Seasons To Remember
by Dagmar Buse and Cheryl Roberts

Chapter 26: The Healing Touch

"That's a very nice thought," Kat murmured as Tommy finished. "I like the idea of our loved ones watching out for each other—and us—wherever they are now. Waiting for us."

The others nodded pensively, giving soft assent. Then, Jay spoke up. His voice was hesitant, but while he was genuinely glad for his father and mother-in-law and their engagement, there was something that niggled at his mind.

"Please don't get me wrong, Dad, but... how come you got over Mom's death so quickly, to the extent that you've asked Aunt Kat to marry you? I mean, Uncle Jason's been gone for nineteen years; compared to that, three years seem like a relatively short time..."

"Are you implying I loved your mother less than Kat loved Jason?" Tommy bristled, aware that it was a legitimate question... and also one he'd asked himself when he'd felt his feelings for Katherine deepen.

"No! Not at all; I'm sorry if I gave that impression. I know how much you cared for Mom," his son hastened to reassure him. "But still... Aunt Kat loved Uncle Jase just as much, and she never looked at another guy until now. Why could you do it? I'd really like to know," he added, floundering a little. The very last thing he wanted to do was cause his father more pain than what remembering that sad time had already done.

Seeing that Tommy was momentarily at a loss for words, Kat decided to come to his help. After all, it was something they had discussed before, when they were deciding on how to break the happy news to their family.

"Our situations were rather different, Jay," she said gently. "Just think—aside from the fact that you had at least some warning due to Kim's illness, some time to anticipate the worst—when Jason died so unexpectedly in that accident, Oliver and Lynne were still in high school, Jared in 5^th grade and I was working full time. To be blunt, I was far too busy to rearrange our lives, to make sure that I could send all of my children to college the way Jason and I had planned, to find the funds for Jared's skating lessons, to just go on... there simply was no time for anything, or anyone else. Not that I wanted it differently."

"Whereas my house was empty when Kim left," Tommy added, giving her a grateful look. "You guys were married, I hadn't turned over most of the running of the dojo to you just to butt in again... I guess in a way I felt it more immediately than Kat, that I'd lost my purpose."

Trini nodded. "I can see that. I know it helped me to get over losing Mom that I had my children and my job to keep me busy."

"Exactly. I had neither anymore. And even I could see after a while that it did no good to let myself go all to pieces," Tommy reflected. "But it took Kat's healing touch—again—to show me that there were still things worth living for... like friends, and family. Even if Kim was no longer around to share them with me."

"And everybody has to work through their grief at their own pace," Kat added. "For some, it happens sooner, for others later. That doesn't mean the feelings are any less deep."

"When did things start to change for you guys anyway?" Jasmine asked. "I mean, we all noticed that the two of you started spending more time together since last year, but you could still have knocked me over with a feather earlier tonight when you told us."

The newly-engaged couple shared a look.

"Good question," Tommy grinned somewhat sheepishly. "I don't exactly remember..."

"Now that's a surprise," Kat mock-pouted to the children's snickers, but obligingly cast her mind back. "I believe it was mid-autumn or so a year ago..."

~*~

Dusk was falling when Kat wandered slowly across the cemetery, back towards her car. She'd visited Jason's grave again, as she usually did once a week. It was a dear habit she'd fallen into over the years; it eased her ever-present grief without opening the wound anew, as it had in the beginning. Besides, it was pleasant exercise; in walking the well-maintained paths she could indulge her memories, whereas doing the same in the park, where all of them had spent so much time together (first as teens, then as a young family) served only to remind her of what she'd lost. On her way, she swung by Trini's grave—not that she'd ever known the first Yellow Ranger well, but it didn't seem right somehow not to pay her respect as long as she was there anyway. And in a weird way, it felt as if she was carrying greetings from Jason to his childhood friend... which seemed to keep his memory that much more alive.

Her meanderings in the general direction of the exit also led her past Kimberly's grave, and it was the last stop she intended to make before going home to the dish she had in the oven and maybe a glass of wine in front of the TV, or a good book and some music to pass the evening. However, when she turned the bend in the path, she saw a solitary figure kneeling in front of the pink marble headstone, grey head bowed. Tommy.

Heart aching with sympathy, Kat slowly approached her still-grieving friend. She could see from the slight tensing in his back muscles that he was aware of her presence, but waited patiently until he chose to acknowledge her. During the five minutes or so that took, Kat silently said her hellos to another dead friend. At last, Tommy got somewhat stiffly to his knees and looked at her.

"Hi," he murmured woodenly.

"Hello, Tommy," Kat replied warmly, stepping up close and slipping an arm through his. She squeezed his wrist in mute comfort, knowing from her own experience years ago that such a simple touch would say more than a hundred words. As if to confirm that, she could feel Tommy shudder once. His voice was hoarse when he spoke.

"When does the pain go away, Kat? It's been two years since she left me, and it still hurts as much as if it was only yesterday..."

She sighed. "It never really does, I'm afraid. Jason's been gone for eighteen years now, and there are still moments when I could burst into tears, I miss him so much." She patted Tommy's hand. "But if it helps any... eventually, the pain gets... less. It won't be the all-consuming thing it is in the beginning, even though it'll always stay at the back of your mind."

He shook his head despairingly. "I feel so lost without Kim... and it's not just because of the little daily stuff she usually took care of, like cooking, doing the laundry and so on. I miss her laughter, the way she would rant at small things... her presence, her companionship. Everything."

"I understand, Tommy." Oh, how well she did! It was a feeling that hadn't left Kat ever since that day in the summer of 2025—when her world collapsed in a fiery car wreck.

The tall man finally looked at her. "Yes, you would, wouldn't you," he sighed. "I thought I understood what you were going through when Jase died. I was wrong; I didn't."

"I think only someone who's also lost a spouse can," Kat replied wistfully. "It's bad enough to lose parents to age or sickness, but I believe the only thing worse would be to lose one's child." That, thankfully, was something nobody in their circle of friends and family had ever had to suffer.

"I guess." Shaking his head again sadly, Tommy touched Kim's headstone in a near-caress—the way he used to stroke her hair. "Good-bye, Beautiful," he murmured. "Until next time."

Forcing a smile he didn't really feel, he offered his arm to Kat. "Let's go, please? I hate to leave, but if I don't I'll get depressed all over again."

"Kim wouldn't have wanted that," Kat agreed, falling into step with Tommy. As they walked slowly towards the car park past trees which had already begun to shed their leaves, she unobtrusively gave him a once-over. He looked reasonably presentable, even if his shirt probably hadn't seen an ironing board in quite some time. He was clean-shaven and his hair, still worn longish, was only ruffled from the autumn wind, not shaggy and unkempt as it had been in the first weeks after Kim's death. Seems he is finally on the mend... a little, anyway! For a while, their friends, children and she had feared for Tommy's sanity when he had realized that his beloved wife had slipped from sleep into something far more final in his arms without him noticing—he'd dozed right next to her on her hospital bed, after all.

Although... was it her imagination, or had he lost weight? Tommy had always been lean, and over time he'd lost the haggardness caused by his grief, but somehow Kat doubted that he was eating the healthy, balanced meals Kim had insisted on—nor much at all.

She knew only too well how easy it was to consider food as nothing but a pesky chore when one had to eat alone. But what could she do? He could certainly afford to eat out, or have meals delivered to his house... which didn't solve the problem of Tommy being by himself, though. Lynne had repeatedly offered to cook for her father-in-law, but ever-chivalrous Tommy didn't want to impose too much. Kat was still thinking about the problem when they reached her car and Tommy held open the door for her.

"Do you need a ride? I don't mind going by your house, unless you want to go elsewhere," she offered.

Tommy smiled briefly. "No thanks. Where would I go all by myself, anyway? Walking home will take care of at least part of the evening."

And it was ghastly to return to an empty house that once had been filled with love and warmth. At least Katherine had had her children to come home to, but Jay and Trini were both married, with lives of their own. Suddenly, it was as if Kimberly's voice floated to Kat through years gone by—the last time Kat had spoken to her, the day before she'd died.

"Promise me, Kat, that if anything happens to me, you'll look after Tommy for me. He's going to need help, and you're the only one I trust to do the job right."

Naturally, she had promised, and it was that memory as much as her natural compassion and affection for a friend which finally presented a solution. Impulsively reaching for Tommy's hand, she smiled at him.

"Say... you like lasagna, don't you?"

"Er, yes... why?"

"Because I have a whole fresh panful baking in the oven; it should be ready just about when I get home. You're welcome to share it."

The offer was tempting. Very much so. Still, Tommy declined.

"I can't eat half of your dinner, Kat," he protested.

"You wouldn't be," she encouraged. "You see, I usually prepare a large portion and freeze what I don't eat right away. It won't matter if I freeze only three containers instead of four."

"Kim used to do the same," he reflected automatically.

"I know. I even used her recipe today," Kat replied, warming to her idea. "I just hate the thought of you sitting all by yourself with takeout or a TV dinner when you could be more comfortable at my place. And I'd really like some company myself; days like this always make me feel a little maudlin."

The longing in the brown eyes was unmistakeable—as was the indecision haunting Tommy's features. He was clearly torn between a quite natural desire for companionship and what he thought he should be doing instead—namely, grieving in stoic isolation. Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu steal over her, the slender dancer gestured towards the passenger seat.

I've seen that look on him before... now if I could only remember where, or when...

Then it came to her. He'd looked just as forlorn right after Kim had sent him the letter, when he'd thought his friends wouldn't notice. Of course they all had, and as then, Kat was filled with the desire to help Tommy.

"Please, Tommy? I'm only asking you to share a perfectly ordinary dinner with an old friend, not to sit down to one of Rita's banquets," she coaxed with a tiny grin. The two of them had often taken a perverse delight in grossing out their friends by describing in great detail the so-called 'delicacies' their former nemesis used to consume with her henchmen.

"Eww," he shuddered dramatically, but had to smile at last, despite himself. "I would start running right now if I didn't know what a good cook you are," he mock-glared.

"Does that mean you'll come?" she asked, finding herself eager all of a sudden. "I think I may even have left a half bottle of that merlot you like so much."

"In that case, how can I say no?" Tommy capitulated graciously. In fact, he was beginning to look forward to a home-cooked meal, and maybe some quiet time afterwards, spent with a good friend—one who wouldn't mind if he frequently reminisced about his dead wife. He got into the car without further ado. As he was fastening his seatbelt, he looked gratefully at his smiling companion.

"Thanks, Kat. I really appreciate you doing me this favor."

She shot him a sideways glance as she started the engine and smoothly reversed out of her parking spot. "You're welcome. I'm doing it for myself as much as for you." And for Kim.

~*~

Kat's lasagna was done to perfection soon after the two arrived at the Scott residence; the tasty smell filling the air made Tommy's mouth water the minute he entered the cheery hallway. Kat had left a small lamp burning, so it was a far more welcoming thing to come home to than his own dark house would have been.

I've got to remember that, he thought while he took care of their coats. It's such a simple thing, and it makes such a big difference!

Kat sent him on to set two places at the dining table while she checked the food and took the promised merlot out of the pantry. Tommy knew his way around her cabinets, so it didn't take him long to place plates and cutlery, and find two plain wineglasses. He was hunting for paper napkins in a chest-of-drawers when his hostess peered out of the kitchen.

"Bottom left," Kat told him with a smile, and quickly added colorful place mats, a potted African violet and a fat candle to the table, turning the setting from merely functional into something pretty and welcoming. It was very much like what Kim would have done, Tommy realized with a nostalgic pang, and what was so sorely missing in his life now. A woman's touch.

Before he could wallow in misery again, however, Kat came back from the kitchen, a steaming pan of lasagna in her oven-mittened hands. Deftly, she placed it on a protective pad and sat down, reaching for a knife and spatula.

"Will you pour the wine, please?"

Where had the bottle come from? Kat must have brought it in without him noticing. Blushing sheepishly, Tommy complied, filling both glasses with the ruby liquid. As soon as he was done, he found himself sitting behind a plate that held a generous portion of succulent pasta, meat, tomatoes and some white sauce he knew he liked but couldn't name. The cheese crust on top was browned to perfection, and just looking at it, inhaling the aroma, gave Tommy an appetite he'd thought he'd lost.

At a loss for words with sudden gratitude, he raised his glass. "Thank you, Kat," he said softly, toasting her.

She laughed as she reached for her fork. "Don't thank me before you've tasted it," she cautioned. "Jason and the kids always loved lots of garlic; I'm not sure whether that's to your liking."

"I'm sure it is. And if not... well, at least I won't have to be afraid of vampires attacking me tonight," he teased back, past the sudden lump in his throat. To think he'd almost turned the invitation down... when even after barely thirty minutes spent in Kat's company, in her cosy home, he felt better than he had in far too long. And nobody was more surprised than Tommy himself when Kat's reaction to his remark called forth his first genuine, unforced laugh since Kimberly's death.

For elegant, demure, ladylike Katherine Hillard Scott stuck out her tongue at him and blew a loud raspberry before grinning like a girl a third her age and blithely started to eat.

Later, the dishes cleared away and leftovers waiting to be put into the freezer, the two sat before the fireplace, sharing the last of the merlot. Kat had carried the candle from the dining table to the mantelpiece, and listened to her friend ramble... sharing memories of both Jason and Kim, and watching the tension slowly drain from his posture as he relaxed against the couch's cushions. Even Tommy's eyes were losing the dreadful lifelessness they'd held recently, regaining some of their sparkle as he told her about a time early in his and Kimberly's relationship, when one day everything that could go wrong had gone wrong for the perky gymnast.

"She looked like the proverbial drowned rat when she arrived at school," he chuckled. "And she was mortified that I saw her like that... of course, I was so head over heels, I barely noticed her bedraggled appearance, but..."

"Knowing Kim, that was probably the worst of it," Kat replied, highly amused.

"Oh, no doubt. And to top it all off, she was captured in the monster's bottle contraption, I was knocked unconscious... all in all, not one of our finest days, even if the Rangers won in the end."

"That was during the time your Green Ranger Powers were so iffy, right?"

"Uh huh."

"I can't imagine what that must've been like for you," Kat commiserated. "Wanting to help, but never knowing if and when your Powers would give out..."

Tommy shrugged, able now, after so many years, to let go of the guilt at last. "Yeah, it was rather horrible," he agreed. "Especially as I was still trying to atone for what I'd done as the Evil Green Ranger. I was just grateful that Jase and the others never held it against me."

"Yes," Kat said softly, sharing a look of perfect understanding with Tommy. She, too, had felt guilty for her actions under Rita's spell for a long, long time. "I know."

Then, she let an impish smile play around her mouth. "And speaking of guilt... you know, I think I never apologized to Kim for scratching her, that time in the park when I was still in cat form."

For a second, Tommy looked confused, then made the connection and started to chuckle. "If you did, Kim never mentioned it," he smiled. "But you had very soft fur, and a lovely purr."

Kat groaned. "Right. Just what I always wanted to be remembered for!"

Tommy's chocolate eyes twinkled. "Cool car, too."

"You would remember that, wouldn't you!"

He spread his hands in a 'what-can-I-say' gesture. "It was!" His hostess just glared at him—but he noticed the twitching corners of her mouth, showing him she wasn't serious. Picking up his wine glass, he finished the last couple of swallows, then caught sight of the clock ticking away softly on the mantelpiece.

"Goodness, look at the time! It's almost midnight," Tommy exclaimed, getting up from his comfortable seat. "I should've gone home ages ago!"

"Don't worry," Kat soothed, standing as well. "I enjoyed the company."

Tommy gave her a grateful look. "So did I," he said quietly. "Thank you." A wealth of meaning lay in the simple words.

Kat understood perfectly what he was thanking her for—he and Kim had done it often enough for her after Jason's death, after all. Companionship, acceptance, no demands to hide one's feelings, sharing of memories... a respite from loneliness. "You're welcome."

Slowly, the two made their way to the front door, pausing only briefly in the hallway so Tommy could shrug into his jacket. He took a step outside into the chilly night, then reached for Kat's hand. He wanted very much to return her kindness somehow, and asking her out to dinner one night seemed to be a good, appropriate way—he was not going to inflict his own cooking on her—but would she accept? More so, would she take it the right way? Not as a payment of any kind...

Only one way to find out, Oliver!

Hesitating slightly, he found himself actually nervous and blushing—almost like it had been on the day he'd been screwing up his courage to ask her on their first date when they were still in school.

Whoa. Where did that come from, anyway? Kat's and my dating days are long past!

He managed to convince himself that he truly believed that. Clearing his throat a bit awkwardly, Tommy made himself meet the friendly blue eyes.

"I'm not the greatest guy ever to mess up a kitchen," he began, "so I'm not gonna ask you to come over to the house for a repeat, but... would you nevertheless like to share dinner with me one night? It's the least I can do, after leaving you with the dishes and so on tonight. We could go to that Thai place you like so much..."

To his relief, Kat gave him a pleased smile.

"I'd like that. Anything to get me out of cooking," she joked.

"Great. I'll call you?" he asked, still somewhat diffidently. He hadn't planned an outing like that for ages—not since the last time he and Kimberly went out for dinner, in fact. The thought was simultaneously sad, exciting and... vaguely terrifying.

"Please."

"Good night then."

"Good night, Tommy."

And before he was tempted to linger a while longer in Kat's welcoming, soothing presence, he turned on his heel and marched off through the dark, quiet streets to his own house... which somehow didn't seem quite as forbidding and empty anymore as when he'd left it. Just because his heart was filled with a little warmth again, put there by a special friend.

~*~

"Things kind of gathered momentum from there," Tommy recalled, squeezing Kat's hand. "One dinner date turned into several, we started spending more and more time together..."

"So that was why you suddenly started taking Scott on all kinds of outings," Lynne realized. "The zoo, the beach, the movies, even that weekend trip to Disney World..."

"Well, I had to do something to show Tommy that life could still be full of joy even though Kim was gone," Kat defended herself.

"And you were using our son—your own grandchild!—to do that," Jay said with mock sternness. "Really, Aunt Kat!"

"Scott enjoyed every minute of 'being used' that way," Tommy replied dryly. "After all, he probably got the most fun out of it."

"Oh, I'm sure he did," his son smirked. "I just wonder how you managed to survive Disney World with all the kids along." Tommy and Kat had collected all of their grandchildren old enough to enjoy the experience, since they didn't want to play favorites with such a special treat. "I know my nerves wouldn't have stood the strain!"

"Well, it was... a little taxing," Kat admitted diplomatically, to the suppressed snickers and guffaws of their offspring. "But you see, the best thing about being grandparents is, at the end of the day—or the trip, in this case—you get to give the kids back."

"That's right, leave us poor parents with thoroughly spoiled brats on a sugar high," Trini tsk-tsked, but her eyes were laughing. She and Ramon had revelled in having a weekend all to themselves, with no kids to demand their attention, and she knew it had been the same for the others. She reached over and gripped Tommy's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Anyway, Dad, I'm just glad Aunt Kat was successful. We were getting worried about you."

Tommy sent Kat an affectionate glance. "How could she not be? After all, she did it once before..."

"When Mom broke up with you from Florida?" Jay queried.

"Yes—only this time, it took me quite a bit longer to realize what she was doing," his father admitted sheepishly. "Back in 1996, I kinda subconsciously expected my friends to try and cheer me up, and after a while I wanted to get un-depressed, too. This time... with Kim gone forever, I thought I had no right to feel joy again, that I had to go on grieving for the rest of my life. Imagine my surprise when I realized one day that neither was true!"

"Was that when you didn't call me for nearly two weeks in September?" Kat asked softly, a previous puzzle suddenly solving itself in her mind.

"Uh huh. It was on your birthday when I had the first inkling that things had changed—that I had changed," Tommy replied. "I, um, I had something of a shock that day."

"Oh?"

Tommy smiled. "Remember what you did when I gave you your present?" It had been a rare filmic collection of 20^th century ballet performances with all of Kat's favourite dancers—Margot Fonteyn and Mikhail Baryshnikov among others, even an old, old newsreel bit of Anna Pavlova, the great Russian ballerina.

Kat thought back to that day in August with a tiny frown of concentration. "I hugged and kissed you on the cheek, as always," she said finally.

"Right. You were so excited, so pretty, you practically glowed with pleasure. I liked the thought that I had been responsible for that happy look, by giving you something you truly wanted. I wanted you to go on looking that way. And I found myself wishing that I could hug you back and kiss you, too—only, not on your cheek."

His fiancée gasped softly at that declaration, a faint blush creeping into her still-smooth cheeks. "I... I don't think I would have stopped you if you had," Kat whispered at last, her lids lowered demurely. "I'd started to care about you more deeply as well..."

"I wasn't ready yet, darling," Tommy said gently, using the endearment for the first time in the presence of their children. "Not then, anyway. I knew when I isolated myself that you would be hurt a little, but I needed these two weeks to think, to get things clear in my mind. I needed to realize that falling in love with you again was not a betrayal of what I felt for Kim, nor that I was taking anything away from Jason or the kids. And I also knew that when all things were said and done, you would understand."

"I do, Tommy," Kat assured him. "After all, when I noticed what was happening to me, that my feelings for you were changing, I had much the same thoughts. Only, I usually don't crawl into a shell like you to figure things out," she teased, showing that she wasn't angry.

Their children had listened with great interest, sharing knowing glances and understanding nods.

"How did you cope, Mom?" Jared asked curiously. He, too, sometimes had a tendency to brood which was countered effectively by Rachel's no-nonsense manner.

Before Kat could answer, Lynne spoke up. "You mean you haven't it figured out yet? She's been doing it the same way for as long as I can remember. Mom cleans," she told the room at large with a melodramatic sigh. "I bet you anything that this summer, Mom's house was the most spotless dwelling, top to bottom, in all of Angel Grove!"

Oliver groaned. "Don't remind me! Mom was a veritable cleaning maniac when she had to decide whether or not to let Jared take that skating scholarship!"

"It wasn't an easy decision to make all on my own, son; after all, I'd been a serious athlete myself, I knew about the demands the coaches can make. And the possibility of sustaining a serious, even permanently disabling injury in skating is much higher than in diving," Kat interjected. "By the way, that was a time when Kim's experience and advice helped me most. Basically, you have her to thank that I let you follow your ambitions, Jared."

"Wow. I never knew that," her youngest murmured.

Tommy smiled briefly, pleased that Kimberly had taken such an active part in their friends' lives. Then, he cleared his throat.

"Anyway, to get back on track... I sort of took a time-out to decide where I stood, what I wanted and needed... and then of course I needed to screw up my courage to find out if you felt the same about me," he told his fiancée. "After all, I was kinda out of practice with this whole dating stuff!"

"But you did it very well nonetheless," Kat soothed him. "In fact, compared to the first time you asked me out, you were a veritable expert!"

"At least this time our first real date wasn't ruined by a monster attack," Tommy remembered ruefully. Briefly, he related how Ernie's luau at the Beach Club had been interrupted by a platoon of Cogs.

"Poor Mom," Lynne commiserated, half laughing. "After waiting so long for Uncle Tommy to find the nerve to ask you on a date, too!"

"But our second date went just fine," Tommy assured his daughter-in-law. "I took her to the movies..."

"Yes, and afterwards you told the gang it had been 'nice and boring'," Kat pouted.

A chorus of groans and gasps all around made Tommy blush, even after so many years.

"Dad, you didn't!"

"A wonder Aunt Kat didn't dump you right away again!"

"I hope you didn't let him get away with that, Mom!"

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded," Tommy tried defending himself.

His fiancée looked at him sternly. "That's as lame today as it was forty years ago!"

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking and sounding for all the world like one of the grandkids caught snitching an extra cookie before a meal. The children barely suppressed their snickers. Even Kat's lips were quivering with hidden mirth.

"Well... since your technique has definitely improved with time, I guess I can forgive you," she chuckled, patting his arm fondly.

Chapter 27: A Daughter's Concern

"Oops, excuse me," Lynne murmured, got up and turned towards the nursery from which a strident wail could be heard. "I think someone just woke up wet."

"Or messy," Jay grimaced. Still, he wasn't one to shirk his fatherly duties. "You want me to take care of it?"

Lynne smiled gratefully. "Thanks, but I'd rather you spelled me tonight, if you don't mind," she declined.

"Of course, love. Tickle the Squirt for me?"

"Sure." The young woman walked towards the hallway, when to her surprise Kat stood as well.

"Mind if I come along?"

Her smile was guileless, but Lynne had the uncomfortable feeling that her mother had more on her agenda than just another chance to coo over her youngest grandchild. There was nothing she could think of to make her stay, though, so she just nodded.

"Of course not, Mom."

~*~

In the bright room, the little boy was red-faced with crying when the two women leaned over his crib. With a Madonna-like smile, Lynne lifted her baby up and cuddled him close. The howls muted to a quieter wailing now that Mommy had come.

"Yep, he's wet alright," she grinned, fingering the diapered bottom. "And messy, too." Her nose wrinkled as the unmistakeable smell wafted upwards. With practised ease, she laid her son on the changing table, lifted his sturdy legs and unsnapped the back flap of his pyjamas. Within moments, the dirty diaper was whisked off and dumped in a special lidded bucket, Kat handed over wipes and cream as needed and soon the deed was done.

Ricky—Richard Adam Oliver, named for Rocky and Adam—stopped crying altogether once he knew himself dry and warm again and jammed a small fist into his mouth as he peered bright-eyed over Lynne's shoulder at his grandmother. Kat fondly stroked his shock of dark hair—in color more like his father's than his mother's raven locks, but the large dark eyes were all Jason. She smiled nostalgically, then remembered why she'd followed her daughter in the first place.

Lynne hadn't said a single word of protest when earlier in the day Kat and Tommy had announced their decision to get married. She had expressed her congratulations along with her siblings and in-laws, but Kat, who knew her daughter very well, had caught the flash of pain crossing her face nonetheless. It was that she wanted to address. If one of her children truly objected to her remarrying...

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Kat asked quietly when Lynne sat down in the rocker next to the crib, gently lulling her baby back to sleep by the soothing motion.

"Of course I am," Lynne answered quickly. Too quickly.

"Why do I have trouble believing that?" her mother wanted to know with gentle irony, giving her a look she remembered well from her childhood. It was an expression that demanded an answer, but wouldn't pressure her. Still, she knew there was no escape. Eventually she'd have to confess what was on her mind.

"Probably because you know me too well," she grumbled. "How do you do that, anyway?"

"Do what, dear?"

"Know when something's bothering me."

Kat chuckled. "I'm your mother. Don't you know when something's up with Scott and he's not telling?"

"Guilty as charged," Lynne grinned sheepishly, then became serious once more. She was bothered, but she wasn't at all sure whether she should bring it up. Her mother was a grown woman, she had the right to make her own decisions, and yet... Her blue eyes showed her indecision. As did her habit of chewing on her bottom lip; something Lynne had picked up from Kimberly, no doubt.

Kat sat down on a wooden toy chest next to her, a knowing smile playing around her lips. Inwardly, she was quaking; what if her daughter was unable to accept the changes she wanted to make in her life? She'd thought that after 19 years of widowhood she might have a chance at happiness again; but how could she be happy if one of her children was not? Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Let me guess. It's to do with my intention of marrying Tommy, isn't it?"

Blushing deeply, Lynne sighed. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Mom, I know it's your life and all, but..."

"But what, Sweetie?"

"It feels to me as if you're abandoning Dad," Lynne blurted, fighting sudden tears. "The two of you were so much in love—how can you even think of marrying someone else?"

"Oh honey," Kat sighed, seeing her worst fears confirmed. "I'm not abandoning Jason—in fact, I've never stopped loving him in all these years. I'll do that to the day I'm going to join him."

"Then how can you bring yourself to marry Uncle Tommy? I don't understand," the younger woman sniffled. "And he... Aunt Kim's been dead only three years, and already he's looking for another woman?!?"

Katherine was silent for a long minute. At last, she met her daughter's faintly accusing gaze full-on. She would have to reveal a part of her heart and mind she hadn't ever shared with any of her children, not wanting to burden their lives with her problems, but if she wanted any chance at peace and happiness at all, she had no choice. Even if she caused Lynne some pain in the process.

I just hope she'll understand...

"Sometimes, it is just too hard to be lonely," she said softly. "When all you are left with are empty rooms and memories, you need someone to hold, to tell you that they care... that you're not one of the walking dead, but that there's still a life out there worth living. For yourself, not just for others."

Am I being selfish for wanting that? Maybe. But... don't I deserve to be, just a little, after all this time?

"But you have us," Lynne protested. "The boys, Jay and me...you know you can always come over..."

"To LA, where Oliver and Jasmine live? All the way to Colorado Springs, to visit Jared and Rachel? Or to you, perhaps in the middle of the night? For every small, frustrating domestic crisis that occurs during the day? The times when you just want to scream because nothing goes right, and you have a deadline to get a million things done?"

"Uh... sure," Lynne replied, sounding uncertain even to her own ears. She hadn't thought of the matter in quite those terms.

Kat tilted her head. "Tell me, hon... would you really like it when I popped in several times each day no matter how convenient or inconvenient it was for you, just because I need to vent, want company for a cup of coffee or because I have nothing better to do? And don't say what you think I may want to hear, but what you really feel," she demanded.

The new mother felt heat rise in her cheeks. Try as she might, she couldn't say yes to any of these questions. In fact, she had always appreciated Kat's consideration and courtesy in this matter—even though she had a key to their house, she never, ever dropped in uninvited, or without calling first unless it was an emergency. The horror stories she'd heard from some of her friends... it made Lynne grateful to know that her own mother (and mother-in-law; Kim had been the same) wasn't like that.

As for her brothers, they didn't have that problem as they didn't live in Angel Grove. They were close enough to visit often, which they did, but Lynne was aware that they weren't able to offer the kind of daily assistance she did—running a small errand here, lending a hand there. She didn't mind doing it, especially as Kat freely (and frequently) did the same, plus offering babysitting services in return 'payment'. But they did not live in each other's pockets—and while Lynne's days were happily filled with part-time work, her husband and sons, she uncomfortably realized that her mother's weren't anymore.

"I... no," she admitted at last. "I wouldn't like it much."

"That's what I thought."

"But still, Mom," Lynne persisted, "how can you just forget Dad like that?"

"I'm not forgetting him, Sweetie. Quite the contrary—Tommy is the one man I know who will accept unconditionally that I'll always go on loving your father. And who knows that I'll respect his feelings for Kim. He hasn't stopped loving her, either."

"Why can't you guys just go on like you have? You're already friends... you see each other so often... why do you have to get married? It's not even as if you need financial security. Why do you have to... to replace Dad?" Lynne almost wailed.

Kat sighed. How could she make her daughter, who had always been Jason's favorite child and who had simply adored her father in turn, understand that what she and Tommy shared went beyond two elderly folks not wanting to be alone anymore?

"I'm not 'replacing' your father, Lynne. No man could do that. Ever. Why do you think I've never even been tempted to date anyone in all the years since he died? It's not as if I hadn't had opportunities," Kat said, feeling a small sense of satisfaction when her daughter started, surprised.

"Y-you have?!?"

"Yes. Is that really so shocking?" Kat's voice was dryly amused. She knew that, for a woman her age, she was still quite attractive—and in the years gone by, even as a widow with three teenaged children, she had had chances. But she wouldn't give her children another father. That was Jason's place, no-one else's. Her family and friends had done wonderfully in filling the emptiness in their lives caused by Jason's passing; however, with retirement from teaching looming in the near future and Jared now married as well, she was feeling her loneliness more.

Lynne considered the question. Kat had always just been 'Mom' to her; a pretty yet somewhat sexless being who dispensed discipline and comfort in equal measure, who just was; a fixture in her life as unchangeable as the Rock of Gibraltar. For the first time that she could remember, she looked at Kat as a woman. And saw that, despite her grey hair and the glasses, her mother was really very pretty still, with her slender height and elegant style, her dancer's poise and grace undiminished... and realized that Kat-the-woman might have needs her children and grandchildren couldn't meet. It was an uncomfortable, even slightly upsetting thought.

"No. Yes. I don't know," she stammered at last. "Mom, you wouldn't have... would you?"

"I never seriously thought about it," Kat reassured her daughter. "Mostly because aside from our friends—who all are married, as you know—I've yet to meet a man who comes even close to the kind of person your father was. Jason set some very high standards just by being himself, and I could never lower them. Not after spending over half my life with him."

"And now that one of them has become available, you're jumping at the chance, is that it? Or were you secretly carrying a torch for your first boyfriend all along?"

Kat jerked as if stung. "Don't be insulting, Carolyn Hilary Scott! That's unworthy of you. Of course I didn't." Her tone was stern, and Lynne blushed. The reprimand was well-deserved.

"I'm sorry, Mom. Really," she apologized. Then, she shrugged helplessly. "I guess I just can't see how or why your feelings for each other suddenly changed again after all these years."

"I don't think they have—not really, anyway," Kat mused, having asked herself that same question a time or two. "You see... even though Tommy and I broke up when we were younger, we still continued to love each other. We just weren't in love anymore."

"Did Dad know this? Or Aunt Kim, for that matter?" The younger woman had problems wrapping her mind around the concept. It was inconceivable to her to love ayone besides her husband. "Weren't they ever... well, jealous?"

"No. Both Kim and Jason knew exactly where Tommy and my feelings lay—with them. There never was any doubt in all our minds—or hearts."

"Then, what has changed now? Why have you decided all of a sudden to rekindle your romance?" Lynne wanted to know.

"It's really not all that sudden, and I already told you, hon—we're both lonely. You kids are all married now with homes and families of your own. That's how it should be; neither Tommy nor I are complaining. After all, we want you to have happy, fulfilled lives. But in the process, ours have gotten emptier. As long as you have someone—your spouse—to share things with, it's fine; you may lose the children to adulthood, but you also regain some of the 'couple things' you have to give up when you become a parent.

"Only, Tommy and I don't have that anymore. We both lost the person we thought would be with us to share in these things. Is it really so wrong of us to want having someone at our sides again? To fill the emptiness created by Jason and Kim's deaths? And maybe, just maybe ease some of the pain that caused?"

~*~

The baby had fallen asleep by now, and Lynne took the opportunity to mull over her mother's words while she put him back into his crib. Both women smiled when little Ricky immediately rolled over on his tummy, drew up his knees and slept on, his little bottom sticking up under the light cotton blanket Lynne draped over him.

"He's so precious," Kat whispered. "You and Jay did good!"

"Thanks," Lynne murmured back. She watched her son breathe evenly for a few more moments, then took a few steps away from the crib and faced Kat.

"Mom... I can understand about you and Uncle Tommy being lonely. And I think I can even understand that the two of you can help each other deal with that. But... what I don't understand is why you have to get married to do so. Won't it feel weird?"

"Possibly. After all, I haven't thought about Tommy in terms of being my... my mate, if you will, since I was twenty or so. Certainly not since I fell in love with Jason. On the other hand, it's our shared history which makes it easier, you know? I really doubt that I could ever contemplate sharing any form of intimacy with a complete stranger."

Lynne colored up and winced. "Way too much information, Mom!"

"Sorry," Kat said, hiding a small smirk. How her daughter could have grown up so uptight about a number of things was beyond her. Then again, she reflected, she couldn't exactly picture herself having had this kind of exchange with her own mother. For all her cosmopolitan poise, Doris Hillard had had a conservative streak a mile wide.

She watched her daughter take a slow circuit around the nursery, unnecessarily realigning a toy here, straightening a stack of disposable diapers there. Lynne was fidgeting as badly as she'd ever seen her do—even worse than the time she was screwing up her courage to ask Kat about birth control, when she and Jay were getting serious. At last, the younger woman stilled, took a deep breath and faced Kat from across the crib.

"I guess what I really want to know is... do you love Tommy?" Somehow, the word 'uncle' wouldn't come anymore.

Kat took her time answering, but her blue eyes, so like her daughter's, met Lynne's questioning gaze steadily.

"Yes. I do. Not the way I did at seventeen, and it's different from the way I loved—love!—Jason, but just as true."

A tear or two slipped down Lynne's cheeks when she realized at last Kat was completely serious. It still hurt, but deep down she wanted to see her mother happy. If Tommy could give her that, she wasn't selfish enough to object. Reaching inside herself, she found a slightly wobbly smile.

"Then there's nothing else I can say, is there, Mom? Except—I hope you'll be happy," she sniffled.

With a slightly misty smile of her own, Kat accepted the unspoken apology.

"Thank you, Sweetie. I know I will be."

Impulsively, they embraced. Kat could feel a slight tremor racking her daughter's back, but the arms clinging to her never faltered. She pressed a kiss into the dark hair.

"I won't ever forget your Dad, Lynne. I promise."

"I guess I knew that," the younger woman replied. She shrugged sheepishly. "Maybe I just had to make sure." She paused reflectively, then let a more genuine smile creep into her eyes and voice. "And if you have to get married at all, I'm kinda glad it's someone I already know and like, not some stranger."

"I'm sure Tommy will be glad to hear that," Kat joked, hugging her daughter firmly. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. This had gone far better than she'd feared—and if Lynne was okay with her plans, she was pretty certain the other four children would be as well.

As if on cue, the nursery door opened and Tommy poked his greying head through.

"I'll be glad to hear what?" he asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the baby. He noticed at a glance the traces of tears on his daughter-in-law's face, and Kat's relieved expression. She had mentioned that Lynne might have problems accepting their relationship, and had worried when the two disappeared for so long. He eased fully into the room and came over.

"That Lynne is giving us her blessing," Kat explained. "You are, aren't you, hon?" Lynne nodded bravely.

"Thank goodness. Is everything alright?" Tommy asked, looking from Lynne to Kat and back. His fiancée smiled reassuringly, but left the answer to her daughter. Taking a deep breath, Lynne obliged.

"Yes, it is. Now."

She released her mother and looked up into Tommy's serious eyes, so much like Jay's. The realization made it easier for her to say what she did.

"Just make Mom happy, will you?" she requested. Then she added, her voice breaking just a little despite herself, "And please, please don't ever forget Dad and Aunt Kim!"

Tommy drew her into a warm hug. "That won't ever happen, honey," he promised huskily. "We loved both of them, too. And as for your Mom... I'll try my best."

"That's all I can ask," Lynne replied, returning the hug and reaching out to include Kat as well. "Thank you." The three stood like that for a minute or so, relishing their closeness. Then, when they filed out of the nursery to rejoin the rest of the family, an unexpectedly impish light entered Lynne's eyes as she glanced from her mother to her honorary uncle/father-in-law/soon-to-be-stepfather.

"Just tell me one thing, Mom... did you get your romantic proposal at last?"

Chapter 28: Second Chances

"Romantic proposal... yes, I think you could say that," Kat smiled once they'd settled back into their seats and accepted refills for their drinks. Even Lynne was having some eggnog—the interval before she was going to nurse Ricky again was long enough, and just a bit wouldn't hurt. Tonight was a night of celebration, after all. "The circumstances were certainly much nicer than the first time—not a dirty dish in sight!" She chuckled along with her audience. "And the location was... unusual, to say the least."

"More unusual than a messy kitchen?" Oliver wanted to know.

"Certainly," Tommy huffed. "I wasn't about to mess up my second chance at happiness!"

Jay winked at the family, leaned towards Lynne, who was just raising her glass to her lips, and stage-whispered, "More like Mom trained him too well!" She nearly choked on her mouthful, whereas Kat just nodded sagely.

"Well put, Jay."

His father tried to look insulted, but was still feeling too pleased with himself to take much umbrage. Asking Kat to marry him had been a very spontaneous decision, but it had felt very right, and seizing the moment had always come easy to Tommy.

"When and where did you propose to Aunt Kat, anyway, Dad?" Trini wondered. "I don't think you've said—or did I miss it in the general excitement?"

"You didn't," Rachel said decisively. "If they had, I would remember." Along with her intelligence, the redhead had inherited Billy's phenomenal memory. "Are you going to tell us, or is this one more thing we don't really want to know?"

Her question evoked loud agreement from the rest of the family, the Scott and Oliver children wisely choosing to disregard the possible implications. If their parents wanted to share that memory, they would be all ears!

"No, we can tell you all right," Kat smiled.

"With or without a memento?" Ramon asked. "I mean, you have stuff to remind you of events for practically everything; it'd be a shame if you didn't keep one for this, too."

"We can always use the photo Oliver took of us earlier," Tommy said complacently; he hadn't minded posing for the camera as he officially slipped his ring on Kat's hand.

"Yes, but I'm sure we have another, more significant reminder," his fiancée declared. "Just let me have a look..." she reached for a new album while the others leaned forward expectantly. However, the wait proved much longer than anyone had anticipated.

"Tommy, where's that flyer for the Stone County Country Fair?" Kat asked after a couple of minutes of fruitless searching at the back of the last scrapbook. A worried frown creased her still-smooth brow. "You didn't throw it away, did you?"

"Of course not," he soothed her. "I wouldn't do that... not when it's like the first chapter of the next book. It's at home, in my desk drawer."

"Oh, good," Kat sighed in relief.

"What's so important about that?" Jay wanted to know. "Didn't you go there the week before Thanksgiving?" It had been a family outing for grandparents and grandchildren. Four adults—Kat, Tommy, Rocky and Sarah—and five children—Scott, and the DeSantos brood: his buddy Esteban Thomas, called Steve for short, his twin sisters Colleen Kimberly and Caitlyn Sarah, and the youngest of Trini and Ramon's, Alejandro Ramon.

"Wasn't that the one with the hot-air balloon liftoff?" Ramon wondered. "The one where Alex got so sick later that evening because he ate too much cotton candy?"

"Yes... but that was due to a communications breakdown between Rocky and myself," Tommy admitted sheepishly. "Alex had asked me for some first while Rocky took Scott and Steve to the target practice stalls, and the little scamp badgered Rocky for more later, while they were waiting for us to come back..."

"Come back from where?" Jasmine asked.

"From a very special 'ride'," Tommy answered with a tender glance at Katherine.

~*~

"Would you like to go up in one of the balloons, kids?" Tommy asked his grandsons kindly.

The main attraction of this year's County Fair was a hot-air balloon liftoff, and about a dozen brightly-colored globes were already straining against their moorings, brilliant against the clear autumn sky as the party watched the preparations with fascination. A few of the operators offered to take passengers along, to a place at the foot of the mountains where buses would be waiting to return them afterwards. It was a spontaneous suggestion, made only when he'd noticed how the older boys' eyes looked so longingly at the rustling silk balloons. They were too well-mannered to ask for a not-exactly-cheap treat like that, but neither Kat nor Tommy missed their interest and desire.

"That'd be awesome, grandpa," Steve sighed. "But it's awful expensive, and I think they don't take kids under ten, anyway." Only he and Scott, at ten and eleven years respectively, qualified. The twins were eight, and his brother was only four. "That means the girls and Alex can't go, and if they can't, I don't wanna, either," he said loyally, if not quite truthfully.

"I'm got getting into one of these things, anyway," Colleen protested the mere thought. "What if it tips over when we're in up in the air with it?"

"Yeah, we'd all fall out and crash to the ground and break all our bones and bash our heads and get all bloody and stuff," Caitlyn added with what the adults thought was a completely inappropriate delight in gory details. "It'd be so totally cool!"

"That's so gross! Anyway, you're not ten yet, you can't go," her sister reminded her with a look of revulsion on her sweet face.

"Don' wanna fall out," Alex sniffled. "Falling hurts!" His mouth quivered and tears started to fill his dark eyes. Small as he was, he knew what he was talking about; only this past spring, he'd taken a tumble on the playground, resulting in a gashed head that had required a couple of stitches. He'd been more surprised than actually hurt, but the amount of blood even such a relatively small head wound produced, his mother's anxiety and the rush to the ER had frightened him, and the memory still lingered.

"We won't let you fall, honey," Sarah soothed her grandson. "And you know what? I don't really want to ride in a balloon, either," she added in a conspiratorial stage whisper.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Her reassurance seemed to calm the little boy, and he wiped at his eyes with a grubby fist, determined not to cry. As long as Grandma was with him, he was sure the big boys wouldn't make him climb into that basket-thing. Even if it did look kinda cool.

Tommy shared a glance with Kat. She never had gone in much for adventure sports, but he knew she wasn't timid, and that she generally was open to new experiences. They might have piloted machinery more sophisticated than the space shuttle in their teens, flown on regular airplanes as passengers, but a balloon ride was unknown territory for them, too.

"How about you, Kat?" he asked quietly. "Do you want to go?"

"I'd love to," she replied, blue eyes sparkling. "But what about the girls? If we take the boys, Sarah would be left with three kids, and I don't want to overburden her." Rocky's wife suffered from a mild case of vertigo; not so bad that it impaired normal life for her—stairs were not a problem, for example—but she definitely preferred to keep her feet on terra firma.

Rocky had listened to everybody with an indulgent grin. Now, he piped up. "What if I take them to the Monster Trail?" he suggested. "They'll love it—well, at least Cait will; I'm not so sure about Colleen—and Sarah can take Alex on the small roller coaster."

Three pairs of eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"Yes, pwease," Alex pleaded, tugging at Sarah's hand eagerly.

"Oh, I love the Monster Trail!" Caitlyn gushed. "Way cool, Grampa!"

Her sister looked more thoughtful. "Can we go on the Tilt-A-Whirl after?" she asked. Colleen wasn't too fond of gore and splatter, but she definitely had inherited Tommy's love for things going fast.

"Sure, Shrimp," Rocky grinned, tousling her dark hair.

"Cool!"

"Then it's settled, I guess," Kat laughed when nobody objected to the plans. "Come on, boys, let's buy the tickets."

"Yay!" Scott and Steve ran off, to queue up in front of the booth while she followed more sedately. Tommy stayed behind with his old friend.

"I'd have thought you'd want to come with us," he commented with a slight smile. "You're not afraid of heights suddenly, are you?"

Rocky grinned back. "Nah. But if I remember Science class right, it gets pretty cold up there... and unfortunately, these days being out in really low temperatures is about the worst thing I can do to my back. An hour in a balloon might be fun, but hardly worth a week of aching bones and not being able to move," he added ruefully.

"Ouch. Yeah, guess not," Tommy conceded. Involuntarily, he rubbed his left thigh. Five years ago, he'd broken his leg in a fall off a ladder while taking down the house lights from Christmas. Although the break had healed quickly and cleanly, it now was more reliable to indicate a change in weather than a trained meteorologist. "Getting old sucks, doesn't it?" he murmured.

"No kidding," Rocky agreed as quietly. With age, they all had experienced the gradual lessening of their facilities—luckily not to any marked degree, and their minds were as sharp and lively as ever, but time had taken a toll on all of them. Glasses, dentures, aches and twinges... it came with the territory of growing older. However, it was still preferable to the alternative—joining Trini, Jason and Kimberly under the lush grass of Angel Grove Cemetery.

They were interrupted by their grandsons' return. Rocky shook off his mood and made a flipping motion with his hand. "Go on, go take the hellions flying," he grinned. "I'll have fun scaring the girls."

"Grandpa!" the twins protested indignantly. "We won't be scared!"

"As if," Cait muttered.

Rocky raised an eyebrow. "What, I can't expect you two to yell your heads off? Isn't that the purpose of riding the Monster Trail?"

"Well, yeah, but that's part of the fun," Colleen explained seriously.

Tommy chuckled. "Strange notion of fun," he told Rocky under his breath. "But, better your eardrums than mine!" He was prevented from adding more by Scott and Steve. The boys both grabbed Tommy's hands and started tugging him towards the balloons, urging him to walk faster.

"At least I'm not gonna freeze my butt off like you," Rocky called after his old friend before focussing his attention on the DeSantos kids. "We'll see you in a couple of hours, then! Okay girls—let's get your grandma and Alex on the roller coaster, and then we can go on our own ride."

~*~

Kat was waiting for Tommy and the boys, tickets held firmly in her hand. She greeted them with a smile, then addressed the kids.

"Okay, now I've been given a few instructions by the pilot, and we're all going to follow them to the letter, is that understood?"

"Yes, Gran," Scott replied, eyes sparkling. Steve nodded, too.

"Right, here it is: No touching anything without permission. No hi-jinxes—that means, you stay where you're told to, and keep to the handrails. No leaning out. No throwing anything over the sides of the gondola—not even a gum wrapper. That includes no spitting. And put on your jackets; it's going to be much colder up in the air than down here on the ground."

Eagerly, the boys complied. Kat fixed a stern gaze on Tommy. "The jacket rule is for everybody," she told him in exactly the same tone she'd used on the kids. Her eyes were dancing with laughter. "Button up, mister!"

Her own light blue fleece jacket was already fastened up to her chin, and she'd covered her hair with a lovely silk scarf.

Tommy threw her a snappy salute. "Yes, Ma'am!" he barked, to the boys' amusement. But it did have the desired effect. All bundled up in record time.

Kat nodded approvingly. "Very nice. Now come along, boys—we're in balloon number five, and takeoff is in ten minutes." Together, they walked across the lawn to the colourful globe, already straining against its moorings as the flame in the center of the basket heated up the gas mixture inside the striped silk. Scott and Steve clambered over the edge unaided, but Kat gratefully accepted Tommy's assistance; she was no longer quite as limber as she used to be.

Once his family was safely inside the gondola, Tommy tried to climb in after them as well, but to his chagrin couldn't quite lift his leg high enough and keep his balance. He scowled when the pilot offered him a solicitous hand.

"Why don't you sit on the edge, sir, and swing your legs inside? I'll make sure you don't slide off," the thirty-something man smiled. The former Ranger grimaced, but followed the advice. Once he had his footing again, he glared at Kat, who was having a hard time hiding her grin. She knew Tommy, and how it must gall him to be no longer able to perform such simple exercises unaided.

"Don't say it," he grumbled.

"Me? I wasn't going to," she protested with an angelic smile and a totally unholy delight in her eyes.

"Like hell you weren't," Tommy groused, but subsided when Kat motioned warningly towards the oblivious boys. Thankfully for Tommy's pride, they'd been too preoccupied with ogling everything about the balloon to notice his difficulties. I hope so, anyway!

Within a few minutes, all passengers were on board, the signal for liftoff was given, and the ground crews cast off the moorings. By ones and twos, the balloons rose majestically into the clear autumn sky. Scott and Steve were fairly hanging over the side, pointing out the Fair's attractions, and did their utmost to catch a glimpse of their family. To no avail, though; they had already been swallowed by the crowds. Scott, however, scored big time when he made out the two cars parked side by side—Rocky and Tommy had purposely chosen a very distinctive bush to leave their vehicles at, in case one of the kids got lost and needed a meeting point.

Soon, though, other things caught the boys' interest, and they flitted hither and yon, always under the watchful eyes of their grandparents, asking numerous questions which were patiently answered by the pilot and his assistant.

Seeing that his grandsons were safely occupied, Tommy then turned to look at Kat. She was standing in one corner looking at the landscape gliding slowly away underneath them. Her cheeks were reddened by the cool wind, and she'd tucked both hands under her arms to keep them warm. Carefully, Tommy made his way over to her. He didn't need to ask whether she was enjoying herself; it was evident in the rapt attention with which she gazed down.

"Pretty spectacular, isn't it?" he asked, letting his own eyes sweep over the familiar area. He'd flown both his Falconzord and the Phoenix around here often enough, and the memories of those times were coming at him stronger than usual.

"Oh, yes," Kat sighed. She'd piloted the Crane Zord only for a short time, but she, too, was overcome with reminiscences. I guess there are some things that are just unforgettable!

"Look, there's the park." Tommy pointed towards the left.

"Uh huh. How tiny the lake seems from up here!"

"Yeah. See any monsters lurking behind a bush?" he teased in a low voice. "Or La Diva's sub?"

She gave him a quelling look. "Of course not! You know as well as I do that the current Ranger team doesn't operate around here; there's no reason for the bad guys to return."

"Shouldn't make any difference," the former leader of the Rangers mused. "Just because we mainly stayed in the Southwestern USA never meant the bad guys couldn't have gone global if they'd chosen to do so. Like that time right after the turn of the millennium when they were based in New Zealand, remember? We were just lucky they didn't during our tenure; it would've played even more hell with classes," he grinned suddenly.

"Oh my, yes," Kat had to chuckle as well. "I always used to feel so guilty when I was late, or even missed school completely!"

"We all did, but we did have more important things to do... like saving the world."

"Would you have cared to explain that to Mr. Caplan?"

Tommy shuddered at the mere thought. "Er, not really. He'd have flipped his wig for sure—as Zack would say."

They shared a moment of laughter, then were called back to the present by the balloon's operator, who gave them a short explanation on where and when they would land—just on the outskirts of the reservation where David still lived, and in about twenty minutes.

"Think we have time to look in on your brother?"

"Nah—only if he just happens to be there, which I doubt. I think he's busy with completing the landscape calendar he's been commissioned to shoot in time for Christmas."

"Pity. It's been ages since I've seen David."

"We can always go visit him once he's back; I'm sure Scott would love to see his cousins again."

"Okay," Kat agreed readily, then shivered visibly when a fresh gust of wind shook their balloon, to the boys' delighted shouts. She gave them a brief glance, saw that they were fine, then hunched into her jacket's collar, rubbing her hands together vigorously.

"Are you cold?" Tommy asked solicitously. He didn't feel the cold temperature up here much; his down jacket was plenty warm. So were Scott and Steve's coats, he ascertained with a quick look. Then again, they're so excited, they probably would enjoy a blizzard!

"A little," Kat admitted. "I thought I was dressed warmly enough, but... I sure wish I had brought at least a cap and gloves."

He looked at her. Kat was wearing slim grey woollen pants, a matching turtleneck with a diamond pattern in pale pink and white, and her blue coat brought out the color of her eyes to perfection. However, now that he thought about it, Tommy could see that the fleecy material looked much warmer than it probably was. And the wind is pretty sharp...

There was a quite simple solution, though.

"Come here, I'll warm you," he said, stepping up behind her and wrapped his arms around Kat. To his satisfaction, her shivering soon stopped as she snuggled her back against his front.

"Thanks."

"Welcome."

Being so close to her, Tommy couldn't help but be aware of the subtle scent she was wearing; he didn't know which perfume it was—something light and vaguely fruity—and found that he liked it very much. Briefly, a pang of pain gripped him; it was different from the floral scents Kim had preferred, and which still seemed to linger in their house, due to the sachets of potpourri tucked into every closet. But his beloved Kimberly was gone forever, and there was nothing Tommy could do about it. Determinedly, he pushed the memory away—not to be forgotten, but to that special place in his heart that would always be Kim's, no matter what.

He was recalled to the present by Kat's soft voice.

"This feels so nice," she murmured. "I've almost forgotten how good it can feel to be held like this... Jason used to do that." As always, even after twenty years, the memory had the power to bring tears to her eyes. Determinedly (and with the ease of long practice), Kat swallowed them.

Instead, she concentrated on her companion. Tommy's hold was indefinably different than Jason's had been, but it was welcome nonetheless. How often had he hugged her like this over the years, showing her with a simple touch that despite her loss she wasn't alone? Kat could no longer count the times, just knew that she was grateful to have this special friend in her life.

"Yeah," he replied just as softly. "I guess you don't realize how empty one's arms can be when the one who belongs there has left you."

"Exactly."

Both fell silent again, lost in reminiscences of their dead spouses, but neither felt an urge to end the hug which was so comforting to both of them. Their friendship was so deep, they knew that they would always find understanding and support in the other... even silently sharing their grief brought its own rewards.

~*~

As the minutes passed, Tommy gradually became aware that his pain lessened the longer he held Kat; it was as if gliding soundlessly through the air like this with someone very dear made his heart feel lighter as well. Even almost... happy. Just like so many years ago, when he'd lost Kim for the first time and the woman he now held had eased his heart with her gentleness and loving spirit. It felt as if in his loneliness his feelings for Kat were slowly rekindling; differently, to be sure, yet just as encompassing. When he'd grown aware of the change in his perspective on Kat's birthday, the idea at first had seemed like a betrayal of his love for Kimberly, but that simply wasn't true; he still loved his wife as much as ever. Tommy realized eventually that he was not taking anything away from Kim, just... adding something that had always been there in a slightly different form. Although the thought he might fall in love with another woman had been startling and upsetting only a couple short months ago, it now was starting to feel more and more natural. The only question was, dare he assume that Katherine might feel similarly? She had mourned Jason for so long... had never shown any interest at all in another man...

I'm not any 'other man', Tommy knew. Modesty aside, I'm about the only person who can totally empathize with her—as she does with me.

But did that mean that they should become more than friends... again? The longer he mulled over the question, the clearer it became to Tommy that he wanted just that—very much so. Just to feel a little happy again, instead of lost and empty. Now, if only Kat wanted the same...

If she did, could they have a second chance? Together? Without Jason and Kim? Briefly, he raised his eyes to the endless blue sky surrounding them.

You don't begrudge me a little happiness until we're together again, do you, Beautiful?

And it seemed as if from a vast distance, the wind carried Kim's voice to his ears, giving her approval.

Kat relaxed against Tommy, liking the feel of strength surrounding her for the first time in far too long. It was not the same as being held by Jason had been; he'd always given her the impression of a solid rock, a sheltering wall from life's storms that nothing could breach. Tommy was more like an energy barrier, leaner, more wiry, but just as protective... and she realized that she'd missed that protection. She'd had to find her own strengths when Jason had been taken from her, and she thought she'd done a good job all things considered, but that didn't mean that there hadn't been times, usually in the depths of night, when she'd been in sore need of someone to lean on. Tommy had always been there for her and her children; Kat knew that she would miss him terribly if he were no longer a part of her life. And recently, he had been even more solicitous of her... enough to make her wish for something she'd believed lost to her forever. A touch of happiness. Not quite the kind she'd shared with Jason, but... a close second, maybe. Her sapphire eyes were lost in the distance as she pictured her husband's face.

I had to carry my burdens alone for so long; is it so wrong of me to hope that I won't have to do it anymore until we see each other again, love?

Before her mind's eye, Jason's beloved features smiled warmly in mute understanding.

~*~

The balloon was sailing majestically towards its destination, and behind them there were sounds announcing imminent descent. Kat sighed softly and instinctively snuggled deeper into Tommy's arms, loath to see this time of closeness end. Her silk-covered head rested against his lean cheek, and she closed her eyes in quiet contentment.

Why does this have to end?

Tommy felt Kat yielding against him, and experienced an impulse to turn her face towards his, to lose himself completely in her presence. He tightened his embrace automatically, and to his surprised delight, she didn't resist. At all.

This doesn't have to end...

Out of the depths of his heart, he found the words.

"I could go on holding you like this forever."

Kat drew in a short gasp; was Tommy reading her mind? Slowly, she raised her eyes to his, incredulity warring with sudden hope. What she read in the chocolate gaze made her heart falter for just an instant, then a slow smile curved her lips as she felt peace settle all through her.

"I'd love that," she replied.

Tommy's breath caught as he found what he'd been missing in the blue orbs, then it was as if his world expanded, to make room for something new that wasn't new at all.

"I will, then—if you really want me to," he murmured huskily.

"I do." Kat's answer was a soft, gentle breeze that soothed his soul.

It was a promise that bound them together that instant, and the knowledge was written clearly in the serious yet warm look they shared.

Tommy bent slightly to kiss Kat in acknowledgement, but just then the boys bounded over to them, their fascination and absorption with flying having finally wound down.

"That was so totally awesome, grandpa! Thank you," Steve bubbled, as enthusiastic as Rocky had ever been.

"Yeah—you too, grandma!" Scott piped up, flinging his arms around both. For once, his delight overcame his preteen's disdain for showing affection in public. His dark eyes, a legacy from his grandfather, were dancing with excitement. Suddenly, though, he seemed to realize how close to each other Kat and Tommy were standing.

"Why are you hugging?" he wanted to know, with a young boy's incessant curiosity... and lack of tact.

Tommy suppressed a groan. This was not how he'd wanted the communion with Kat to end! He looked down at Kat, whose eyes shone with laughter and tenderness. With admirable calm, she addressed their grandson.

"Because I was cold, hon," she replied, her voice not quite steady as she gave Tommy a small, sheepish shrug. "Grandpa was just helping me keep warm."

"Oh. Okay." Scott's attention was already diverted by his cousin, who was fairly bouncing on his feet.

"Look, there are buses! I bet we'll be landing soon! Let's see who's down first!"

The moment was lost. Tommy gazed helplessly at Katherine.

"Kat, I..." He found his mouth sealed by a cold fingertip.

"I know. Later," she promised, then stepped back with an apologetic smile as their balloon began to lose height rapidly when the crew started the landing procedure.

Grudgingly, Tommy nodded. But he kept as close to Kat as he could, and when the buses were ferrying them back to the Fair, they held hands all the way.

~*~

It was already dark when the kids were returned safely to their parents and they'd taken leave of Rocky and Sarah, who confessed to feeling pretty exhausted. Truth be told, Tommy and Kat weren't feeling all that chipper either, not as they had when they'd started on their momentous outing. After all, they were getting on a bit in years... But neither wanted to be alone quite yet, and thus Tommy found himself wandering a bit aimlessly around Kat's cosy living room while she put on some water for tea.

He was looking at the various groupings of photographs she had displayed here and there around the house. The grandchildren's pictures were on a wall near the window; parents and family on a small cabinet. Their friends' occupied most of a sideboard, and right above them, a little separately, hung two frames showing the smiling faces of those who were no longer with them—Trini and Kimberly.

Tommy was tracing the contours of Kim's picture with a finger, lost in thoughts about his wife and wondering if he hadn't maybe misread Kat's reaction earlier in the day, wishing he knew a way to bring it up again, when Kat appeared next to him on silent feet. She reached out with a slender hand and took the frame off its hook.

"This doesn't belong here anymore," she said softly.

Before Tommy could react, ask whether she wanted him to banish any mementos of his wife—I couldn't do that! Ever! I wouldn't ask you to remove Jase's photos! “ she turned towards the fireplace, where a large picture of Jason in his prime held pride of place on the mantelpiece.

"This is her rightful place... now."

Working the stand on the back of the frame loose, Kat placed Kimberly's picture firmly next to Jason's. They were nearly identical in size.

"We'll have to get matching frames," she mused.

Tommy's shoulders sagged in relief. Of course. He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions—especially ones he knew were against Kat's very nature.

"Sounds like a suitable Christmas present from one of the small fry," he suggested with a touch of humor.

"Possibly." Kat's voice was pensive as she regarded the two faces behind the gleaming glass.

Tommy came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. There was no resistance nor reluctance; she just tilted her head slightly towards him, and he pressed a small kiss against her temple. It was a gesture he'd offered her countless times over the years; less than he wanted, but it was a start.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

Kat didn't pretend to misunderstand what he was referring to. She'd never been coy, and she was too honest to shy back now, once her decision had been made.

"No."

Tommy still needed to ask, to make sure in which their relationship was heading from here on out.

"You'll marry me, then?"

She sent him a gentle smile.

"Of course."

Her answer, given without hesitation, opened the door to peace... and joy. Exhaling a breath he hadn't known he was holding, Tommy smiled back.

"Then why so thoughtful?"

She looked back at the two pictures. "I was just thinking... even if we'll be together from now on, they'll always be a part of our lives, won't they?"

"Naturally. I loved Kim too much to ever forget her, and I know you feel the same about Jase."

It wasn't exactly an orthodox thing to say to the woman he just had proposed to, but Tommy felt no qualms about it. After all, he knew that Kat would understand—because she was one with him in this.

"Thank you, Tommy," Kat whispered, a lone tear slipping from her eye. Whether it was one of sadness or happiness, neither could say. Tommy wiped it away gently.

"Don't cry," he begged.

"I'm not," Kat sniffled, then had to laugh. Just a little, but it was enough to make him draw her into his arms. With a small sigh, she rested her cheek against his, returning the embrace. The two stood like that for a few moments, then Kat bravely looked at Tommy.

"I love you," she murmured. "Not like I did when I was a teenager, and not like I loved Jason, but it is love."

"I love you, too," he replied in a low voice. "Just like that. It's weird... in a way, it feels like then, and yet it feels completely different..."

"Uh huh."

In perfect accord, they smiled at each other. Then, at long last, they kissed.

It was good-bye, and it was hello; a rekindling as well as an end... and a beginning. A circle closed.

An untold time later, Tommy prepared to leave. His arm was around Kat's waist as she accompanied him towards the door, but she stopped once more in front of the fireplace, before Jason and Kimberly's pictures.

"Is it my imagination, or are they smiling at us?"

"I think they are," Tommy answered. "After all, all they ever wanted was our happiness. And I am happy again—because you make me," he added with a quick kiss.

"Ditto."

Which was a gift neither had thought to receive.

~*~

"... so, while technically Tommy asked me to marry him in my living room, I'll always feel as if his real proposal was made in that balloon, gliding through the sky," Kat concluded her story.

"That's how I feel about it, too," Tommy concurred. "It just was the right time, the right place."

"In any case, it was really romantic," Jasmine smiled at them. "And you sure were right about the unusual location!"

"I guess you could say you were on Cloud Nine, huh, Dad?" Jay teased his father.

"Or that you had your head in the clouds," Ramon grinned.

"Definitely not a decision made with both feet firmly on the ground," Jared chimed in.

"Nah, they were floating on air," Oliver added, to loud groans from the rest of the family.

"Cut it out already," Trini scolded, glaring impartially at husband, brother and friends. "You guys have so no sense of romance!"

Lynne just shook her head, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. "Give it up, Trini," she muttered. "You'll never change them!"

"Not in this life, anyway," Rachel grumbled, as put out as the other girls.

The young men started to protest vigorously, and over their children's heads, Tommy and Kat exchanged a laughing look.

"Seems as if nobody in this room will ever change," he said conversationally to his fiancée. "All grown up, and still bickering like they used to as kids!" To which accurate observation Kat only nodded, her expression one of loving exasperation.

"Yes. And I guess that means they don't want to hear about our other decision," she remarked casually. As intended, it stopped the repartee surrounding them quite effectively.

"Oh? What's that?" Oliver wanted to know, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "You're not planning to run off to join the circus or anything like that after the wedding, are you?"

Lynne gasped as his flippant remark gave her a most unwelcome idea. "Please tell me you're not going to elope!"

"Now there's an idea," Tommy grinned. "What do you say, Kat—we run off to Vegas tonight, get married by an Elvis impersonator in an incredibly tacky ceremony, and can be back in time for dinner tomorrow. It'd save us a lot of time, trouble and money!"

"Hmm, that's right," Kat mused, hiding her laughter with difficulty. "After all, you and I already had our big weddings. I'm sure I can find a pink dress to match most Vegas chapels."

Six voices immediately rose in outraged protest.

"NO WAY!"

"Are you crazy, Dad, or what?" Jay blurted—rather disrespectfully, but to Tommy's secret amusement.

"Mom, you're not serious, are you?" Lynne begged. "You just have to have a proper wedding, with everyone!"

"Yeah; I want to walk you down the aisle," Oliver announced. After a quick glance at his glaring younger brother, he amended his statement. "Make that Jared and I."

Trini looked equally incensed. "If you do that, I'll never forgive you," she told her father.

Rachel leaned back in her chair and smiled slowly... evilly. "Don't worry, guys," she drawled. "If your 'rents pull a stunt like that on all of us, we'll just get Uncle Rocky, Uncle Zack and Aunt Aisha to plot revenge on them. What do you want to bet that then they'll be sooo-r-r-r-y?"

Ramon's eyes lit up with unholy glee at the idea. "Go on, Uncle Tommy, I dare you," his son-in-law smirked.

"Oh really?" Tommy looked at him challengingly. "I've more than half a mind to take you up on it, kiddo!"

Kat sighed in exasperation. Really, despite his age sometimes Tommy could be as bad as the kids. Make that worse.

"Do any of you want to hear about the decision we made, or not?" she asked the room in general with more than a touch of asperity, very much in Mom-mode. Her three children instantly looked sheepish. They knew that tone.

More than willing to play peacemaker, Jasmine nodded. "Of course we do; sorry, you two." She quelled her friends and sibs-in-law with a stern glance she usually reserved for a courtroom. "What is it?"

Tommy was still balefully eye-balling Ramon, who gave him back look for look, but subsided willingly enough when Katherine reached for his hand with a pleading glance.

"Tommy?"

"Oh, okay," he grumbled, breaking the stare-off. "You haven't heard the last of this, Ramon," he muttered sotto voce.

"Didn't think I had," Ramon mumbled, still grinning, but secretly glad he wouldn't have to put actions to words. He admired and liked his father-in-law too much to ever want to seriously aggravate him. Teasing was one thing—and very much part of their large family's life—but he'd let his mouth run away with him, and things had been in danger of going just a little too far.

Rachel's mind had been working at lightning speed. Her whole face lit up with excitement when a whole chandelier seemed to light up inside her head.

"Let me guess—it's about your wedding date, isn't it? Have you set one already?"

Smiling serenely, Kat nodded. "We have," she confirmed.

"What? When?" The question hit them from several sides at once.

Tommy chuckled. Lifting Kat's hands to his lips, he kissed the back, then looked at his family.

"Well... as long as all of you guys are here for the holidays anyway... we thought New Year's would be the perfect time."

That instantly quieted everybody, then all eight younger people surged up and forward, breaking out in excited babbling.

"Perfect!"

"But that's in a week already!"

"Way too soon..."

"Hey, it's not as if Mom and Uncle Tommy need to get to know each other better..."

"Where will we get a room at such short notice?"

"Can we get the families all together, or is anyone out of town next week?"

"But I've got absolutely nothing to wear!"

"What about flowers, a caterer..."

"We'll never be able to get ready in time..."

In the general hubbub, nobody noticed when Tommy slipped out of his chair and drew Kat up with him, behind the Christmas tree. It hid them from view at least partially. Arms loosely wrapped around each other, they surveyed the happy pandemonium from their vantage point.

"Well, that went much better than I'd hoped it would," he murmured into her ear.

Kat kissed him on the cheek. "Yes. And while I never imagined our announcement would lead to such a long trip down memory lane, I'm glad it did."

"Uh huh. There were some rough spots that hurt to remember, but on the whole it was good. We have a lot of great memories to share, don't we?"

"Yes. And I'm sure that we'll add to them in the years to come," Kat agreed. In the distance, she heard church bells ringing midnight. Christmas Eve was over. Turning towards Tommy, she gazed up at him with misty but happy eyes.

"Merry Christmas."

He returned the look in equal measure, then kissed her.

"Merry Christmas to you, too, dear. And I'm sure it'll be an even better new year."

Epilogue: The Legacy Continues

"... so you see, Christmas isn't only about getting things," Tommy said at the conclusion of his tale. He had just finished telling seven-year-old Ricky about the Christmas when the Machine Empire attempted to destroy everyone's holiday spirits.

The two were comfortably ensconced in Tommy's favorite easy chair near the fireplace. It was an unusually cold winter in Angel Grove, so the cheery blaze was most welcome. The lights on the Christmas tree twinkled merrily, and reflected off the bright paper and shiny bows of the presents stacked underneath. It was still a couple of days before Christmas, and Jay and Lynne had asked Tommy and Kat to watch their youngest while they finished up their shopping.

"It's about giving and being with people you love," Ricky responded, his eyes shining with excitement. He loved hearing his grandfather's stories about the original Power Rangers. The only thing better was having Uncle Rocky tell stories about them; they were always the funniest—like the time the White Ranger had to eat everything in sight or the time the Red and Yellow Turbo Rangers had to sing opera all day long!

A soft chuckle from his grandfather drew Ricky's attention back to the story at hand.

"That's right, it is," Tommy commented, unaware of his grandson's train of thought. "Very good, very good. You know, you're pretty smart for a little pipsqueak."

Ricky was about to tell his grandfather that he hated being called pipsqueak, but he was distracted by the creaking of a door.

Kat peered around the door and smiled fondly at the pair.

"That's enough for tonight, Tom. It's getting late," she chided gently. Really, once Tommy got going on his stories, he lost all track of time, and Ricky needed to start settling down, otherwise Lynne would never be able to get him to sleep.

"Aww..." Ricky pouted. He didn't want to start getting ready for bed; it was too early, and besides, he wasn't a baby and it was Christmas break after all. He gave his grandfather a beseeching look.

It was hard to resist those big brown eyes, but Tommy said, "Well, you heard your grandmother."

"Okay," Ricky acquiesced gracefully, albeit with a small, resigned sigh. He wasn't one to put up much of a fight with his elders.

However, before Kat could lead Ricky to the guest bedroom, the doorbell sounded.

"I'll get it," she said, making her way to the foyer. Opening the door, she found Ricky's older brother on the porch.

"Hello, dear," she greeted him.

"Hey, Grandma," the tall, good-looking young man said, giving her a peck on the cheek. "How you doin'? I'm here to pick up the pipsqueak."

Scott closed the door behind him as he brushed at his coat. Then, he followed his grandmother into the living room.

"Mom and Dad said to say hi and thanks for babysitting," he remarked.

"Oh, we love to do it," Kat assured him. Spending time with their grandchildren was one of their favorite things to do now that they were both retired.

"Okay, lil' bro, let's go," Scott said with a clap of his hands. Then, he took Ricky's coat from his grandmother.

Ricky pushed himself off his grandfather's lap, and Tommy gave him a gentle pat on the back as he scampered over to his older brother, who helped him put on his jacket.

Just then, a familiar chiming filled the living room.

At the tone, Tommy sat up straighter in his chair, old instincts kicking in. His expression concerned, his eyes darted to his wrist, but only found an ordinary watch there.

Kat shot him a quelling glance, putting a hand on his shoulder as he started to rise from his seat. She, too, had experienced that moment when her pulse still raced and her mind snapped to attention. Strange how the next generations of Rangers (those following their contemporaries, anyway) had reverted to using the old alert...complete with near-identical communicators. But it was a nice bit of nostalgia for those in the know, after holographic projector devices, souped-up cell phones and whatnot.

However, it was their red-shirted grandson who glanced at his wrist and muttered under his breath as he made a quick decision.

"Do you guys think you could watch him a little bit longer?" Scott asked hurriedly. "There's something I've got to take care of."

"Of course," Tommy agreed readily.

"We wouldn't mind at all," Kat assured him.

"Thanks," Scott said, relieved that his grandparents didn't ask any difficult questions. It was the one aspect of being a Power Ranger he disliked: being less than honest with those he loved.

With that brief farewell, Scott quickly took his leave. Behind him, his grandmother smiled proudly.

Ricky sighed with exasperation as he watched his older brother leave. "He's always got something to do."

Tommy left his seat, his leg twinging from when he'd broken it. He came to stand with Kat and Ricky as they continued gazing thoughtfully after Scott. Kat rested her hands on the younger boy's left shoulder, and Tommy patted the other lightly. His free arm reached out to encircle Kat's shoulders, and she slid her arm about his waist.

Ricky glanced up at his grandfather as Tommy spoke up, "Yeah, well, it must run in the family."

He chuckled as he and Kat exchanged knowing glances.

Sensing something more behind that remark, Ricky was dying to ask what it might be. He hated being left out of stuff. But before he could do more than open his mouth, his grandmother spoke.

"Tell you what," Kat began, hoping to distract Ricky from contemplating his brother's unusual behavior. "I have a pan of gingerbread cookies ready to come out of the oven. Would you like to help me decorate them?"

"All right!" Ricky agreed, grateful for any excuse not to get ready for bed yet. He consoled himself with the thought that one day, he would learn all the family secrets—when he was all grown up. Like, ten or so.

"Can I help, too?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know," Kat answered with mirth dancing in her bespectacled eyes. "The last time you helped, you ate more than you decorated."

~*~

A couple of hours and lots of gingerbread later, Tommy and Kat stood in the doorway, watching as Scott herded his little brother down the walk towards his car.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver. Merry Christmas!" a pretty blonde girl in a pink sweater called out, waving from the front seat of the car.

Kat smiled, waved back and watched as the red jeep turned the far corner. As she turned to go inside, she faced a puzzled-looking Tommy.

"What?" she wondered.

"Who was that?" he asked bemusedly. "Scott's latest girlfriend?"

"Yes. Ashley Stewart."

"Sounds kind of familiar."

"It should," Kat answered with the exaggerated patience one reserved for small children. "After all, she's Justin's granddaughter."

"Justin? He's not old enough to have grandchildren... is he?"

She gave him a Look. "Tom... Justin's only six years younger than we are. And he married young."

"Oh. Right."

"Ashley's about Scott's age, I believe. And I think she's a keeper."

Tommy guided his wife back into the living room, slightly bewildered by the fact that his grandkids were apparently old enough already to be thinking of having a serious relationship. (Completely forgetting that both he and Kat had been that same age when they found love the first time.) "How so?"

"Several reasons. A) she's by far the prettiest of the lot. B) as Justin's granddaughter, she has brains as well as beauty, and C) didn't you notice the color she was wearing?"

Tommy thought for a moment. He had been napping when Scott arrived and hadn't put his glasses back on when he followed Kat to the door. While he hadn't been able to see much in the gathering darkness.... "Wasn't she wearing something pinkish?"

"Uh huh." Kat's satisfied grin implied that was all he needed to know.

However, Tommy was just a tad slow this evening. "So?"

Kat sighed and rolled her eyes, patting Tommy's hand.

"Think, dear. Scott's the current Red Ranger. His girlfriend—who just happens to be the granddaughter of another former Ranger—likes to wear pink."

She could almost see the lightbulb switch on above Tommy's head.

"You mean... she's a Ranger, too?" Tommy queried.

"More than likely."

"I wonder if any of the other grandchildren are Rangers," Tommy mused.

"Steve is the only one locally who is old enough," Kat responded, pondering the question. "He has been wearing a lot of green lately."

"I would have pegged him for Yellow, after his father and mother's namesake," Tommy chuckled. "Ah, the legacy continues."

"Cocoa?" Kat offered, wanting to fetch something to drink before getting settled.

"That'd be great; thanks, hon."

While Kat vanished into the kitchen, Tommy drifted over to the fireplace and gazed with affection and pride at the photos assembled on the mantel. They had quite a family.

"Will all the kids be able to make it for Christmas this year?" he called in the general direction of the kitchen.

There would be no problem with Jay, Lynne and the boys since they were still living in Angel Grove and the families would be meeting at their house. Jay and Lynne still ran the Red Dragon Dojo, and Scott was now a part-time instructor there. After college, he planned to join the family business full time. Ricky, however, seemed to have a love for cars, but he was young yet.

Trini and Ramon would be there as well with their brood. They still operated the Stone Canyon branch of the RDD. Recently, Trini had added tumbling classes for beginners to the curriculum. While she had never pursued gymnastics with the serious intent of her mother, she was well grounded in the sport, and her feeder program fed into the more advanced gymnastics centers, providing the kids with a more relaxed atmosphere to begin learning.

Esteban—Steve—at seventeen had his Grandpa Rocky's liking for football (and Chemistry, believe it or not), but fifteen-year-old Caitlyn was the real athlete in the family. She played any sport she could make the team for. Her twin, on the other hand, did not care for sports. The closest Colleen came to participating in sports was being a cheerleader. She seemed to be following in Kim's footsteps as one of the most popular girls in school. Alejandro—Alex—was into the latest video game craze. If Ricky was known as Pipsqueak, Alex had inherited the title of Pest.

Oliver and Jasmine were a little more problematic in their ability to attend—not due to distance (as they were only in LA), but due to schedule conflicts. Jasmine's family law practice kept her plenty busy, and Oliver, being on the police force, was always on the go. As for their son Brandon, the fourteen-year-old favored soccer, writing and filmmaking rather than law or law enforcement, and very much like his Grandpa Adam, he was a quiet boy with dark eyes and dark curly hair.

Jared and Rachel were still in Colorado—Rachel with the University observatory and Jared with figure skating. They weren't always able to get to Southern California, which was a shame because Tommy and Kat adored little William Jason and K.K. Will was six, with blondish-brown hair, hazel eyes and was already showing signs of being as bright as his mother and Grandpa Billy. With her green eyes and strawberry-blonde curls, K.K. (Kimberly Katherine to non-family members) was daddy's little sweetheart. She was only four, but she had already started skating under Jared's tutelage and was taking to it like a duck to water.

Tommy paused at the final pictures in the row. Ah, Kim, Jason, if only you could see your family now!

Just then, Kat returned with two mugs of steaming cocoa. She handed one to Tommy, and they retired to the sofa.

"Jasmine called earlier to say they would be able to be here, and Jared e-mailed to say that no snow was predicted, so everything looked good at their end," Kat related, getting to Tommy's question at last.

"I'm glad; I missed them last year," Tommy sighed happily.

The two shared a moment of companionable silence as they sipped their hot chocolate.

"Is everything all set for New Year's?" Kat queried.

New Year's was a double celebration as they had been married on New Year's Day. That was the time when they got together with all their old friends.

Fortunately, there had been no further deaths in their circle since Kimberly had passed away ten years ago; although, nature was taking its toll. For instance, Tommy was more absent-minded now than he ever had been as a teen. Billy was having trouble with arthritis in his fingers—to his everlasting frustration, and Aisha had developed diabetes. On the whole, though, they were as well as could be expected for septuagenarians.

These days, all of them were pretty much retired. Tanya, however, continued to sing for special events, and Adam still had his hand in writing scripts and working with stunt coordinators (the reason the two had moved back west after living in New York for so long). Billy was still very much in demand in the scientific circles (and occasionally as a liaison to the interstellar community); Connie had long since retired from nursing. Aisha, though no longer a practicing veterinarian, still volunteered at the animal shelter—when she and Zack weren't spending time in Africa. Zack's public relations work for environmental groups enabled them to travel frequently. As for Rocky and Sarah, they spent most of their time spoiling their fourteen grandchildren and continuingly multiplying great-grandchildren.

"Everything is all set," Tommy replied. "Rocky, though, says he'll be handing out cigars again."

"Another one? Who is expecting this time? One of Sophia's or one of Carmen's?" Kat wondered, rolling her eyes at the prolific DeSantoses. Really, it was becoming too difficult to keep track of all of Rocky's descendants!

"He didn't say."

"I wonder if that means it's one of Melissa's or Marissa's children."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Zack says Sloan has leave, so he and Ashala and the kids will be coming after Christmas," Tommy continued. Adam and Tanya's eldest was a career Naval officer, and he had met up with Ashala Taylor in Egypt, of all places.

"That's good; Aisha will be so happy. She doesn't get to see her grandchildren as much as she'd like," Kat said happily. Then, her tone softened and her expression became sad. "All that's missing are Jason and Kim."

"And Trini," Tommy added thoughtfully. "I was just thinking the same thing, but they are still here with us."

"I know," Kat murmured softly, smiling wistfully as she gazed at the anniversary band she wore along with Tommy's ring. The diamond-studded band had been Jason's gift to her on their anniversary—their last before he died. She had passed on the Scott opal ring to Oliver and Jasmine, just as Kim's rose diamond ring went to Jay and Lynne. Trini had been given Kim's anniversary band, and Jared had inherited Jason's wedding band, now fashioned into a signet with the initials "JS" inlaid in gold on onyx. They each had a little piece of those who were no longer with them. "Jason and Kim have been with us all along, making sure we're happy and content, giving their approval whenever we needed it."

"Like when we moved into our own place," Tommy said, recalling how torn they had been when they were first married about where to live: his place or Kat's. In the end, they'd opted for something smaller where they could create new memories without old ghosts lurking in every corner.

Basically, they'd traded houses with Jay and Lynne. With the addition of Ricky, the younger Olivers had needed more space. They took up residence in Jason and Kat's larger house. However, Tommy couldn't bear to part with the house he and Kim had shared for so long; since the mortgage was paid off, they decided to keep it for the kids to use whenever they were in town, and it would be theirs to sell in the future.

"You know," Tommy began hesitantly, "I never mentioned this, but when we were first married, I had some doubts that it was the right thing to do even though I had—have!—strong feelings for you,. Not that I regret it, never that, but... I wasn't altogether sure that we would be completely happy together as a couple again. It was more like... I was afraid I'd let you down again—that I wouldn't do as good a job as Jason, and I was afraid that you wouldn't make me as happy as I had been with Kim—and I wasn't sure I wanted you to. Does that make any sense?"

Kat patted his hand, understanding his feelings. "Yes, it does, funnily enough. To be honest, I had many of those same doubts. I couldn't see how you could ever measure up to Jason, but then I realized that you weren't trying to be Jason; you were just being Tommy, and in my life, both of you made me happy in very different ways.

"And yes, I was nervous about being in Kim's shadow again, but you never tried to compare me to her... to make me into her replacement. You let me be me, and that was a good thing."

"Uh huh."

They smiled at each other, secure in their relationship which over the years had run the gamut from friendship to love back to friendship, then to love again at last.

"Speaking of good things...." Tommy began suddenly, both grateful to have those thoughts off his chest and to leave the topic behind. "I wanted to give you one of your Christmas presents early."

"Oh, Tommy, you shouldn't...." Kat demurred, although a pleased sparkle lit her eyes.

"Actually, I have to give it to you early," he said enigmatically, with a mischievous grin. He leveraged himself off the sofa and disappeared down the hall.

Have to.... What on earth could Tommy have gotten her? Flowers? Something perishable? And if he had hidden it in the back bedroom, why hadn't she seen the package while preparing the room for Ricky?

Tommy seemed to be taking his sweet old time, and the anticipation was just beginning to get to Kat when he returned, bearing a large, festive hat box. Kat regarded him puzzledly as he sat the box in her lap. Her brow furrowed as she noted the holes punched into the lid.

"What in the world...." she began; it obviously wasn't a hat. The package was much too heavy.

"If you want to know what it is, just open it," Tommy suggested, all innocence itself.

She shot him a dubious glance, then did as he bid. She pulled the lid off, peered inside and exclaimed, "Oh, Tommy! How sweet...!"

Inside, curled up in a contented ball, was a small cat. Kat carefully lifted the purring bundle from the container and nuzzled the soft, sleek white fur. Sleepy eyes opened, revealing crystal blue orbs which regarded her with feline approval.

"She's adorable, Tommy; thank you!"

"I know you like cats but couldn't have one because of Jason's—and later the kids'—pet allergies," Tommy explained. "When I saw those baby blues in the pet store... they reminded me of your eyes."

"What a sweetheart," Kat murmured, but since her attention was focused on stroking the silky fur, Tommy wasn't sure she was talking to him or the cat.

"So, what are you going to name her?" he wondered.

"Oh, I don't know... how does P.C. strike you?" Kat asked, her expression full of mischief.

"P.C.... that sounds familiar," Tommy remarked thoughtfully.

"I should; it's what Aisha named me when I was in cat form," she reminded him. "Only, this time, instead of standing for Park Cat, it stands for Pretty Cat."

"Aisha will think otherwise," Tommy warned her with a chuckle, remembering now.

"I don't care; let her," Kat decreed.

Tommy watched his wife bond with her Christmas present and was suffused with a great sense of satisfaction. Thirty-seven wonderful years with his high school sweetheart. Six years with an equally terrific woman. Two beautiful children and nine lovely grandchildren (between the two of them), and the best friends anyone could ever ask for... yes, life was good!

"I am a happy man," Tommy sighed as he resumed his seat beside his wife. "I am a truly happy man."

She laughed merrily. "You sound like Bob Cratchit!"

They had watched A Christmas Carol earlier in the day, and Tommy's words echoed Bob Cratchit's words in the scene where the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come showed Ebenezer Scrooge Tiny Tim's death (though the script took liberties with the original text).

"Maybe I do," he agreed, "but it's true nonetheless."

"Then I guess I'll quote Tiny Tim and observe, 'God bless us, everyone'," Kat quipped.

"He has, hon; he already has."

The End

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