him against her than he fell back onto the bed, pulling her with him.
"Gotcha," he grinned. This time, he was on top, and Kat was quite aware of the position of his body. His arms were braced to either side of her, and his legs were entwined with hers. All told, his entire body was so close to hers that her skin prickled.
"Let me up," she ordered, but without much conviction.
"In a minute," he promised, dropping his lips to hers.
Once before, the kiss had been aborted at the last moment, but not this time. Forgetting her objections, Kat kissed back, hard. Jason's tongue probed at her lips, and she eagerly opened her mouth to him. After a long moment, the need to breathe won out, and Jason pulled away.
"Why are you fighting?" he asked huskily. One finger traced the line of her jaw. "You want this as much as I do. I can feel it."
"I don't want...." Kat momentarily lost her train of thought as Jason began nibbling on her ear. Pulling herself together, she continued. "I don't want something that's just about hormones and loneliness. I don't want something cheap and meaningless."
"Do you want me to tell you I love you?" Jason whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. "I can do that, Kat. It'd even be the truth."
"I know," she agreed. "We're Rangers. We'd die for each other. But for this ... that's not enough."
Jason pulled back just far enough to look into Kat's eyes. "What else is there? I'd die for you without a second thought. I would gladly spend the rest of my life holding you in my arms. I love you, Kat, and I want you. What else can I say?
"I can't promise you forever. That's not mine to give. It hasn't been since I accepted my Power Coin. All I can give you is the rest of my life, and I'll do that gladly. I love you, Katherine Hillard. From the moment I saw you stare down the barrel of a Zeo Blaster to bring Tommy back, I loved you. Everything I have, everything I am, it's yours."
Kat smiled. "That's more than enough. And the same holds true for me."
Jason's mouth came down on hers again, and this time she accepted the kiss without a hint of hesitation. Her hands roamed over his back as he kissed and nibbled his way down her throat to her collarbone. Meanwhile, his hands were busy, pulling her pink t-shirt out of the waistband of her jeans. As Jason pulled the shirt over her head, Kat experienced a flash of nervousness.
"Have you...?" She couldn't finish, but Jason understood.
"Once. A long time ago." He smiled. "She wasn't half as beautiful as you."
At Jason's words, Kat relaxed. In a way, it was slightly reassuring that one of them knew what to do. On the other hand, she hoped she didn't disappoint him.
Any and all doubts flew out the window as Jason unclasped her bra and slid it off her. As he began to kiss his way down her chest, Kat threw back her head and moaned. Jason's hands and mouth on her breasts felt incredible. She had never imagined anything quite like this.
Suddenly Kat got tired of playing the passive role. With a feline growl, she suddenly flipped the pair of them over so that Jason was the one on his back. From her new position, Kat began to nibble on Jason's neck and shoulders. The deep groans he was making indicated that she was doing something right.
As Kat explored Jason's upper body, his hands slid down her sides to her waist. Quickly finding the button at the waistband of her jeans, he slipped the pants down her hips and off. Finding herself in only a pair of panties, Kat froze, giving Jason enough time to flip them both over once more.
"Looks like I caught myself a tigress," Jason breathed in her ear. Kat smiled.
"Are you sure you're not the one who's caught?" she asked. Her hands slid down to his waist. Hesitating for a second, she caught the waistband of his boxers and pushed them off. Her hand followed, curling around his erection curiously.
"Uh-uh, Kat," Jason told her, gently bringing her hand back up to shoulder level. "You do that, and I'm liable to lose it." His hands skimmed down her sides, catching her panties and sliding them off. One hand then slid up the inside of her thigh, up to a warm, wet heat.
"Jason," Kat moaned. He could tell from the noises she was making that she was on the verge of coming without him. He grinned. Sliding his hand to the apex of her thighs, he slipped first one, then a second finger inside of her. Moving those two in and out, he extended his thumb and began to massage her clitoris.
That did it. Colors exploded before Kat's eyes as a rush of pleasure left her breathless. When she was able to think again, she saw Jason smiling down at her.
"Enjoy that?" he asked. At her eager nod, he chuckled. "Well, we're not done yet." Gathering her into his arms, he kissed her passionately.
As she kissed back, she felt him slip inside her. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she moaned as he gently probed deeper. Thanks to years of horseback riding in Australia, Kat's hymen was all but non-existent, and Jason managed to slide all the way into her without much resistance.
With long, slow movements, Jason pulled back and then thrust forward again, prompting another moan from KatKatherine. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he thrust again, the two of them moving in unison. Unbelievably, Kat felt the same rush of pleasure as before welling up once again. The pace of their lovemaking sped up, their cries coming louder, until she once again hit her orgasm. She screamed, the noise joined by Jason's bellow as he followed her over the edge.
Clean, fed and rested, Tommy strode down the hall of the Power Chamber, determined to resume his duty watching over his sick friend. The other three Rangers had remained to help Alpha and Zordon, not wanting to be far away from Jason but knowing there was little they could do in the sick room.
Pushing open the door to Jason's room, Tommy stopped dead. In the bed, the two lovers suddenly looked up from their conversation. Blushing the same color as Tommy's uniform, Kat grabbed the sheet and pulled it over her head. Jason grinned sheepishly.
Meanwhile, Tommy was living up to his title of Red Ranger. Of all the things he had expected to find in the room, this was not one of them. Clearing his throat, he finally managed to speak. "I guess your fever broke, huh?"
Jason chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that. Um ... Tommy...."
Tommy raised a hand. "It's okay, Jase. Kat did tell you that we're not really dating, right?" Jason nodded, and Tommy turned his attention to his other teammate. "It's okay, Kat. You can put that sheet down around your shoulders or something."
The Pink Ranger peeked out slowly.
"Hi," she said shyly. Tommy grinned.
"Look, I'll go tell the others that you're up and getting decent. As far as this goes, it's between the three of us."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Interesting image."
He ducked as Kat hit him with a pillow.
Laughing, Tommy turned for the door. He thought his two best friends were going to do just fine.