Flames of Love
by Ellen Brand

Turning on her side, Kimberly looked at the large green stuffed dragon that Tommy had won for her, almost four years ago. It had been one of their first dates, and they had gone to the Angel Grove Carnival together. The dragon had immediately caught her eye, and Tommy, ever obliging, had won it for her with an expertly placed baseball toss.

"Oh, Junior, I miss him," she sobbed quietly, pulling the dragon closer. In a fit of giggles after the carnival, Kim had dubbed the stuffed toy "Dragonzord Jr," and the name had stuck. Kim would never tell anyone, especially Tommy, but Junior was her favorite of the three stuffed animals Tommy had won for her over the years. The tiger and the falcon were cute, but they weren't Tommy. The White Ranger had always been the perfect white knight, a hero and a leader, but he'd never seemed quite human. The Green Ranger, on the other hand, for all his faults and darkness, had always been tender and loving to her, always more concerned with her welfare than the battle.

She cried into the toy for a while longer, then pushed it away. Getting up, she got dressed and headed down to the gym to practice. She wouldn't get anymore sleep that night, so she might as well do something useful.

When she reached the gym, however, she suddenly lost the desire to do any gymnastics. Instead, she moved out into the mats and began a simple meditation kata that Tommy had taught her a long time ago. Losing herself in the graceful moves, Kim forgot her dream, forgot Florida, forgot the terrible events on Muranthias, and was transported back in time to the summer day when Tommy had taught her the form by moving her hands and legs into the correct positions. Both of them had been distracted from the kata by their proximity, and Tommy's hands had unconsciously begun to move. He hadn't realized what he was doing until his hands slipped up her thighs. They had both frozen, scared to death at what was going on. Then Tommy had kissed her gently, and the kata was forgotten for the rest of the afternoon.

A hot pain in Kimberly's chest jolted her out of her meditative state. That afternoon, in Tommy's basement, had been the first time they made love. He'd been so gentle, so tender. Tears flowing freely from her eyes, Kim wondered if Kat was sharing Tommy's bed now. "Probably," she muttered. "She's a tall blond knockout, and she was obviously interested."

"But he's always been faithful to you," a soft voice replied from the door. Spinning, Kim raised a hand to her chest. In the doorway stood Adam, watching her, his expression unreadable.

"Adam!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath. "What are you doing here?"

Shrugging, he walked into the room. "Tommy finally had his heart-to-heart with Jason over what happened on the island. We thought that somebody ought to go talk to you, too. Zordon scanned to see if you were awake, and since you were, I came out to talk to you."

"Oh," Kim replied. "Well, let's not talk here. I don't want someone coming in to practice in the middle of the night and asking odd questions about you." She led him out into one of the numerous courtyards on the compound. The full moon lit it brightly, and the bench she led him to seemed almost as bright as day. "So, what do you want to talk about?" she asked nervously.

"You've been having nightmares, haven't you," Adam asked, but it wasn't really a question. Kim nodded shyly. "What about?"

She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "The fight- with Kat," she whispered finally. "In my dreams, Tommy can't stop me, and I just start beating on her, and I can't stop. I break her helmet apart, and I just keep pounding, and pounding, until she's just lying there on the floor."

"Do you really hate her that much?" Adam asked quietly.

"No! I don't hate her! I guess I'm just- jealous. She's so tall, and beautiful, and poised, all the things I'll never be. No wonder Tommy likes her so much."

"He likes her a lot, that's true, Kim. But he never stopped loving you. He loves you still, and if you asked, he'd come back to you in a heartbeat."

Kim's head snapped up. "What? But- that letter I sent! He sent me one back saying he understood, and he hoped I was happy, and that whatever we had was gone!"

"He thought that was what you wanted, Kimberly. It wasn't, though, was it?"

She shook her head. "No. I thought I was being so mature, so great, letting him go because he didn't need me anymore now that he had Kat. I never even had another boyfriend! I just made him up for the letter! Oh, God, I hurt him so badly, didn't I?"

Adam nodded. "But even so, he still loves you with all his heart. When we found out Divatox had you, that was all he thought about. Jason was just an afterthought. When Elgar dumped those mannequins in the ocean, he insisted on checking both of them to make sure one of them wasn't you. I have never seen him so driven or cold in my entire life. He scared the crap out of Kat and Justin. I knew if you were dead, then nothing in the world would save Divatox from him."

"He still- loves me?" Kim asked, still having trouble with that concept.

"With all his heart. Why do you think I was the one to come see you? He couldn't face the thought of having to pretend to be happy for you and your boyfriend."

Kimberly leaped to her feet. "Adam, I have to see him. Can I go back with you?"

Adam grinned, rising as well. "Already taken care of," he replied, handing her a communicator. In two flashes of light, they disappeared, leaving Florida behind, in mind as well as body.

End