Vermilion and Salmon are Alike
by WhiteZeo

Tommy Oliver sat at the lip of Angel's Bluff, his red Jeep parked right next to him; Music blaring out from the radio, but going unnoticed by the deep-in-thought teenager.

*I am so stupid!* he mentally yelled at himself *I should have known what I was doing! Heather probably hates me now. But then again, I don't blame her for hating me. I only ditched her so many times! And if she knew half of what was going on in my head! Then she'd REALLY hate me. Man, I have such a messed up mind!*

"But that's all Rita's fault," Tommy told himself out loud, "If I hadn't been her Green Ranger, I wouldn't be a ranger, period," he paused, "Sometimes, I wish I was actually a normal teenager; Worrying about the big test at school, instead of worrying when Mondo's gonna next attack."

Just as the Red Zeo Ranger prepared to dive into his thoughts again, a familiar voice queried, "I actually thought that was the fun part of it."

Snapping around, Tommy saw Katherine Hillard {Kat} standing behind him, looking as if she was child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Oh. Hey, Kat," the boy greeted her, as the Pink Ranger came up and sat down next to him, "What'd you mean by, 'fun part of it'?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" Kat grinned, as she stole a glimpse at Tommy.

"Yeah. If you want to tell me, that is."

Katherine nodded her head. "Oh, I'm willing. It's just that you might think I'm psycho after I tell you."

The ranger cracked a smirk. "I doubt it."

"Okay," she began her explanation, "Well, I always thought that the best part of being a Power Ranger was not being a normal teenager. I mean, I knew the risks that came with being a ranger, ya know, but those things I was willing to deal with. Besides they rarely came up," Kat became silent, "I guess you could say, I just liked being special. Knowing someone else could have been the Pink Ranger, but wasn't because I am the Pink Ranger," she looked in Tommy's direction, "Kinda selfish, huh?"

"Actually, no," Kat was startled by her leader's words, "When I first got the Green Power Coin from Rita, I felt the exact same way."

Kat's blue eyes stared at him for a minute. *He doesn't seem like the type that would need to feel special. I think he'd be pretty special even if he wasn't a ranger.* "I'm sorry about what happened with Heather," the Australian native apologized for millionth time; She had a strong feeling that was what Tommy was sulking about.

"Don't worry about it, Kat," the ranger smiled in her direction, "It wasn't your fault. I should've known my duty as a ranger would somehow mess up my dating life."

Katherine patted his hand soothingly. "Don't be so hard on yourself. There's nothing wrong with your dating life, other than that you can't date a civilian. That wouldn't exactly work out," she paused, as Tommy glanced her way, "Besides, your eyes tell me the whole story. You were jumping into that relationship with Heather to try and wash away the hurt feelings that came with Kim's letter."

The Red Ranger hesitated, but then told, "You are so right, Kat," he grinned, then explained, "It's just that Kim was my first steady girlfriend, ya know. Before I used to have girls hanging all over me, twenty-four seven. I was like a 'different girl every date' guy. I guess I was afraid to get hurt."

Kat nodded her head, understandingly. "I once was like that. Back in Australia. I even had schedule for them all; Make sure I didn't 'book' two dates on the same night," she was silent, "But when I came out here, I saw all these couples; Especially you and Kim. It was then I realized no one in Angel Grove was looking for a 'one time date'; They were all looking for true love."

A sigh escaped from Tommy's lips. "I know what'cha mean. At first I felt out of place here; As if being the once evil minion of Rita's wasn't enough."

"Exactly," she agreed.

"Then when I spotted Kim, everything changed. I willing to wait; I was willing to love her the way she wanted to be loved," Tommy shook his head, as if it was he was saying was gibberish, "Now, two years later, she up and moves to Florida; Dropping me a 'Dear John' letter practically a half year later."

"Kim must have had her reasons," the Pink Zeo Ranger comforted, "They were probably good reasons, too."

He chuckled. "They must have been REALLY good reasons for her to up and dump me like this," Tommy brushed some of his hair away from his face, "Leaving me with a scar in my heart."

Kat became quiet as a mouse. She didn't know what to say. The Pink Ranger had never been dumped. She had been the one to always dump the guy; Never the guy dumping her. This was new territory for the girl. *I wish I knew what to say to Tommy, but I don't. I have nothing to comfort him with.*

The teenage boy propped his head up in his hands. He took Kat's quietness as a comforting thought. He assumed she didn't want to say anything because she couldn't. There was nothing left to say. *I never thought me and Kat had some much in common* he thought to himself *Red and pink have much in common as it is.*

Listening to the start of a slow song on the car radio, Tommy spoke up, "Care to dance, Kat?"

"Me?" she gazed up at Tommy, who was now standing, startled.

He took her hands into his and pulled her up from the grass. "Yeah, you," the Zeo Ranger teased, "I don't see another Katherine Hillard around, do you?"

The blonde blushed a rosy pink as Tommy wrapped his arms around her waist and she draped her arms around his neck; Both swaying to the soprano voice of Celine Dion.

Take me, back in the arms I love
Need me, like you did before
Touch me once again
And remember when
There was no one that you wanted more

Don't go, you know you will break my heart
She won't, love you like I will
I'm the one who'll stay
When she walks away
And you know I'll be standing here still

I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
You will see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me be the one to love you more

Slowly, Kat rested her head against Tommy's broad shoulder. *Oh, Tommy. You have no idea how much I care for you. I could love you just like Kim did. Maybe even better, if you give me the chance. But I'm willing to wait. I'm willing to wait for you, when you're ready to love again* Kat let a wisp of her blonde hair fly past her eyes *I'm the one who wants to love you more.*

See me, as if you never knew
Hold me, so you can't let go
Just believe in me
I will make you see
All the things that your heart needs to know

I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
Can't you see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me be the one to love you more

And some way, all the love that we had can be saved
Whatever it takes, we'll find a way

Tommy let another sigh slip from his lips; He was finally content and untroubled. He didn't feel at all nervous like he sometimes felt around Kimberly Anne Hart and he wasn't afraid. The Red Ranger actually felt safe. Safe in the arms of the Pink Zeo Ranger. *I hope you'll still be there when I'm ready, Kat. When I'm ready to love again.........*

I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
Can't you see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me be the one to love you more

The End