Seasons To Remember
by Dagmar Buse and Cheryl Roberts

Chapter 18: The First To Know

"Oh my, Mom was huge!" Trini exclaimed, peering more closely at a photograph of Kimberly and Kat, taken at the Red Dragon Dojo. It had caught her attention because both women were wearing headbands with floppy bunny ears and holding large baskets filled with colored eggs. "How close to giving birth was she here, anyway?"

Kat grinned; she remembered that Easter well. Tommy had taken a few days' time off from racing and had flown home, and the couples had participated in the Easter Bunny Treasure Hunt Rocky had organized. That had been fun!

"Hmm... Easter... around seven or eight months along, I think. I know I had just entered my fourth month of pregnancy—in fact, when I got home that night, I felt you move for the very first time, Oliver," she told her oldest son.

"That's right, you were pregnant around the same time," Lynne realized, doing some quick mental math with her husband and brother's birthdays. "Only four months apart, too." Jay and Oliver had been born in May and September 2007, respectively.

"Yes—actually, I rather enjoyed having Kim be my 'tester', so to speak," Kat laughed. "No matter what it was, she'd tried it before. I didn't have to worry about finding pre-natal classes, maternity shops, the best furniture bargains, where diapers and so on would be on sale... and of course, with five kids already Sarah was a fount of good advice, too."

"Neat."

"Actually... as luck would have it, instead of Jason, who should have been the very first person to learn about my pregnancy, it was Kim..."

~*~

Kimberly finally spied a free space on the crowded parking lot that wasn't too far away from the mall's entrance; the weather was dreary for once, typical for the end of February, and she'd forgotten her umbrella. It even was wide enough for her to be able to open the car's door almost all the way. Normally, that didn't present much of a problem for the petite woman, but at six months pregnant, a lot of things had changed—her belly size most of all. With a small groan, she swung her legs sideways and heaved herself out of her compact car.

I'll have to switch cars with Tommy soon, she reflected as she gathered her purse from the backseat. Mine's just getting a little too tight for comfort, and I still have three months to go, after all. Getting even bigger. Oh joy.

But this was one instance where Kimberly didn't mind gaining weight—rather the opposite. She absently patted her belly, and was rewarded by a gentle shifting inside of her. She smiled, as always absurdly pleased by this sign that her baby was alive and kicking.

Literally. Ow.

A tiny foot connected rather solidly with what used to be her waistline, then a shape—most likely the baby's head—moved from one side to the other, visibly lifting her shirt.

I should've known that a gymnastics AND karate background would lead to this, she groused with a smile to herself as she walked slowly towards the mall, her usual springy step transformed into what would become a waddle soon. Kicks and punches during the day, somersaults at night. And my bladder has become a trampoline. How fun!

Kim took care of her errands at a leisurely pace, spent an enjoyable quarter hour window shopping 'for later' (meaning as soon as she would fit into regular clothes instead of maternity frocks again), then made her way to a corridor off to the left of the second floor. She had saved the best (in her mind) for last—purchasing some baby paraphernalia now that they'd finished decorating the future nursery. On her last visit to the baby store, she'd seen an absolutely adorable off-white changing pad, decorated with dozens of the cutest tiny dragons in all colors of the rainbow. They also had matching sheets and pillow cases for the baby's cot.

"They better not have sold 'em," she muttered under her breath as she approached the store. Much to her relief, everything she wanted was still available, and Kim tucked the items into her shopping cart. Errand completed, she wandered over towards the checkout, then glanced at her watch.

"Oh, good—I still have ten minutes!"

Indulging herself, Kimberly wheeled her cart around and pushed it towards her favorite area—baby clothes. Grinning in anticipation, she turned a corner... and stopped dead in her tracks. For about halfway down the aisle stood a very familiar person, holding up both a pale pink bonnet and a bright blue shirt with an expression Kimberly had seen every day in her mirror ever since the rabbit had died.

Oh my!

Silently, she went nearer, thankful that the wheels of her cart didn't squeak on the carpeted floor. Only when she had come up right next to the display did she speak.

"The neutrals are in the next aisle over, on the left," Kim said, a happy smile in her eyes and voice.

"Eek!"

Kat looked up, startled out of her dreamy mood. "K-Kimberly?" she stammered. "What... what are you doing here?"

"Getting stuff for our baby, of course," Kim replied, giving her friend a quick but thorough once-over. Yep, it was as she'd immediately suspected—Kat was pregnant, too. Not that she was showing or anything, it was most likely very early stages yet, but if one knew what to look for, the signs were all there. Besides, the look in her eyes would have given her away just as much—there was a softness there now, the hint of a sweet secret... "Just like you—right?"

"You can see it already?" Kat blurted, then closed her eyes and groaned. "Oh no... I wanted Jason to be the first to know!"

Impulsively, Kimberly hugged her taller friend. "Don't worry—he's still going to be the first person you'll tell it to," she soothed. "After all, you didn't say anything to me; I just guessed correctly. It is correct, though, isn't it?"

A rueful chuckle escaped Katherine's lips. After giving herself away like that, and considering Kim's knowing look, how could she deny it? "Yes," she admitted, blushing a delicate pink with pleasure. "I've just come from my doctor, and she confirmed the home test I did last week."

Kim grinned understandingly. "And naturally, your first stop was here. Just like me!"

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

Blue eyes met brown, then both young women broke into giggles. Kim stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss against Kat's cheek. "Oh, I'm so happy for you guys! Jason's going to burst when he comes home tonight. Does he know you went to see your ob/gyn?"

"No—I didn't want to get his hopes up in case I was wrong," Kat replied. "I can't wait to tell him!"

"Just call me as soon as you have; I want to see Tommy's face!"

Kat smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "Don't you think Jason will want to break the good news to Tommy himself?"

"Oh. Right. Blast." Kim's face fell momentarily with disappointment, then lit up again. "But tell you what, we definitely will have to get together soon to celebrate. When Tommy's home, of course, and provided I can still sit through a full dinner without running off to the restroom every five minutes!"

"Is that a problem?" Kat asked worriedly. She had gathered all sorts of information on pregnancies in general, but some things just had to be experienced.

"Not yet, but I bet it will soon," Kimberly grimaced. "Right now, I just have to get up a couple of times each night, but if Junior here continues to think my bladder's his personal trampoline, it might well happen." She patted her belly fondly.

"Junior? It's going to be a boy, then?"

"We don't know," the gymnast admitted. "My doctor offered to tell us, but Tommy and I want to be surprised. It's just a convenient name to call the baby by."

The two women wandered off, Kat casting longing glances at the baby clothes, either neatly folded on shelves or dangling from miniature hangers. The tiny garments were so adorable! Her fingers twitched to touch. But as long as she had no idea what gender her baby was going to be, choosing either pink or blue was a tad pointless. Grinning understandingly, Kim steered her into another aisle. Here, the same items were displayed, only in shades of pale yellow, mint green, beiges... even white, although that was probably going to be too impractical.

"Oh, look, here's something in red!"

Kim held up a small one-piece overall in bright scarlet. "If you guys are going to have a boy, it'd be perfect!"

"Yes, but I don't know that yet, either," Kat murmured, wistfully stroking the soft velour. There was a terminally cute bunny appliquéd to the front. "What if it's a girl?"

"Match it with a frilly white shirt, and it'll work," Kim said blithely, rummaging in the appropriate bin. "Aha!" She scooped up two shirts in white cotton. One was a plain t-shirt with snaps on the shoulders for easier dressing, the other had a back closure, puffed sleeves and a tiny ruffle around the throat. Quickly, she fitted the t-shirt into the overalls. "Isn't this adorable?"

"Oh, yes."

"Tell you what, I'll buy the overalls for you," Kimberly decided impulsively. "Consider it my first present to my Godbaby. You are going to ask Tommy or me, aren't you?" she wanted to know, suddenly anxious at possibly having presumed to much. "Or would you prefer Tanya?" To her relief, Kat smiled.

"Of course I want you, silly. Just as Tommy has already asked both David and Jason to stand for your baby. You and Tanya if it's a girl, Tommy and Billy if it's a boy," she promised. "Jase and I decided that when we first started trying."

"Goodie!"

Kat laughed, then reached for the shirts Kim was still holding. "Give me these; I'll take both," she declared, feeling a thrill as she said so. Her first-ever purchase for her baby! There would be more to come, she knew, more practical things... furniture, a pram, sheets like Kim had in her cart... but it felt right that this first thing was something pretty and maybe even frivolous. Babies needed both!

Kim hid an indulgent smile; she knew exactly what Kat was feeling. Her own first purchase had been a stuffed toy, soft and fluffy and already taking pride of place in the nursery.

Arm in arm, the two friends proceeded to the checkout.

~*~

"Of course I had to keep the frilly shirt until you were born, dear," Kat smiled at her daughter. "But Oliver wore the overalls for his first official photo shoot at Christmas!"

"Oh, I've seen that picture," Jasmine exclaimed. "You were right, they looked too cute on him!"

"I could still kill Grandma Helen for showing Jazz my baby pictures," Oliver muttered to his best friend. "And on the night we got engaged, too!"

"Even that one with you on the fake bearskin?" Jay smirked, watching with unholy glee as Oliver blushed as red as the Christmas candles. "The one where you wore nothing but a pacifier?"

"Shut up," his brother-in-law hissed. "Or I'll get Mom to dig up the one where you 'watered' our flower beds the summer we were three without benefit of a hose!"

Jay gulped, feeling his own ears starting to burn. "Uh, okay."

Trini snickered, having overheard the mumbled exchange. For once, though, she took pity on them—mostly because she knew there existed equally embarrassing photos of herself, if truth be told. To the best of her knowledge, Ramon hadn't seen them yet, and she preferred things to stay that way. Adroitly, she brought the conversation back on track.

"So, how did Uncle Jason react when you told him?" she asked curiously. "Ramon instantly doubled our monthly phone bill with each of my pregnancies..."

Kat smiled. "Oh, he was totally beside himself. Feeling equally joyful, proud, overwhelmed, happy, awed... even a little afraid."

"Afraid?" Jared wondered. "Why would Dad be afraid of having a baby?"

"You mean it hasn't hit you yet?" his brother interrupted. "Man, becoming a father is the absolute greatest feeling in the world, but... when we were expecting Brandon, I was terrified I wasn't going to measure up, that I couldn't be as good a father as I wanted to be..."

Ramon, Jay and Tommy nodded in confirmation, each having experienced exactly the same thing, and Jared suddenly looked very thoughtful.

Kat raised an eyebrow and agreed. "Jason told me that, later. However, his very first reaction was rather... enthusiastic," she said, her tone hinting at something more than just unbridled joy at becoming a father.

~*~

Back at home later that day, Kat went through her chores with a dreamy smile on her face, going frequently into the bedroom to touch and admire Kimberly's gift. Once or twice, she even posed sideways in front of her full-length mirror, trying to picture herself with a belly as big as Kim's. The image wouldn't quite form, but she consoled herself with the thought that it wouldn't take long before she started showing, too. Then, everybody would know she was going to have a baby.

However, first she had to find a way to tell Jason. Should she just lead him to the baby clothes? Hand him a book with baby names? Mention casually that the Lamaze class her doctor had recommended would meet Tuesday nights? Or should she make a dramatic, serious announcement?

She pondered this weighty question all the time she was busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner for her husband's return—a sliced-in-half French bread filled with a mixture of eggs, sour cream, cheese, bacon bits and tomatoes that would only need ten minutes to bake. Time enough for Jason to shower, and get comfortable after a day at the dojo.

Much sooner than she'd anticipated, though, she heard the key turn in the lock. Jason's unmistakeable step came down the hallway, and feeling suddenly jittery, she put her knife down and dried her hands as she slowly went to the kitchen door. That Jason would be pleased was not in doubt, but... how to find the right words to make it as memorable an occasion as this bit of good news deserved to be?

On entering his house, Jason dropped his gym bag in the hallway closet; he'd take his sweat-soaked gi to the clothes hamper upstairs later. First, he wanted a tall glass of iced tea, and greet his wife. Even after over a year of marriage, that was still his greatest pleasure when coming home. He'd gotten off early today because too many students in his last class were sick with the flu, and he was looking forward to a quiet, relaxing evening with Katherine.

Jason was just about to call her name, when she appeared in the hallway. She was dressed for comfort in pink leggings and a long-sleeved t-shirt, her hair falling loosely around her face the way he liked best, and Jason was about to make a teasing comment on her fluffy socks when he caught sight of her expression. It took his breath away.

To Jason's mind, Kat was beautiful no matter how, where, or when, but except for the first time they'd made love, or seeing her in her bridal finery, he'd never seen her more radiant. Her eyes had never seemed so deep a blue, her skin looked even softer than usual, and her mouth... the rosy lips surely had never been more inviting? Swallowing hard, Jason lost whatever he'd intended to say in the need to get close, to hold her...

His arms closed around Kat's back automatically, and he inhaled deeply of her subtle scent that was a mix of shampoo, soap and uniquely Kat. Looking deeply into the lambent eyes, Jason somehow managed to find his voice.

"Hello, love," he murmured huskily.

"Jason," Kat breathed, a whole world of love in the way she whispered his name.

He couldn't help himself, he bent and kissed her. And when he felt his wife simply melt into his embrace, all thought fled and only feeling remained.

They never made it into the bedroom.

~*~

A small eternity later, they lay closely entwined on the living room couch—a surface that was really much too narrow for the broad-shouldered martial artist and his tall, willowy wife. But it was so nice to be close like this, skin against skin, Kat's pale-gold hair splayed across his chest as her head rested snugly on his shoulder. Jason had draped an afghan over both of them, and under that light covering was drawing gentle circles on Kat's smooth back with one hand.

He lightly kissed her forehead, feeling pleasantly exhausted.

"Maybe I should come home earlier more often," he murmured. "I could get to like a welcome like this."

Kat laughed softly, brushing her lips against his chin. "Mmmm."

He chuckled. "My little cat," he teased. "Purring as if you've just lapped up a whole bowlful of cream."

In answer, Kat drew her nails across the broad chest in a not-quite-playful scratch and hissed softly in warning. She did not like cat jokes, and Jason only got away with it now because she was feeling altogether too wonderful to object.

"Claws, too!" Dark eyes shone with love and mirth as he used his free hand to tilt up her face and kiss her tenderly once more. It was the most effective 'apology' he could have found. When they could speak again, Jason traced a fingertip down a flushed cheek. "So, how about it? Can I expect more welcomes like this when I get off early the next time?"

Kat smiled at her husband, shifting her legs carefully. She had no wish to destroy their lassitude by tumbling them off the couch.

"That depends," she said dreamily, liking the feeling of being held securely in his arms.

"On what?"

"Whether I'll still fit," Kat explained. "In another two or three months, it might get difficult."

"Oh? Why would that be?" Jason asked.

"I'll probably get too big eventually..."

"Why? Are you planning on gaining weight?" Feeling the first stirrings of hunger, Jason began to wonder what Kat had planned for dinner, and whether he'd have long to wait.

"It's going to be inevitable, I think," Kat murmured, sounding not at all put out by the idea, although she usually was very weight-conscious. "It sort of comes with the territory."

"What territory?" Jason wanted to know, getting curious despite himself. There was something in Kat's voice... the same something he'd subliminally noticed in the way she'd looked at him when he'd come home... suddenly his pulse began to quicken as things clicked in his mind. For the past six months or so, they had stopped using protection—ever since Tommy and Kim had announced they were expecting.

Slowly, Jason raised himself up on an elbow. The afghan slipped, baring them both to the waist, but for once he wasn't distracted by his wife's nude beauty. Intently, he glanced into her glowing sapphire eyes.

"Kat...?" he breathed, his deep voice filled with hope, longing and wonder. "A-are you..."

"Yes," she replied simply, drawing him down again for a butterfly kiss. "We're going to have a baby."

Thus simply it was said.

"Oh man..." The awe and love in Jason's expression was everything and more Kat could have hoped for. "Really?!?"

"Yes, love," she smiled, feeling tears of happiness well up from deep within. "I went to see my doctor today, and she confirmed it. If I'm right about the timing, it'll be sometime in September..."

"Oh wow!"

Momentarily speechless with happiness, Jason let his gaze sweep down Kat's body, trying to imagine her still-smooth belly swollen with his child, a dark-haired head nursing hungrily at her breast... almost reverently, he placed his large, warm hand on the so-soft skin just below her navel.

"That... that's incredible."

"Yes," Kat agreed simply, feeling a sweet longing rise from her innermost core.

Jason finally tore his eyes away from where his fingers rested protectively over her womb and looked at Kat.

"Thank you," he whispered humbly. "Thank you so much..."

She tenderly touched his cheek, wiping away a drop of moisture. "Thank you," she replied very, very softly.

"I love you, Kat," Jason murmured as he bent towards her lips.

"Love you, too."

That was the last word either spoke for a long, long time. The couch wasn't all that narrow, after all.

~*~

"We, um... celebrated," Kat murmured, lost momentarily in the memory. "Nearly all night."

Around her, the four younger couples shared understanding, intimate glances as hands found each other, or quick, gentle kisses were exchanged. In this, there was no difference between the generations—probably hadn't been throughout all of history.

Clearing her throat to get rid of the emotional lump lodged there, Trini sought out her father's somewhat bemused eyes.

"What about you and Mom, Dad? How did you react when you learned you were expecting Jay? Was it as romantic as Uncle Jason and Aunt Kat?"

To everyone's surprise, Tommy grinned and shook his head.

"Actually... no. It was not one of your mother's finer moments. You see, I was still racing at the time, and Kim didn't want to tell me in a letter or over the phone; she wanted to surprise me when I got home. She did, but not the way she intended...."

~*~

Tommy came in the door, tossing his bag off to one side of the living room. It was so good to be home at last! The team should have been home two weeks ago, but they'd run into some mechanical trouble. John had told him to fly home, but it was next to impossible—or financially feasible—to get a flight with all the holiday traffic, so Tommy stayed with his uncle until they could hit the road again.

Kim had not been happy about the delay. She hated him being on the road any more than he absolutely had to be. She hated being alone so much, and he hated leaving her alone, but it was a necessary evil. He made good money racing, and while he still yearned to be more than a part-time instructor at the dojo, the business couldn't yet support all three partners full time. Also, the dojo needed his racing income; there'd been times when his 'investment' in the firm was the only way they'd made ends meet. Someday he'd be able to join Rocky and Jason, but in the meantime, he'd do whatever he had to to make his dream come true.

He thought about calling out to Kim to let her know he was in, but it was pretty early yet, and since it was Saturday, she didn't need to be at work. All he wanted was his wife, a shower, a shave and his bed—not necessarily in that order. Kim would probably appreciate it if he cleaned up before snuggling in bed with her.

The thought of cuddling with Kim—and what it inevitably led to!—had him resolving to be unusually quick in the shower. He could hardly wait to show her exactly how much he'd missed her. However, as he silently padded down the hallway, he noticed that the bathroom light was on, but the door wasn't closed. He heard movement within. Kimberly was awake, probably getting ready to take a shower.

Tommy wasn't too disappointed not to find his wife in bed; after all, washing Kim's back could lead to as much fun as snuggling in bed with her. He had visions of walking in on her, catching her as she dropped her robe to the floor... nothing underneath it except her gorgeous curves.... Oh, how he longed to feel her soft, silky skin under his hands....

When he reached the bathroom door, he pulled up short. The sight that greeted him was not his naked wife preparing to step into the shower. Kimberly, dressed in her oldest, rattiest sleepwear, her hair uncombed and in a wild mess, was on her knees before the commode, leaving an offering at the altar of the porcelain god.

"Kim!" he yelped, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Slowly, she looked up at him, her face pale with dark circles under her eyes. She looked like death warmed over, and she was glaring at him as if he'd done something very, very wrong.

"Thomas James Oliver, if you miss the birth of our baby because of your stupid racing, I'll never forgive you!" she growled at him. Before she could say anything further, she had to turn back to the toilet to finish her morning's business.

Tommy stood there, simply staring at her, stunned. Did she just say 'baby'?

"Kim, did you just say baby?" he gulped. "Are you saying you're pregnant?"

"No, I'm hung over and have the flu," she groused. She climbed to her feet at last and reached for the handle to flush away breakfast number one. She had morning sickness in spades! When she thought she had composed herself to face her husband, she turned, but seeing Tommy's expression made tears well up in her eyes. It wasn't supposed to happen this way....

"When...? How...?" he sputtered in joyous amazement. However, it slowly seeped in that his wife was not sharing his happiness. In fact, she was in tears. "Kim, what's wrong?"

"Everything! It's all wrong! You ruined it!" she shouted at him, her fury obviously baffling him, which only made her cry harder.

"You were supposed to be home by Thanksgiving. We were going to have a cozy dinner for two—I was going to dress up special for you—then we would have gone for a sunset walk in the park. The sky would be all pink and purple... the water would have sparkled like golden champagne.... we'd have gone to our special spot... you'd have taken me into your arms and kissed me... forever, it'd have seemed like. Then, I'd have taken your hands, looked deep into your eyes and said, 'Tommy, I have the most wonderful news... you're going to be a father....' I'd have placed your hands on my tummy so you could feel this miracle we created together...

"But no!" she snapped abruptly, pulling him out of the idyllic picture her words had painted. "It was supposed to be special... romantic... instead, you show up late... you don't even call to tell me... you just come in and find out about everything while I'm barfing!"

With a hysterical sob, Kim ran back to the bedroom, slammed the door then threw herself on their bed to cry her eyes out, leaving Tommy standing in the middle of the bathroom, shocked and surprised with a silly, stupid lopsided smile plastered on his face.

"I'm going to be a father," he mumbled in awe. "I'm going to be a dad! Kim..."

He winced as he heard the door slam. It only then registered that he'd unintentionally messed up something important to Kim. As he headed to the bedroom to console his spouse, he wondered how long it was going to take him to get out of the dog house this time.

~*~

"So just how long did it take for Mom to forgive your for spoiling her surprise?" Jay snickered.

"Not until you were born," Tommy replied ruefully. Lord, had Kim been pissed over that!

"Did she save her romantic announcement for when she found out about Trini?" Jasmine wondered, recalling that special moment when she'd told Oliver about Brandon.

"No, she made sure I was there when she took the home pregnancy test... when the doctor confirmed it..." Tommy murmured. "I'd missed out on so much when she was pregnant with Jay; Kim—and I—made sure I didn't miss a thing the second time around."

Chapter 19: The Things That Matter

"Ah, the Great Baby Epidemic of 2007," Tommy sighed grandiosely as he caught a glimpse of a photo from Sarah's baby shower that year. Even though Ramon had been Sarah's fifth child, Kim had argued that they had to give Sarah a shower so her baby wouldn't have to wear pink ruffled hand-me-downs. (As if Rocky would let his only son be caught dead in girls' clothing!)

That had been the first of the interminable female gatherings that year. He'd never told Kim, but secretly, he'd been grateful that he'd missed her baby shower—if Jason's version of what the event had been like was any indication. Man, he'd owed Jase for that one big time!

"Epidemic?" Jay sputtered with mock indignation at being referred to as a disease.

"Who coined that one?" Ramon asked. "My dad?"

"My money's on Uncle Zack," Oliver piped up.

"Whoever it was, us mothers-to-be weren't too pleased about the designation at the time," Kat said, eyeing Tommy with a scowl. "So if it was either you or Jason...."

Tommy laughed. "Sorry, but the credit for that goes to Billy."

"My dad?" Rachel gasped, and she wasn't alone in her surprise. It was not an appellation that one would have expected from William Cranston.

"Uh huh. As he put it at the time, every female of his acquaintance was pregnant for some portion of 2007," Tommy explained.

"Good heavens, so we were!" Kat exclaimed. "I always thought it referred to the babies born that year, which didn't make sense because Ashala didn't arrive until 2008."

"Poor Uncle Billy!" Jay laughed. Being around one pregnant female had been bad enough, but five...!

"Yeah, it was a pretty tough year to be the male-of-the-species," Tommy snickered.

"I don't see how you would have much to complain about," Trini interjected. "You were still racing on the NASCAR circuit that year."

"True. 2007 was actually a pretty good year for me—personally and professionally," Tommy answered with quiet pride.

As if to demonstrate his point, a turn of the page revealed a newspaper clipping which boldly pronounced: Oliver Wins Daytona 500!

"Wow, Uncle Tommy, I knew you raced, but I never realized you were that good," Jasmine murmured.

"Isn't the Daytona 500 considered the Superbowl of racing or something like that?" Ramon wondered.

"At least as far as NASCAR is concerned," was the response.

"Tommy nearly won the points race that year," Kat supplied with all the pride Kim would have exhibited had she been there.

"Yet you retired in 2007," Lynne observed, frowning.

"Uh huh."

"Why walk away from so much success?" Rachel asked.

"Because there are some things more important than success," Tommy said simply and gazed fondly about the room overflowing with family.

~*~

Kim sat with Jason and Kat watching the Virginia 500. Ever since Tommy's win in Daytona, he'd been placing in the top ten in races. At the moment, he was the points leader in the Winston Cup Series and the hottest thing in racing. His wife was fair to bursting with pride in his accomplishments—and fair to bursting with his child!

She smoothed her hand over her swollen abdomen. At eight months pregnant, she was quite large and seemed to get larger every day.

Don't worry, baby, she soothed the very active future martial artist enthusiastically practicing kicks against the walls of her womb. Daddy'll be home soon; he promised not to miss your arrival.... as he'd missed out on so many things throughout her pregnancy. She sighed, trying not to let her frustration get the better of her. It did no good to mope about something she had no control over. Tommy's contract was good through the end of the current season; they had talked about him not renewing, but with him doing so well, would he want to walk away from it all? It had taken him ten years to get to this point....

"Kim, are you all right?" Jason asked anxiously. If dealing with Kat's pregnancy in her second trimester was tough on his nerves, watching over Kimberly in Tommy's absence was making him a nervous wreck!

Tommy is so going to owe me for this, Jason vowed. He didn't know where he'd picked up the notion that an expectant mother was a quiet, gentle, docile woman, just glowing with the life growing within her. Kim was anything but! Her mood swings were murder, and he prayed Kat wouldn't be that bad in her eighth month.

Still, it was good practice so he wouldn't bungle it by saying or doing the wrong thing when Kat reached the late stages of her term.

"Junior's just restless," Kim said dismissively. She was trying to be on her best behavior, knowing she'd probably pushed her friends to the limits of their patience with her.

"He's probably just cheering on his daddy," Kat murmured with a knowing smile, already feeling the stirrings of her own martial-artist-to-be.

They turned their attention back to the television after the commercial break.

"... and we have a new leader!" the announcer called out. "It's Oliver in the Number 42 car."

"Go, Tommy, go!" Kim cheered, bouncing in her seat.

"Take it easy, Kim, or else you're going to shake Junior right out," Jason chuckled nervously. If she had the baby before Tommy got home... Considering how pissed she was when Tommy spoiled her big moment, he did not want to contemplate the trouble his best friend would be in if he missed the birth of his child.

For a few laps, Tommy maintained a comfortable lead; however, Number five continued gaining on him until he shot ahead through the curve.

"No fair!" Kim pouted. "Tommy was on the turn; you don't pass on curves!"

"You do in auto racing," Kat laughed, enjoying watching Kim even more than the race.

It happened so fast... literally, in the blink of an eye. Coming into turn four, car sixty-three lost control and slammed into the wall, showering the track with débris. Tommy's car was the first to hit the débris field. In trying to avoid the wreckage, he spun out of control.

"TOMMY!" Kim screamed.

~*~

"Tommy, you okay?" John's voice queried over Tommy's headset.

"My head's still spinnin', but I'm okay," Tommy answered, giving his head a shake to clear it. "I think I only caught a glancing blow."

"Think you can get back out there?"

"Probably. What about Sixty-three? Montero, isn't it?" Tommy peered out his window to see if he could see the other car. The rest of the field was circling under a yellow flag.

"All I see is smoke."

Tommy's car had ricocheted and stopped where he could see the other driver's vehicle.

"Not good," Tommy murmured more to himself than to his uncle. "He's got a fuel leak and... oh shit! Fire!"

He began unfastening his harness. Montero didn't appear to be moving... and where were the emergency crews?

Tommy didn't stop to think; he reacted as he'd been trained as a teen and climbed out of his car.

~*~

"Easy does it, Kim," Jason soothed, holding the brunette's hands. She clutched his so tightly it actually hurt. Tears of worry were trickling down her cheeks as she sat on the edge of her seat, eyes unblinking as she watched the scene unfold.

"Why won't the announcers tell us what's happening?" she demanded, her voice shrill and tight. "Why won't they tell us if Tommy's all right?"

"They will as soon as they know something," Kat assured her, a tight knot of concern forming in the pit of her stomach.

"Please let him be all right," Kim prayed. "Oh God, I've been so afraid something like this would happen. I can't lose Tommy now...."

"Don't worry, Kim; his car doesn't look that badly damaged," Jason pointed out.

"And look, he's getting out of his car," Kat exclaimed.

"He's all right... he's all... what the hell is he doing!?" Kim sputtered.

"What's Oliver doing?" the announcer echoed.

"He's going over to the other car," Jason realized.

"I think I see flames," Kat murmured.

"The other driver hasn't gotten out yet," her husband observed. "It looks like Tommy's gone to help him."

"Don't they have paramedics or firemen to do that?" Kim demanded hoarsely. "Why does Tommy...?"

"Because Tommy is Tommy," Jason said simply. "He couldn't do anything else. If someone needs help... well, once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

"Anyone of us would do as much," Kat added.

"I know, but it doesn't mean I like it," Kim grumbled, fear turning to anger. "I didn't like it every time he raced off to face Goldar alone. I didn't like it when the ten of you went gallivanting off to the moon. I get so scared and worried... I'm always afraid that someday the Ranger in him will get him killed."

~*~

Tommy didn't have any particular plan in mind as he raced over to the smoking car. He just knew that something had to be wrong for Rafael Montero not to have climbed out yet. However, he did know that he'd have to be careful. If the other driver was injured, moving him could make matters worse, but if that leaking fuel ignited....

Tommy parted the leather net over the open window and made a quick assessment. Montero didn't appear to be pinned by the dash or anything. He was breathing; he simply seemed to be unconscious. Tommy didn't want to shake him, so he began pounding on the roof of the vehicle.

"Montero! Wake up! C'mon, man; wake up!" He continued to pound and shout until the other driver began to stir.

"Que... Madre de Dios, my head...." he moaned as he came to.

"Fire!"

Tommy's warning snapped through Rafael's haze. He quickly unfastened his harness and leveraged himself out the window. When he attempted to gain his footing, however, he swayed, still woozy. Tommy helped steady him.

Then, they heard a crackle of flame. Turning, horrified expressions on their faces, they saw flames licking towards the pooling liquid, sparks flying.

"Let's get out of here," Tommy suggested, and the two began sprinting away from the inferno-waiting-to-happen. The emergency vehicles were on the way—they could hear the sirens now—but before they reached the wreck, the gasoline ignited. Tommy and Montero dove for the safety of the far side of Tommy's car.

"That was too close," Tommy let out a relieved breath.

"My friend, you have my thanks," Rafael said, offering Tommy his hand.

"I'm glad you woke up when you did," Tommy demurred. He glanced up as the paramedics arrived. "You should probably let them check your head."

"What of you?"

"I'm okay," he claimed. "I'm going to see if my car can get back into the race."

"You have no hope of winning now," Rafael pointed out.

Tommy shrugged. "I know, but I can finish at the very least."

"I wish you luck, then."

~*~

Kimberly finally let out the breath she'd been holding as the track medics led away the driver Tommy had helped.

"They're all right; they're both all right," she sobbed as Tommy came out of hiding. However, her elated, teary smile turned into a frown as her husband climbed back into the cockpit of his car.

"What does he think he's doing?" she gasped, her ire flaring anew.

"Maybe he's just taking his car back to the pit," Kat suggested reasonably. She was beginning to wonder if all the stress and emotional turmoil was good for Kim right now.

"No, he's going to finish the stupid race; I just know it!" Kim fumed with conviction.

"You don't know that," Jason said calmly.

"I know Tommy," she asserted. "He hates to quit; if Eddie can get that car back on the track, Tommy'll be out there giving me gray hairs and heart failure."

"Maybe we should watch something else," Jason recommended. "You know Tommy's okay now, and you really need to settle down...."

"Touch that remote and you're a dead man," Kim growled.

Even as the petite brunette spoke, Kat reached over and extracted the gadget from his grasp.

"I want you to live long enough to see the birth of our baby," she said sweetly.

Jason wisely kept silent, appreciating, more than ever, Rocky's advice: "Never argue with a pregnant woman. You can't hope to win."

~*~

That evening, Kim paced the living room awaiting Tommy's post-race call. She knew he'd be delayed because of all the media attention his actions had drawn. With the focus on Tommy, Kim couldn't even say who won the race.

"All I did was wake him up," Tommy had told the reporters. "If it hadn't been for the fuel and the fire, I would have let the emergency personnel handle things. Anyone else would have done as much."

Montero, fortunately, only had a mild concussion, but was full of praise for his rescuer, which only served to make the hype greater.

At the moment, Kimberly wasn't certain whether she was going to kill Tommy or what. So focused was she on trying to figure out what to say that when Tommy finally called, she jumped and gave a squeak of surprise when the phone rang.

"Hi there, Beautiful," his voice sang out, completely normal, devoid of any indication that anything out of the ordinary had happened to him.

So much nonchalance ignited Kim's frayed nerves.

"Thomas James Oliver, don't you 'hi, Beautiful' me!" she snapped. "If you ever do something like that again, I... I...."

She burst into a torrent of tears that was part relief, part concern and part anger.

In a hotel room in Martinsville, VA, Tommy closed his eyes and sighed, feeling a pang of guilt as he listened to his wife's hysterical sobbing. He'd known she'd be worried and upset if she'd watched the race; he wished he was in California right now instead of on the opposite side of the country.

It was a feeling he'd been having more and more lately.

"Kim, don't cry. I'm all right," he assured her. "I didn't even get a scratch."

"But you could have been seriously hurt," she gulped out. "I was so scared and worried.... All I could think was that our baby could have been an orphan today!"

Tears made it impossible for her to continue with any coherency. However, Kim's last statement shook Tommy. Oh, he knew she was exaggerating; after all, losing one parent didn't make a child an orphan. It was how much her words echoed Vera Montero's that rocked him.

Upon leaving the track, he'd stopped by the hospital to see how Montero was doing. When he was allowed to go up to Rafael's room, he was greeted by the driver's wife. She tearfully hugged him and said, "Thanks to you, my children did not lose their father today."

Tommy had had to think about her words for a long while. Would Montero have died? He didn't think so. Even though it had seemed like it had taken the emergency crews forever to reach the scene of the accident, they'd been there almost immediately. It was just a curious sense of time delay that one has when events happen so quickly... when one has no time to think, merely to react.

He'd dismissed Mrs. Montero's words as exaggeration, but hearing them from Kim....

He'd been through crashes before, and he knew Kim always worried. He made sure he did what he could to minimize the damage to himself, but what would he do if—like Montero—he was unable to help himself? If anything happened to him, what would Kim do? And what about their baby? He knew all too well the emptiness of wondering about a parent one never knew. Even if others shared their memories, they couldn't create the emotional bonds that were missing. That wasn't something he wished on anyone—least of all his child.

He'd never minded the danger of his present profession, but there was so much more at stake now.

However, those were matters to contemplate another time. Right now, he needed to calm down his wife.

"Kim, honey, I need you to settle down... the baby needs you to calm down," he requested in his most soothing tone. "Please, Beautiful...."

"I just wish you were home right now. I need to touch you... to hold you... to feel for myself that you're okay."

"Would tomorrow be soon enough for you?" he quipped.

"Do you really mean it?"

The hope in her voice pierced Tommy through the heart.

"Yes, Uncle John told me to head home while Eddie works on the car. I won't have to be back with the team until after Easter."

"Oh, Tommy, that's wonderful!"

~*~

"I'm sorry, Uncle John, but the baby still hasn't arrived," Tommy sighed with exasperation at his relation-turned-boss. Kimberly's due date had come and gone with no indication that their child wanted out.

"He's your son, all right," Rocky had teased him about the tardiness.

John had not been happy about missing one race due to the imminent birth of his great-niece or nephew. And now it appeared that they'd miss a second race in May. However, Tommy was adamant about not missing the birth of his child.

"Look, if Kim hasn't had the baby by the end of the week, the doctor plans to induce labor." He gritted his teeth as he listened to the response. "Yes, I know it means missing the races at Lowes.... Yes, I realize it means I'll lose my standing as points leader, but I don't care. I want to be here for this."

Tommy heaved another sigh of frustration as his uncle ranted on. Finally, cut off the tirade. "Look, Uncle John, you just don't get it, do you? There are some things in life more important than winning races, and this is one of them!"

Without even so much as a good-bye, Tommy slammed down the receiver.

"Bad?" Kimberly asked kindly. She hated it that Tommy and John were at odds with each other. Tommy adored his uncle so much....

Tommy blew out a cleansing breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

"He said other drivers had kids and never missed races," he huffed, "but I'm not other drivers. He has no idea how much it hurt not being here for you throughout your pregnancy. I had to hear all the doctor's reports over the phone. I missed the baby's first kick. I didn't get to watch the two of you grow day by day. I never even got to run out at three in the morning for pickles, ice cream and chop suey—or whatever it was you craved."

"Tommy," Kim murmured sympathetically. Once upon a time, she would have snuggled up behind him and held him close. That was a bit impractical at the moment. Instead, she guided him over to the sofa. She sat, and he sank to the floor, laying his head on what little remained of her lap.

She stroked his hair thoughtfully; she hadn't fully realized how keenly he felt that he was missing out on her pregnancy. She knew he'd felt a little cheated somehow that he couldn't be there to share this with her, but not to this degree.

"Ever since the middle of last season when I first started placing well consistently Uncle John's been riding me pretty hard... pushing me to do better. Man, since Daytona, he's been impossible!"

It was shortly after that that John referred to her pregnancy as an 'inconvenient distraction'.

"Do you know that by the time the season is finished, the baby'll be about six months old? I won't even know my child—except through the pictures I know you'll take—and he or she won't know me either."

"There'll be stretches when you'll be home, and there'll be plenty of firsts you will be there to see," she assured him. She kept to herself the comment, but not if you're racing next season.

"I'm not renewing my contract, Kim," he stated, looking up at her. It was as if he'd read her mind. "I want to be here to watch our child grow. Hopefully, now that we've got the Silver Hills contract, the dojo will have enough business that we can take me on on a full time basis, and if it can't, well, this year's earnings will give us a cushion until it can." He clasped her hands tightly. "And I don't want you to ever have to worry about our baby being an orphan."

"I'm glad, Tommy; I'm so glad."

~*~

Tommy exited Kim's hospital room; she had just fallen asleep. They had come through the longest, most grueling hours of their lives. He'd never been more helpless and vulnerable in his life. Seeing his beloved wife endure hours of intense pain... knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to alleviate it. All he could do was pray she could draw strength from his presence as she endeavored to bring their child into the world.

And yet, the fear and worry and pain were all but forgotten the moment the doctor laid Jason David Oliver on his mother's chest. He opened his big brown eyes, seemingly looked around, and checked out his parents. Then, he snuggled down with Kim in perfect contentment.

Even now, Tommy wiped away the happy tears that had gathered in his eyes, and he smiled as he recalled Jason's teasing words, "Rocky's gonna be jealous. A son on the first try."

In fact, he was off to find Jason and Kat and maybe a bite to eat. The two had been there throughout the day. Kat had been by Kim's side almost as much as he had, giving her support, and Jason had been there to support him when he didn't think he could be strong enough for the both of them any longer. At the moment, the two were making calls and spreading the good news. His folks had already been there. Kim's parents were on the way....

Tommy paused by the nursery to look in on Jay, the nickname they'd settled on so as not to confuse the issue with two Jasons in the family. His heart swelled with pride as he spied the head of thick dark hair peeking out over the blanket. He longed to hold his little son, but the babe needed his rest, too.

"So that's my great-nephew," a voice behind Tommy said.

The new father whirled around, astonished to find his mother's brother standing behind him.

"Surprised to see me?" John asked, a wry smile quirking his lips.

"Frankly, yes."

"I came to apologize," his uncle began. "As your aunt so eloquently put it, I was being a cold-blooded, hard-hearted asshole."

Tommy's eyebrows climbed at that.

"I was on the speaker phone; Jess heard it all," John explained sheepishly. "But she was right. A man should be with his wife when she needs him. Family is, ultimately, more important than anything else. I let the excitement of having a bona fide chance at the points title cloud my judgment. I'm sorry."

"I won't be back next season, Uncle John," Tommy interjected, forestalling any grand speculations about next year. "I'll honor my contract through the end of this year, but after that.... My place is here now."

John nodded. "Actually, I suspected as much. Look, Tommy, I know being a race car driver was never what you intended to do with your life. It was just something to bide your time until you could pursue your true passion in life.

"It's just that you're so damned good at it," John concluded with a sigh of regret. "But, as the saying goes, a man has to follow his own path; no one can choose it for him."

"Thanks for understanding, Uncle John," Tommy said appreciatively.

"He's a beautiful boy, Tom; you're going to make a heck of a father," John remarked, inclining his head toward the sleeping bundle beyond the nursery window.

"I sure hope so," was the fervent reply. Then, Tommy flashed his uncle a knowing grin. "So, do you need me to tell Aunt Jess you apologized?"

"If you wouldn't mind," John grumbled. "I'm sort of tired of sleeping by myself."

Tommy laughed.

"Also, don't tell her I got to see the baby before she did."

~*~

"When I announced my retirement at the awards banquet at the end of the season, it shocked everyone," Tommy concluded. "They all expected me to come back and take the title everyone said should have been mine."

"How close were you to winning the points title?" Ramon asked, really curious to know just how good his uncle had been.

"Let me see... if I'd placed higher at Martinsville, I'd have tied the winner," Tommy recalled, "And if I'd gone to either of the Lowes races in May, I could have won it outright—at least, according to the sportswriters. I don't think there was any official determination."

"And you walked away from it all," Jasmine murmured with a touch of amazement.

"Without regret," he confirmed.

"So that's why we always got a wreath and a Christmas card from the Monteros," Trini realized. "I never really knew who they were."

"Rafael's family was very appreciative," Kat spoke up, remembering the family's kindness... they'd even sent flowers when Kim died.

"I still get cards from Rafael's kids," Tommy revealed.

"And it turns out, you didn't have to worry about the dojo supporting the three of you either," Jay spoke up. "That was about the time when you took on the contract with the Silver Guardians, wasn't it?"

"It couldn't have come at a better time," Tommy agreed. It had certainly set all their minds at rest about their financial future.

Just then, they heard the baby cry.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," Trini said knowingly.

"Do you want me to warm a bottle, hon?" Jay asked. Lynne had begun pumping in order to allow Jay to help out with feeding their son, just as she had with Scott.

"No, I'll nurse him," she demurred, rising from her chair. "Just don't go on without me. I don't want to miss anything."

"Don't worry, dear; we'll wait," Kat promised.

Chapter 20: Speedy Delivery

Lynne rejoined the company after nursing Ricky and putting him down for a nap. She sighed heavily as she sat down, still feeling twinges from her c-section.

"You'd think that since this is my second child, things would be a little easier, but no...."

"You're just out of practice, Princess," Jay murmured, giving his wife a gentle kiss. "With eleven years between Scott and Ricky, it's like we're starting all over again."

"Was your pregnancy difficult?" Rachel asked.

"Not really, but Dr. Stevens was concerned because at thirty-five, I'm what they consider 'advanced maternal age'," Lynne explained, grumbling about the appellation. What woman likes to be referred to as 'advanced age' for anything!

"I probably could have had a regular delivery if Ricky had been turned properly," she continued.

"At least they discovered that before you had to endure umpteen hours of labor," Jay remarked.

"When I had the twins, it took so long that I was begging Dr. Stevens to take me into surgery," Trini said, recalling her ordeal in giving birth.

"Brandon was such a big baby, it felt as if he was going to get stuck when he was only halfway out," Jasmine contributed to the topic.

"What about you, Mom?" Oliver asked, "Any horror stories from when you had the three of us?"

"No, you were all 'textbook' deliveries," Kat replied. "Not too big, right on time, and I wasn't in labor an excessive amount of time."

"I hope you have that kind of labor," Jared said and leaned over to kiss his wife.

"Jared? Rachel? Are you two expecting?" Kat questioned excitedly.

"Yes," Rachel confirmed. "We just found out the other day."

The beaming couple was swamped with congratulatory hugs and kisses from their close-knit family.

"When are you due?" Kat wondered.

"July or August. We'll know more after my ultrasound," Rachel answered.

"I think I know who'd win the Purple Heart for most difficult pregnancy and delivery, though," Tommy spoke up. "Kimberly...."

"Oh Lord, yes!" Kat agreed. "When she was pregnant with Trini... what a nightmare! It seemed like anything that could go wrong did."

"Especially on the day she popped out," Tommy said as he favored his baby girl with a smile.

"And she hasn't stopped causing trouble since," Jay interjected.

"Hey!" his sister protested as she swatted him good-naturedly.

"What happened?" Rachel wondered, intrigued.

"At the time she was pregnant with Trini, Kim was thirty-two, not that old, really. Certainly not 'advanced maternal age'..." He glanced mischievously at Lynne, who promptly stuck her tongue out at him in a most un-ladylike manner.

"You know how petite Kim was," Kat continued, "when she was near the end of her term, she looked absolutely huge...."

~*~

"I am so tired of being pregnant," a very worn, very round Kimberly complained as she attempted to leverage herself out of her chair to go answer the doorbell.

"You're in the home stretch; only two weeks to go," Kat responded with sympathy. Only last year she and Jason had had their second child; she well remembered that final month and how impatient she had been to be done with it. "Sit, Kim; I'll get the door."

Kim did as she was told, grumbling all the while, "And I hate being babied."

She hated the exceptionally solicitous care because it always served to remind her that this had been a very difficult pregnancy for her.

In the three years since Jay had been born, Kim had had trouble getting pregnant again. The early miscarriages had been devastating, and the doctors' platitudes and less-than-helpful recommendations had been frustrating. She had begun to think that Jay was destined to be an only child when she found herself pregnant at last.

Unlike the first time with Jay—when she'd been as healthy as a horse—she had complications galore the second time around. Infections. High blood pressure. False labor. Weekly sessions on the natal heart monitor.... She sighed. As much as she hated the overcautious treatment, she followed the doctors' orders to the letter. She didn't want anything to happen to her little girl.

Yes, she was going to have her little girl at last. They hadn't found out the baby's sex when she'd had Jay, but this time, she had to know ahead of time.

Tommy honored his best friend and his brother when we named Jay 'Jason David'. Now it's my turn to honor my best friend.

"Hello, Connie," Kat greeted the young woman at the door.

Consuelo DeSantos was Rocky's youngest sibling. She'd recently graduated from college with a BS in Nursing and had just taken her State Boards to get her license. Tommy had 'hired' her to help Kim out during her last trimester. While Kim didn't mind providing Connie with a job, she wished she wasn't the one being babysat.

"Hi, Kat. Hi, Kim," the pretty brunette greeted her brother's long-time friends. "Are you ready to go see Dr. Woods?"

"I suppose I should go get this over with," Kim muttered. Kat used to go with her to the obstetrician when Tommy couldn't, but lately, he'd asked Connie to go with her instead.

Would he have been this bad had he been around for my first pregnancy?

Kat, however, took the switch to babysitter in stride.

"Tommy can't make it today?" Connie asked.

"The guys are working on a new database for the dojo; Tommy wants to get his part of the files updated before next week so he can be free and clear when the baby arrives," Kim said.

She winced as she felt her abdomen tighten. She'd been having twinges all morning. She figured it was more false labor pains; she'd have to tell Dr. Woods about them.

"You know, they say the second baby comes faster than the first," Kat informed her expecting friend. "Lynne arrived four days earlier than Oliver did."

"Don't forget, this baby is an Oliver. They're always late. Remember Jay? An Oliver to the bone," Kim chuckled. "He was a week late. This means Trini should arrive right on time."

"You never know," Kat cautioned her.

"Do we have to leave immediately?" Connie wondered. "I could use a cup of coffee, and I'd love to see the boys."

"We have a little time yet," Kim assured her.

"Where are the kids? It's awful quiet."

"Lynne is sleeping, and the boys are in Jay's room," Kat said.

Connie was all set to pay a visit down the hall when there came another knock at the door. Being the closest, she answered it. The new visitor proved to be Billy.

"Hello, I... uh... is Kimberly home?" he fumbled upon being confronted with a very lovely young lady who seemed vaguely familiar.

"She sure is, Billy; come on in," she invited.

"Billy!" Kim exclaimed and waddled over as quickly as she could. She gave him an exuberant, if awkward, hug. "When did you get back?"

"Late last night," he answered. He had spent the last several months in Europe consulting on a project. "I thought I'd stop in to see how you were doing."

He had known when he left that she was expecting her second child, but not that her condition had been so delicate.

Kim frowned at him, seeing his thoughts in his eyes. Billy never could hide things from her for very long. "You stopped by the dojo and Tommy asked you to look in on me," she challenged. "That worrywart!"

Billy smiled sheepishly, as if to say 'guilty as charged'. "I really had intended on stopping by just to see you."

"Well, if you go back to the dojo, you can tell Tommy that between Kat and Connie, I'm in good hands," she assured him. She observed his blank expression when she mentioned Connie's name. Belatedly, she recalled that he hadn't been around when Tommy hired her nurse. "You remember Consuelo DeSantos, Rocky's baby sister."

"Little Connie?" he gulped, stealing an appraising glance at the young woman. When he thought of Rocky's little sister, he thought of a skinny little girl with braces and braids, not the striking beauty before him.

"The same," Connie replied, smiling. She could almost read his thoughts. "I'm not a little kid in pigtails any more."

"So I see."

"Connie is one piece of paper shy of being an RN," Kim supplied.

"Really? Congratulations," he said. "As I recall, you always did ask the most insightful questions."

"And you always provided the most thorough answers," Connie countered.

Kim and Kat traded knowing smiles. Billy had never known, but once upon a time, the youngest DeSantos had a huge crush on him.

"Getting back to the reasons for my visit," Billy said, gathering his wits once more, "I also wanted to see just how much my nephews have grown."

Being the only unmarried member of their circle of friends, Billy took his role as honorary uncle very seriously. He genuinely delighted in the children of his companions.

"You haven't been gone all that long," Kat laughed. Really, he could be as bad as the grandparents!

"Kim, are you okay?" Connie asked suddenly, noticing Kim's pallid face and the puckering of her brow as she placed her hand on her abdomen.

"My stomach's just a little upset," she claimed dismissively.

"Well, Billy, I think you're about to get your wish...."

The words were scarcely out of Kat's mouth when a pair of lively three-year-olds came tearing into the living room. Oliver was trailing a blanket behind him as Jay gave chase.

"Mine, Ah-ver, mine!" Jay shouted. Oliver had absconded with his precious blanket.

"You hide my bear!" Oliver accused in turn, his teddy bear being his most prized possession.

"Boys, that's enough...." Kim raised her voice to be heard above the din while Kat endeavored to catch the rambunctious duo. Oliver dashed around Kim, tangling the blanket about her ankles. Jay sought a shortcut between his mother's legs.

"Boys!" Kim shrieked as she lost her balance.

"Kim!" Billy yelped and quickly grabbed hold of her to keep her from falling.

However, nearly toppling Kim slowed the boys enough to allow Connie to snag Oliver while Kat nabbed Jay.

"Okay, you two...." Kat scolded as the two women returned the hellions to the bedroom.

"Are you all right?" Billy queried as he guided Kim to a chair. Her breathing seemed unusually ragged.

"No, Billy, I don't think I am," she groaned. "I don't think these are false pains."

"All right. Stay calm..." he stammered, momentarily at a loss as to what to do. He had textbook knowledge of how to deliver a child (having looked into the subject three years ago when every female of his circle of friends had been expecting—one never knew when an emergency might arise), but he had never been called up to use it. Now, in the moment of truth, he couldn't remember the information.

"Connie!" Kim called out, her shout cut off by another agonized moan. To Billy, she said, "Help me time my contractions."

Connie came running and found Billy easing Kim to the floor. She sized up the situation immediately.

"Kat, call Dr. Woods," she ordered. Glancing at Billy, she asked, "How far apart are they?"

"Not far. About a minute if I'm timing this correctly," he reported.

"Let's get you to the hospital," Connie decided.

"I'm not having my baby in the car!" Kim gritted out between toe-curling contractions. Lord, but she'd slipped into the late stages of labor faster than she imagined possible!

"You're that close?" Connie gasped. "Kim, how long have you been having contractions?"

"All... morning... thought... false ones... again."

"I'm calling 911," Billy said, snapping open his cell phone. "I think an ambulance might be in order."

"Good idea."

"I've called Tommy, too," Kat said as she joined the trio. "I told him I'd keep my cell phone handy just in case."

"You'd better call someone to watch the kids," Connie suggested. "I'm going to need your help here."

"Right." And Kat was on the phone again.

"Remember your breathing, Kim," Connie instructed, trying to recall everything she'd learned in her obstetrics class. "Has your water broken?"

"... guess so. Thought it was... weak bladder...." Kim let out a pained cry.

"Connie...?" Billy began, his question cut off as Kim squeezed his hand so hard, it felt as if she was crushing the bones.

"Helen's on her way over; she's the only one at home," Kat reported. Thankfully, Jason's parents lived just around the corner.

"I need a sheet or something," Connie ordered. "Kim, we have to get you undressed; I've got to see how far you've dilated."

"Will this do?" Jason's mother asked, announcing her arrival, as she handed the youngest DeSantos the afghan from the couch.

"Fine. Kat, help me get Kim's pants and underwear off."

"Helen, here's my phone in case Tommy calls," Kat instructed.

"Mrs. Scott, see if you can get someone from AG-OB/GYN on the phone; I want a doctor to coach me through this, just in case," Connie requested.

"Use mine," Billy recommended and handed over his cell phone.

"Can I push yet?" Kim panted.

"Hang on, Kim; it's going to be all right," Billy soothed, feeling totally helpless—a condition he had never liked. What good was all his intellect if he couldn't use it to help his friends?

"Like hell it is! I'm having a baby in my living room!" she snapped, groaning. "Where's Tommy? I don't think I can wait for him.... Oh Gooooddddd...!"

~*~

Tommy was presently on Jason's motorcycle tearing down the streets of Angel Grove en route to the hospital. Jason had offered it so he could maneuver through traffic easier.

I am not going to miss my daughter's birth, he repeated over and over. Thus far, he'd been fortunate enough to hit every green light between the dojo and the hospital. However, as he neared the next intersection, his luck changed.

Damn! He skidded to a stop, the smell of burnt rubber filling the air. Sorry 'bout that, Bro.

Why wouldn't the light hurry up? It was taking forever, so Tommy decided to check in with Kat to see how Kim was doing. Thankfully, Rocky had tossed him the cell phone before he'd left the dojo, otherwise he'd have forgotten it—just like he'd forgotten Jason's helmet.

"Kat, how's Kim...?"

"Tommy?"

"Helen?" What was Jason's mother doing with Kat's phone?

"Kim's having the baby now...."

"Is she at the hospital already?" He figured he was closer to the hospital at the dojo than Kim was from home. "Or is she at the doctor's office?"

"She's having it in the living room!"

"Shit!" he swore. Light or no light, he revved the motor and made a u-turn. He'd have to double back.

As he sped along, he heard a siren coming up behind him, loud and fast.

The cops can just follow me home and give me the damned ticket there, he grumbled. Moments later, an ambulance passed him.

Looks like they're going my way.

He floored it, drafting in the wake of the ambulance and followed it all the way home. Somewhere along the way, he thought he'd heard another siren, but he paid it no heed. All that matter was getting to Kim in time.

The rest of the trip passed in a blur, and soon his house was before him. Later, he wouldn't be able to remember parking the bike nor dismounting. He only recalled leaping over Kim's plants and sprinting across the lawn to get to the front door before the paramedics.

"Kim...!" he called out breathlessly, skidding to a stop as he took in the scene: Billy propping Kim up, Connie kneeling between her legs, and Kat with cell phone in hand relaying instructions.

"Tommy...." Kim sobbed, her face lighting up with relief.

"Come on, Kim; another push...." Connie coaxed. "Kat, tell Dr. Woods I can see the crown of the head."

"The ambulance is here," Tommy said as he held Kim's hand and stroked her brow.

"Well... she's not a typical... Oliver...." Kim joked in spite of her overwhelming pain.

The paramedics were coming in the door with their equipment as Connie announced, "Here she comes...."

And Katrina Michelle Oliver made her way into the world....

~*~

"I don't see how Mom managed without an epidural or muscle relaxants," Trini murmured, recalling her own labor. She wouldn't have managed without the pain medication.

"She was lucky she didn't have any complications," Lynne added.

"I can't believe your father tailed an ambulance," Ramon murmured with a shake of his head.

"He was lucky Captain Anderson was in a generous mood that day," Kat said, glancing Tommy's way. "Speeding, no helmet, not to mention the fool stunt of tailgating an ambulance...."

"The ambulance driver had radioed the police that some maniac on a motorcycle was riding their bumper," Tommy related. "Anderson was the one who responded to the call. He was right behind me the whole way home."

"He could have nailed you good," Jay interjected.

"I figured he would, too, but he just gave me a warning and told me that I'd better stick close to home next time my wife was pregnant." Tommy's face grew sad as he made that statement. Kat noticed and caught his hand in hers, offering him comfort.

"Then it's a good thing Aunt Kim didn't have another one," Oliver laughed, unaware of his uncle's reaction.

"She didn't have a choice in the matter, hon," Kat said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked.

"Kim wanted another child, but after Trini, the doctor said that it'd be too risky for her to have any more," Tommy replied.

"Is that why Aunt Kim was almost as bad as you when it came to mothering me?" Jared asked his mom.

"Yes—and you always hated having two mothers," Kat chuckled.

"But there was something good that came out of Trini's bizarro birth," Lynne spoke up, ribbing her sister-in-law.

"That's right! If it weren't for me, Aunt Connie and Uncle Billy wouldn't have gotten together," Trini declared triumphantly.

"Don't tell my dad that," Ramon said. "It still weirds him out that one of his friends married his baby sister."

"I thought he'd gotten over that," Kat sighed.

"Are you kidding? It'll never happen," Tommy laughed.

"I don't get it. I thought Uncle Rocky and Uncle Billy liked each other," Jared said.

"They do. Rocky couldn't have asked for a better husband for his sister—not that he'd ever admit it," Tommy assured him.

"It's a big brother thing," Jay said sagely. "We have to look after our little sisters."

Lynne and Trini burst out laughing.

"That's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said," Trini snorted contemptuously.

"You and Oliver spent years trying to figure out ways to be rid of 'The Pests'," Lynne reminded her husband.

"True, but if anyone else had ever picked on you two, we'd have clobbered them," Oliver said.

"I think we were lucky to have dated at all during high school," Trini realized, turning to Lynne and rolling her eyes. Their brothers seemed to forget that they could more than take care of themselves.

"Rocky just can't get past the ten-year age difference," Kat interjected.

"So that's why Dad calls Uncle Billy a 'dirty old man'," Ramon realized.

"Precisely."

"That's nothing," Rachel interjected with a wry grin. "Your father calls me 'cradle robber'!"

"Well, Jared is four years younger than you," Ramon said pointedly.

"So, I like older women," Jared snickered.

"You and Rachel are good for each other. And now you're going to be parents... my baby's going to be a father...." Kat sniffled.

"Aw, Mom," Jared muttered as he hugged his misty-eyed mother.

"You've started on a whole new adventure," Tommy added. "One that's more fulfilling—and more frustrating—than being a Power Ranger ever was."

"Amen to that!" Ramon murmured, which garnered him a suspicious glance from Trini.

"Well, you guys managed both... you made it seem so easy," Jared remarked. "You guys always seemed to know just what to do...."

"We were lucky," Kat said. "You children were really very good, for the most part."

"For the most part?" Jay challenged.

"Let's just say, you had your moments," Tommy remarked sagely.

Chapter 21: Sibling Rivalry

"Hey, when was that?" Rachel wanted to know as a picture of Jay, Oliver, Lynne and Trini fell into her hands. They had skimmed over quite a number of years in the albums as they were all familiar with the photos from their childhoods. All four were of grade school age and wearing their gis, standing in front of the Red Dragon dojo's back wall in a group of maybe a dozen youngsters. The girls were smiling broadly, proudly displaying certificates which she knew were handed out after a successful belt testing, whereas the two boys were looking rather glum, their certificates rolled up (for Jay) or held carelessly at the side (for Oliver).

"This looks as if you four had just taken a belt test together," she continued. "And why are you guys so bummed? Did you fail?"

That was hardly likely; all the Scott and Oliver children had been taught well by their fathers, and had inherited their talent, even if only Jay and Lynne had chosen to make martial arts their careers; they were managing the Angel Grove dojo now, while Ramon was partners with Rocky in Stone Canyon.

"Of course not," Oliver protested. "I've never failed a belt test in my life!"

"Neither have I," Jay added. Both men were scowling as they glanced briefly at the picture. When it was passed on to Lynne, she started to smirk.

"Oh, I remember this! It was when you guys were both ten, I was eight and Trini seven."

"Ah, that test," Trini grinned. "Oh yeah, it was... memorable, all right!"

"Don't gloat," Kat admonished, remembering as well. "It's as unattractive now as it was then." She shared a tiny smile with Tommy, who was having a hard time controlling his mirth.

"And you can't even say Jason and I didn't warn you guys well ahead of time," he chortled. "It's not something I like to say, but in that case... it served you right!"

Jay and Oliver glowered while their sisters snickered and Ramon's shoulders shook with silent laughter. After all, he'd been there, too... and had mercilessly teased his friends about it for months.

"Okay, color me suitably intrigued," Jasmine declared. "Now I have to know what happened!"

~*~

"There they come," Kat called from the kitchen. She'd just looked out the window and seen Jason's car turn into their street. Quickly, she readied a tray with glasses and two pitchers of iced tea and lemonade, knowing that Jason and Tommy would be as thirsty as the kids.

"About time, too," Kim commented, scooping up Kat's youngest from under the table. Jared complained at being whisked from whatever fascinating discovery he'd made, but a tickle and coo soon had him giggling again. "Attaboy," Kim told him approvingly. "This is one happy child, Kat."

"I know," the blonde smiled. "Much easier to handle than either Oliver or Lynne."

"I'd settle for another hellion," Kimberly sighed a bit sadly. After her daughter's birth, she'd learned that another pregnancy was out of the question for her. But at least she could still share in Kat and Jason's baby... Shaking off the melancholy thought, she smiled and pressed a kiss to Jared's dark-blond hair, then set the small boy down again, watching him toddle off outside to his toy car. Clambering onto the seat, he started scooting around the tiled patio, making 'vroom-vrooming' sounds to himself.

"Looking at him, he should be Tommy's son," Kim laughed. "Racing cars already!"

"Oh, Jason's had his hot-rodding days, too," Kat said dryly. "When I think of how long it took me to make him sell that motorcycle of his... and I bet you anything that Tommy never ruined as many shoes as Jared does with that thing!" Indeed, the small sneakers were extremely scuffed and scratched around the toes.

"Well, no," Kim admitted. "What about those plastic caps..." Whatever else she might have said, though, was cut off by the noisy entrance of their daughters, who rushed into the kitchen, cornered their mothers and excitedly began to babble about their afternoon.

"...and then I did a roundhouse kick, and I hit Liza at the waist, and she kinda stumbled, and then..."

"Mommy, I really, really did well on my kata! Sensei said I did it almost perfectly, and..."

"... then Bobby lost his sparring glove, and can you believe that Nikki actually showed up with a rumpled gi? She got chewed out for that, too, so she lost points, and..."

Over the heads of the girls, Kat and Kim exchanged laughing looks.

"That's very nice, Lynne." Kat tousled the shiny dark curls fondly.

"Mommy, Peggy Miller—you know, one of the big girls—had her hair in a really fancy braid! It was sort of a lot of little braids all took together, and it didn't fall into her eyes at all, and she had purple pearls tied at the ends! It looked so awesome! Can you do my hair like that, too? Pleeeeeeeeaze???" Trini was tugging at her mother's hand.

"I can certainly try, Sweetie," Kim smiled. "But girls—you haven't told us the most important thing yet; did you pass?"

"Of COURSE!" both girls chorused, fairly bouncing with excitement.

"We even jumped a grade!" Lynne shouted, escaping from Kat's reach and doing a little dance around the kitchen table.

"Yeah—Uncle Rocky said Sensei said we were the best karateka he's ever seen!"

"Really?" Kim tried to arrange her face into suitably awed lines; it was hard, when all she wanted was to hug her daughter to pieces. She so loved to see her happy and excited like this, her brown eyes sparkling and her delicate features aglow with pride at her accomplishment. Trini nodded eagerly.

"Uh huh. Lynne and I got to show how we spar together, and that's why we got promoted!"

"That's terrific! Congratulations! And I think it's only fair that for such a success you two get double scoops of Rocky Road for dessert, isn't that right, Kim?"

"Absolutely."

"YAY!!"

Both girls hugged each other with glee.

"Rocky Road is my top favorite ice cream ever!" Lynne beamed. "Wait till the guys hear that!"

"Speaking of the boys, where are they?" Kat wanted to know, having missed the usual sounds of homecoming over the girls' chatter.

"Dunno," Trini shrugged, trying not very hard to conceal a smirk, which was shared by Lynne—who suddenly had a positively unholy gleam in her blue eyes.

"They are such slowpokes!"

"Lynne!" Kat admonished gently. "You know you're not supposed to call your brother names!"

"Sorry," the eight-year-old said, not sounding terribly sincere. Her mother had to hide a grin when she could clearly hear her daughter mutter to her friend. "They are, though."

Kimberly, too, had trouble controlling her laughter. The four really were the best of friends, despite appearances, and woe to any outsider who dared diss the boys' sisters. That chivalry, however, did not extend to their private dealings. Better to distract them before things devolved into shouting matches or tantrums. Or a quadruple fit of the sullens. "Have some lemonade, girls. Surely you must be thirsty?"

"Am I ever!"

"Thanks, Aunt Kim!"

Eagerly, the two scampered to the table and watched her pour the cool drinks. Just then, the kitchen door opened to admit Jason and Tommy, trailed by their rather sulky-looking sons. Both men made beelines for their wives, greeting them with hugs and unhurried kisses.

"How did things go? We already heard from the girls that they passed the test," Kat smiled into Jason's dark eyes.

"It was hard to miss, they were practically shouting it from the rooftop," Kimberly grinned, snuggling into Tommy's arms. "Did they really skip a grade?"

"They sure did—both of them," the proud father confirmed. "For their age, they're exceptionally good."

Jason nodded. "Even the independent tester from the California Karate Association said so."

"Wow."

"They had good teachers—the best," Kat said loyally, complimenting Jason, Tommy and the absent Rocky. "Then again, they come by their talent honestly—and I know it's not from me."

"Hey, you used to be a pretty good fighter, considering you started at a pretty old age," Tommy soothed.

"Gee, thanks, Mr. Gallant. Seventeen is 'old'?"

Jason snickered when his best bud blushed and barely managed to dodge his wife's sharp elbow.

"Sorry, Kat," he apologized. "I didn't mean it like that."

She was about to answer him, when her attention was diverted by a scuffle at the table. The two boys, who had said nothing but mumbled greetings since entering the kitchen, were both trying to get the pitcher of lemonade away from Lynne, who was in the process of refilling Trini's and her glass. Naturally, the sweet liquid sloshed over and made a mess on the wooden surface and floor.

"Mom! Look what Oliver made me do," she exclaimed, rightfully indignant, then whirled on her older brother. "You jerk!"

"Lynne!"

"Well, he is! Jay, too! I didn't make that mess on purpose!"

"Yeah, it's all their fault, Aunt Kat," Trini added with a holier-than-thou expression that had both mothers instantly suspicious.

"Oh? And you're absolutely sure you two had nothing to do with it?" Kim asked, fixing her daughter with a glare. "Boys? What happened here?"

Jay scowled at his sister, but only shrugged. Oliver looked mutinous, but grudgingly accepted the sponge and cloth Kat handed him and started to mop up the dripping lemonade. As he hunkered down to wipe the puddle on the floor, he mumbled something mostly unintelligible, but clearly uncomplimentary about his sister. The word 'pest' featured strongly in it.

"What was that, young man? Repeat that, please," Kat asked, deceptively gently. The boy blushed as he straightened; he knew better than to disobey that particular tone.

"I said, Lynne is being a pest again."

Which of course was heavily edited, but Oliver knew exactly what would happen to him if he quoted himself verbatim. To avert the worst consequences, he busied himself with putting the cleaning utensils away again into their proper place under the sink—something he rarely did without being told. Much to his relief, his mother let it slide... mostly.

"You know you are not to call your sister names. Please apologize."

"Yes'm," he muttered. Then, he turned to Lynne, a wicked gleam suddenly appearing in his dark eyes. "I'm sorry you're a pest."

"MOM!" Lynne howled in outraged protest.

"Oliver William Scott...!!!" Kat took a step closer, hand raised in warning, but the boy had already dashed out of the kitchen, his best friend in tow. In the doorway, Jay paused, looked over his shoulder and stuck out his tongue at Trini.

"You're a pest, too, and I'm totally sorry about that!" Then, he prudently vanished after Oliver.

Trini stared after him, then at her mother, lips trembling, but a soothing pat on her head and a smile stopped the threatening tears before they could overflow. She leaned briefly against Kim's waist, enjoying the loving caress. Kim opened her mouth, but couldn't produce a single coherent sound. Clearly torn between laughter and exasperation, she shook her head. "Really, those two are too much sometimes! It's moments like this I'm glad I have only two kids, not a whole bunch like Rocky!"

Jason laughed. "Sarah, and most of all Mama DeSantos, would read Ramon the riot act but good if he ever dared talk to his sisters like that!"

"I think the girls can handle their baby brother quite well on their own," Tommy remarked dryly, mouth quivering with suppressed mirth. "There are certain disadvantages to being the youngest, and the only boy in the family."

"I guess," Kat said somewhat dubiously, sending the girls out into the garden with napkins and plastic plates. "But today they seem worse than usual; did something happen at the dojo?"

"The boys didn't fail their test, did they?" Kimberly asked.

"No, they passed alright," Tommy said. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say they're pis- uh, miffed that their baby sisters jumped a grade and they didn't."

"Ah," Katherine nodded sagely. "That would explain a lot." She opened the refrigerator and took out a bowl of potato salad and some pickles, handing them to her husband. "Take these out onto the patio, please?"

"Sure."

Tommy's hands were filled with a basket of warmed buns and several bottles of condiments while Kim and Kat quickly put a small mountain of hot dogs onto a serving platter. Within minutes, the foursome had everything arranged on the table, and everybody sat down to enjoy their meal. Even the children were quiet as they hungrily devoured their food. Naturally, the boys got double scoops of dessert as well, to honor their accomplishment. However, when the adults sat back with satisfied sighs to enjoy a wine cooler in peace now that the baby was safely abed and the sun was slowly setting, the kids retreated to the back of the garden... and the bickering started again.

Jason listened with half an ear to the children while trying to follow the story Kat was telling about her advanced ballet class. He chuckled dutifully in all the right places, but it was obvious that his attention was mainly engaged elsewhere. Tommy had to call his name twice before he reacted.

"Hey Bro, are you listening?"

"Huh?" Jason started, recollected himself, then smiled apologetically at his wife and guests. "I'm sorry, guys, but I think I need to prevent World War Three before we continue." He gestured towards the lawn, where the girls' voices were getting progressively louder and their older brothers had adopted rather aggressive postures.

"Uh-oh," Tommy murmured, preparing to intervene. He knew the danger signs only too well. Both men slowly got to their feet.

The two couples inhaled a collective shocked breath when Oliver shoved his sister, making her stumble backwards a little. Lynne, whose temper was generally more even than her brother's but who wouldn't take guff from anyone, raised her hands in a classic fighting stance, glaring belligerently at Oliver.

"You wanna fight? Come on! I'm not afraid of you!"

"Yeah, me, too!" Loyal as always, Trini stood next to her best friend, challenging Jay with much the same expression.

Jay scowled and raised his own fists.

Before things got any more out of hand, though, the impending scuffle was broken up by two pairs of strong hands on narrow shoulders.

"That's quite enough," Tommy said sternly. "Stop it, all four of you!"

Lynne reluctantly relaxed under Jason's firm grip. "He started it," she muttered angrily, jerking her chin at Oliver.

"Did not!"

"Did, too!"

"I said, enough!" Tommy repeated, slightly louder. Sharing a look, the two friends marched their offspring towards their disapproving-looking mothers. The girls would have fled into their embrace, but identical glances from crystal blue and doe brown eyes showed them that this time, they wouldn't find shelter there from paternal wrath. Sullenly they stood before their parents, heads lowered. The boys also kept quiet, but were fidgeting badly, their guilty consciences plain to see on the youthful faces.

Jason sat down next to Kat again. Taking his time, he sipped from his glass, letting the kids stew a little. When all four looked about ready to erupt into tears, he spoke at last.

"Okay, I guess I don't need to tell you that behaviour like that is unacceptable, right?"

A chorus of "No sirs" answered him.

"Well—then what happened out there? Why were you about to fight?"

The kids looked at each other from under lowered lids, shuffling their feet, but would only offer embarrassed shrugs.

"Nuthin'," Oliver mumbled at last.

"That's not what I saw," Jason said sternly. "You don't push your sister for 'nothing'."

The boy blushed.

"Again, what happened? Speak up, son." While said quietly, there was a note in his father's voice Oliver didn't dare disobey. Swallowing hard, he began to talk.

"I... I didn't mean to fight with Lynne, Dad, but... but she was teasing me something awful. Said I was a dunce for not jumping a grade like she did, and that she was much better at karate than I am."

Jason looked at his daughter. "Lynne? Is that true?"

She nodded reluctantly. "But Oliver said that Sensei Tsukuba only promoted us 'cause we're smaller than him and Jay, and 'cause we're girls, not because we really were that good, and that's just not true! Or is it?" she wanted to know in a very small voice.

"Of course not," Tommy answered. "You earned your belt colors fair and square. And I assume that something similar happened between you and Trini?" he addressed his own son.

"Yes, Dad." Jay hung his head. Now that the heat of the moment had passed, and under the disapproving eyes of his parents, he was beginning to see how badly they'd behaved—all four of them. "I'm sorry," he murmured at Trini, sounding as if he really meant it. "You're not really a stinky shrimp."

"Me, too," his petite sister replied promptly, reaching for his hand and giving it a squeeze. For all her fierceness when roused she was too soft-hearted to want to see her big brother in trouble. "I'm sorry, Jay. I promise I won't call you an eegertissical twerp again," she said earnestly.

"Guess you're not a stupid airhead, either," Oliver offered his sister grudgingly.

"Okay, then I'll take back the show-off jerk," Lynne said, perfectly amiably.

Kat almost choked on her drink and hid her spontaneous laughter behind a small cough. Kim covered her face with both hands, shoulders shaking. Jason closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over his chin, conveniently obscuring his twitching lips while Tommy leaned back in his chair, raised his face to the sky and counted silently to twenty. When he had his features under control again, he fixed the four youngsters with what he hoped was a suitably stern glance.

"I do not want any one of you to use such language towards each other again, you hear me?"

"Yes, Dad," the Oliver children said in unison. That tone and look were quite familiar to them; both meant they better shape up, or else.

Even Lynne and Oliver chimed in with "Yes, Uncle Tommy." They knew from experience that in certain matters, like good manners, general behaviour and schoolwork, it made no difference who took them to task—their own parents, or Uncle Tommy and Aunt Kim.

"Apart from your fighting skills, what is it that karate teaches us?"

As if he were in class, Jay's hand shot up. On receiving an encouraging nod, he rattled off: "Courage, kindness, loyalty, discipline, fitness and integrity."

Kim had to grin at a sudden memory. "He sounds like Billy in the first karate lesson he took from Jase," she whispered to Kat. "He didn't do awfully well at the exercises, but he had the theory down pat!" Her friend smiled back.

"Yes, he would've had no trouble memorizing that." Both women then turned their attention back to the others, watching with interest how the fathers handled their wayward offspring.

Without being asked, Oliver piped up next. "We also learn dedication, honor and respect."

"Exactly," Tommy said approvingly. Then, he looked serious again. "But can you also tell me which of these things you guys haven't shown towards each other today?"

There was a brief silence as the kids thought hard about the question. To the adults' satisfaction, cheeks began to redden with embarrassment as the answer occurred to them one after the other.

"I... I guess we weren't very kind," Lynne admitted timidly. "Or respectful."

"No, you weren't. Not you girls when you gloated over your brothers, nor you boys when you tried to get back at them by using your greater strength, size and experience," Jason said evenly. "That's what bullies do—and that's not something I ever want to think of you two." He paused, then spoke to the girls again. "Lynne, Trini... you have every right to be proud of your accomplishments, because you did show great dedication and discipline in your belt test, but to boast of it the way you did... that wasn't very nice at all. I expected much better of you."

A big, fat tear rolled down from Trini's eyes. As the youngest, she was very sensitive to getting scolded—especially when it came from her Dad or her Uncle Jason, both of whom she fairly idolized.

"I'm s-sorry," she sniffled.

"Me, too, Dad," Lynne gulped. The girl very much wanted to climb on her adored father's lap, to cuddle in his arms and feel safe and loved, but right now she didn't dare—not before she wasn't officially forgiven. "I won't do it ever again," she promised fervently.

Jason and Tommy shared a glance over their daughters' heads. "No, I don't think you will," Jason murmured gently, reaching out and drawing both girls towards him. Giving them simultaneous one-armed hugs and a kiss on each smooth brow, he raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to see you behave like that again, you hear me?"

"We won't, Uncle Jason," Trini smiled through her tears, and Lynne finally gave in to her need and burrowed into her father's broad chest for a few seconds, relishing the warmth of his embrace.

"Don't be mad anymore, Daddy," she whispered, suddenly feeling very small.

Jason tousled his daughter's dark curls. Tommy beckoned Trini over for her own hug, and the two men held the little girls securely for several moments.

"I'm not mad, baby," Jason murmured. "Just a little disappointed in you. But I know you've learned your lesson, haven't you?"

Lynne nodded, scrubbing at her cheeks. "Yes, Dad." She was about to say more, but all of a sudden the day's excitement caught up with her, and her words turned into a huge yawn. She felt more than heard her father's chuckle rumble through him.

"I think it's bedtime for you, Miss," Jason smiled, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. The blue pools, so like Kat's, looked mutinous for a second, but it was more on general principle than anything else. He winked at his daughter, kissed her cheek and sent her off to Kat with a playful swat to her jeans-clad bottom that didn't hurt at all.

"Say goodnight to everybody, get ready for bed and I'll be up to tuck you in," he ordered.

"Yes, Dad," Lynne sighed, letting herself be drawn into a gentle hug by Kat. Her mother kissed her, too.

"Would it be nicer for you to go to bed now if Trini stayed over tonight?" Kat asked, communicating with Kim via a quick, silent glance. The couples had discussed a sleepover as a reward for the children earlier that day.

The little girl brightened, even though she had to yawn again. "Yes, please!"

"Then off you go." Quick goodnights and thank-yous were exchanged all round, and two weary children trudged off to Lynne's bedroom on the first floor.

When they were out of earshot, Tommy cleared his throat and summoned the fidgeting boys who'd been waiting a little ways off towards him with a single gesture. He knew they'd secretly hoped that they'd be forgotten or let off the hook at least, but their behaviour had been as unacceptable as their sisters', and needed to be dealt with. He hid a grin as he watched them scuffle forward, not looking up, hands twitching to be hidden in pockets.

"Well?" Tommy said evenly.

The boys exchanged a puzzled look, then snuck a peek at Tommy's face. Oliver mouthed a silent "huh?" towards his best buddy, who answered with a minute shrug and headshake. At last, Jay raised confused eyes towards his father. "Um, well what, Dad?"

"Your sisters just admitted that they've broken the rules of kindness and respect. What have you got to say for yourselves?"

Oliver gulped. "I... I guess we did, too," he mumbled. "The not being kind and respectful thing, I mean."

"That's right. Can you also tell me how?"

Jay sighed. He knew why his dad was insisting on having them figure out what they'd done wrong—that way, they'd remember it better—but it was still a total pain. Of course he couldn't ever say that... then he'd be in real trouble! He tried to wrap his mind around the question.

"Um... we shouldn't have called the girls names?" he ventured at last. "That wasn't kind."

"That's only part of it, Jay," Jason interjected. "But there's more to it than that."

"If they hadn't rubbed it in so much that they jumped a grade and we didn't, we wouldn't have," Oliver grumbled, unable to hold the comment back.

"Ah. I think now we're getting closer to what's really bothering you," Tommy said, nodding knowledgeably. He'd suspected something like this from the start. "It's not really the fact that Lynne and Trini were proud of what they did and let you know it, but...?"

"Why did they move ahead and we didn't? It's not fair," Jay blurted. "We performed our katas as well as they did, and we sparred well, too! I know we didn't make any mistakes!"

"That's not the point, boys," Jason sighed. "Yes, you did everything right, and there's no question that you earned your new belts. But, your sisters took that extra step, worked a little harder, put just a little more into their efforts than you two did—and that is why Sensei Tsukuba awarded them the higher belt. It's a reward for them, not a slight against you."

"Yeah, but... I want to jump a grade, too," Oliver muttered. He knew, deep down, that he was simply jealous, but he'd rather die before admitting it to his father.

"Oh? Then why didn't you train as hard as your sister? I seem to remember a time or two when Lynne and Trini would practice at the dojo when you guys preferred to hang out in the park instead... you could easily have come with them, couldn't you? In fact, I'm pretty sure I invited you explicitly to come along, to train with the older kids."

"Er, uh... yeah, I guess," the dark-haired boy, a spitting image of Jason at the same age, mumbled. He lowered his head to hide his embarrassed blush. His best buddy did the same.

"Is that all there is to it? You are jealous of your sisters?" Tommy wanted to know. "Because if it is, I'm very disappointed in you guys. I'd have thought you'd be proud of them instead!"

Two dark heads jerked up at that notion, eyes wide with surprise. Clearly, that hadn't occurred to either boy. "Huh?" they chorused.

"Think about it," Jason suggested. "How many kids do you know whose younger sisters are so good at karate—or any sport, for that matter? And it should be a relief for you to know that both Lynne and Trini can take care of themselves if someone should try and bully them."

Jay bit his lip reflectively, chewing that over. Then he addressed Oliver. "Yeah... remember how Bobby Parkinson's little sister always comes whining to him when an older kid tells her to bug off during recess? He always has to go help her... "

"And we never have to," Oliver nodded. "I guess they do know how to handle stuff."

"And isn't that something to be proud of?" Tommy asked. "Or would you prefer it differently?"

"No!" Jay exclaimed, horrified at the mere thought. "It's enough that the other kids always tell us what they are up to..."

"Yeah. I can't wait to go to Junior High—no more baby sisters for two years," Oliver added innocently. "It's such a pain when all the teachers compare you to her, how her homework is always so much neater than mine... oops!" He swallowed hard. That hadn't been supposed to slip out!

Jason bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. Even so, he hoped the kids wouldn't catch the amused wobble in his voice. "It sounds to me as if we'll have to have a talk soon about your attitude towards schoolwork in general, young man."

"Yes, sir," the boy sighed.

"Not tonight, though; tomorrow's time enough. Now off to bed with you two."

"But Dad, it's Saturday," Oliver protested. "And only half past eight! We always stay up longer!"

"Yeah, going to bed now is for babies," Jay scoffed indignantly. "We're ten!"

"You think you have deserved a later curfew today, after the way you behaved?"

Jay gulped and darted a quick glance at his father. "Uh..."

"Don't push it, Jay," Tommy warned. "Or I'll rethink my decision not to punish you any further."

Oliver nudged his friend. "C'mon. I'll show you this neat new game I got." It wasn't the energetic fun they were used to having on sleepovers, but right now it was better than nothing—and it certainly beat a harsher punishment!

"Lights out in half an hour. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Sure, Uncle Jase."

Jason grinned and ruffled both boys' hair. "Good night then. Sleep well."

"Night..."

The boys, too, collected their nightly hugs, although they declined their mothers' kisses, then marched off, already squabbling amicably over who got to sleep on the top bunk. The four friends watched them go, but dared not give in to their laughter until they heard the door to Oliver's room fall into the lock.

"'Stinky shrimp'?" Kim giggled. "Where in the world did Jay pick that up?"

"Beats me," Tommy grinned. "Probably the same place Oliver got 'stupid airhead'!"

"I really liked Trini's word—'eegertissical'," Jason chuckled. "Even if it took me a second to translate."

~*~

"At least I knew where you'd heard 'show-off jerk'," Kat smiled at her grinning daughter. "It was on that TV show you liked to watch at the time, wasn't it? That teenage sitcom?"

"Oh god, yes," Lynne groaned. "What was it called again... oh, I have it: 'Malory Towers'! One of the main characters was always saying it to the guy she was secretly in love with..."

"It had the most aggravating theme music; whenever it was on TV, I couldn't get rid of the tune for hours," her mother complained, scowling when Lynne cheekily hummed a few bars of the old melody. "Thanks a lot!"

"That's what Jase and I wanted to say to you and Kim that night," Tommy commented, still caught up in the memory. "You two left us pretty much hanging, with stopping this lot from fighting and everything!"

"Oh, but you were both doing so well," Kat said ingeniously, a twinkle in her blue eyes. "Being the stern patriarchs..." She snickered when her fiancé glared at her.

"Hmph."

Through the general laughter, Trini looked up at Tommy. "Actually, Dad, it made a much bigger impression on me that you were the one calling me on the carpet for once—usually it was Mom."

Sounds of agreement came from both her brother and the Oliver siblings.

"You make it sound as if I never disciplined you," Tommy protested. "I know I did..."

"Yeah, for the really big stuff, like that time when we got caught TP'ing the football coach's car," Jay said. "But Trini's right, Mom was the one who dealt with the ordinary, day-to-day stuff, like name-calling, homework not done and so on."

"That's how you and Dad handled things, too, right Mom?" Lynne asked Kat.

"It just worked out that way," she shrugged. "Initially, we'd intended to share the 'bringing up' equally, but..."

"That sounds like something right out of 'Anne of Green Gables', Aunt Kat," Rachel smiled. "Only, I really can't see you as Marilla; you're not stern enough."

The men looked rather puzzled at the reference; they had never read the classic novels. But it was forgotten with Jasmine's next question, directed at her husband.

"So, did you ever jump a grade in karate?"

She got her answer almost immediately in Lynne and Trini's wicked chuckles.

"No, I didn't," Oliver groused, "and neither did Jay. That's one thing you pests always had over us." The look he gave his sister and her friend was supposed to be reproachful, but he couldn't hide the deep affection he held for both. Nor did he really want to; normal sibling spats notwithstanding, the Oliver and Scott children loved each other as much as their parents ever did.

"Aww. Will you ever forgive us?" Trini simpered at her childhood friend with false sweetness, but the laughter changed to good-natured groans when Jay tilted up Lynne's chin and kissed her gently.

"I know I've forgiven you at least," he murmured to his wife. To his sister, he only said, "and if you think I'll ever forget how you continued to rub it in for the next six months at least, you have another think coming! Stinky shrimp," he added, winking merrily.

"Why, you...!" Trini sputtered, but found herself restrained from committing major mayhem on her brother by Ramon, who could barely control his mirth. That was one nickname he'd have to remember; his wife was sometimes so easy to tease... and he so loved the reconciliation part!

"Whoa, easy, easy, you two! Take your fights to the dojo if you must; we can't afford to replace Lynne's furniture!"

"Now I know what I miss about not living at home," Jared commented to Rachel under his breath. "My sibs fighting with the Oliver kids. I feel like I'm in preschool all over again."

Kat and Tommy exchanged a long look and shared a wry smile. Really, in moments like this it was hard to remember that their children were supposedly mature, responsible adults by now. Shaking her head in fond exasperation, Kat reached for her coffee cup to take a sip while Tommy tucked the picture that had started it all back into its proper place. Raising his voice slightly to be heard over the general din, he turned the scrapbook's page.

"Why don't we go on to the next photograph?"

Prologue
Section 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7