On the plane ride to CERN, Tommy was having his own dilemma. He couldn't understand what he was going through. Should I talk to her? he thought. He wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to know the truth. But now, he was afraid of it—afraid it might hurt, like the letter did.

He thought that after all these years, he would heal. He told that to himself. But he was wrong. Their meeting had reopened an old wound, at it still felt fresh. He felt the way he did the day he received the letter. It was as if his world was crashing in on him, once more. Was it his pride? Was it the thought of finding out that Kimberly didn't love him anymore?

He played the tape recorder he held in his hand, while Kim was in the lavatory—crying, perhaps.

"Conner, I don't know if you could hear me. But... I just want to tell you this. I'm sorry. For everything. Forgive me, Conner. At first, I tried to abort you.

"Then, I realized I couldn't do it. So, I gave birth to you—my Conner. But I couldn't keep you. What could I do? I had to give you up. I don't know if you would find it in your heart to forgive me. But I hope and pray that someday, you would learn to love me—to call me mom. I know I don't deserve being called mom, by you. But if I could change things, I would've kept you. I know that being young and stupid isn't much of an excuse. It's not even an excuse. I can only hope and pray that you would forgive me and learn to love me, someday. I also wish for your father to forgive me. I loved your father. I still do."

He rewound the tape a couple of times. Then, he rewound that last part.

"I also wish for your father to forgive me. I loved your father. I still do."

He hit rewind, again. And again. And again. And again. Could it be? Was he really Conner's father? Or had Kimberly been lying? Was it a cover up? Could Jack Hunter be Conner's father? 

No, Kimberly had said that she wanted Conner's father to forgive her. She loved his father. She still does.

Was that him Kimberly was talking about? Or was it that jerk? No, he wouldn't concede. He decided it wasn't him. But then, a part of him kept on insisting he believe Kimberly. He hated himself for his indecision. Maybe he was hurting too much to think straight. He wasn't the kind of person who let go that easily. Everyone had witnessed that when Kimberly had broken up with him. He may have been happy with Billy and Katherine, skiing on the slopes, but weeks later, he showed his depression when he was alone with Adam and Rocky.

The same could be said regarding his and Katherine's breakup. She was in London, he was in Angel Grove. She was concentrating on her career; he was concentrating on his studies. That phone call was devastating to him—as devastating as the letter. He drank. He didn't show up on campus for weeks. He took out his frustration on his professors.

Years went by, and he met Hayley. They went out for years, but Tommy had discovered that she had been sleeping with his dad, James Oliver. That too was devastating. He didn't let go—or at least it took him awhile to do so.

Maybe that was it. He was afraid of being hurt again. He had been hurt so many times before, by the very same people he had loved. He had been lied to so many times before. Maybe this was just a ruse. Something to get him to come back to Kimberly. Perhaps she was lying to him again. He had heard the story of Trini and Kimberly's falling out from Jason. He couldn't believe Kimberly would do such a thing. He was shocked, along with the whole gang, when they had heard the account.

Flashback

1993

Angel Grove Recreational Park

4:00pm

"This place... So many memories," Jason sighed, as he took a walk in the park with the rest of the gang. Rocky put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. You okay, man?"

Jason said nothing. He just shook his head. He kept his head down, thrust his hands into his pockets, and walked with slouched shoulders.

"Still depressed over the turnover of the Gold Ranger powers?" Tommy suggested.

"No, man," Jason sighed, "That's not it."

"Then, what is?"Katherine offered.

"It's just that... Never mind."

"Come on, man. You can tell us. We're friends," Adam put in.

"This place... So many memories," Jason said, with a smirk, "I remember when were playing tag, here, and I squashed Zack's poor hamster."

"That's it? A trip down memory lane."

"Trini's been blackmailing me about it, ever since."

"And you're worried she would tell Zack?" Tommy said.

"No," Jason answered, with a bitter smile, "I'm just worried about what's going on with our friendship."

"Whatever do you mean?" Katherine asked.

"Me, Zack, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy. We were the best of friends. We all grew up together. Now, everything's breaking apart."

"You guys—including us—are still friends. There's nothing to worry about. Zack may be in Texas, Kimberly may be in Florida, Billy may be on some distant planet, and Trini may be back in Vietnam, but it doesn't mean you guys are no longer friends," Tommy said.

"Look, Tommy, it's not as easy as that! It's not what you think, alright? Trini went back to Vietnam, because of Kimberly! They had a falling out, a few months ago!"

A hush fell over the gang, and everyone was silent.

"What!" Tommy said, shocked.

"Kimberly stole Trini's boyfriend—or ex-boyfriend, as is the case, now."

"What! I can't believe she did that!"

"Did you check your sources?" Adam asked, confused. He was lost.

"Yes, and the last time I checked, my source was Trini herself!"

"Wait, wait! What happened? I don't get it."

"Trini said she was visiting Kimberly after she came home from Geneva. When she got to Florida, she asked around for her. Kimberly's roommates, Cindy and Susan pointed out the dorm to her. She entered, looked around, and found Kimberly in the shower with her boyfriend."

Tommy's face was reddening. His fists were clenched, and so were his jaws. In that moment, he felt as if he could kill a thousand men, just as Samson of long ago had done. But he contented himself with just the thought. He couldn't carry that out. Part of the code of a Ranger was to not use the Power for personal gain. So Tommy was content to just think about it, and keep it to himself. Besides, Kimberly might get hurt in the process, were he to do anything drastic. He still loved her, it seemed, and he couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt, whether physically or emotionally. He felt the heat growing in his face. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. He looked down, lest someone should notice. How could Kimberly do that? he thought. He shook his head.

End of flashback.

The plane was now about to land. The pilot announced the landing. They would be landing in 30 minutes. Tommy unbuckled his seatbelt for a while, to wake his three sleeping students. They had slept soundly, during the whole flight.

"No wonder it was so quiet," he said to himself.

"Are they always noisy?" Kimberly asked.

"Sometimes they are. You just have to get used to them."

"Teenagers. We were just like them, once."

"Yeah, once," Tommy said, smirking, "A long time ago."

In Switzerland, Billy met the party at the airstrip. He hugged Tommy and Kimberly.

"So, how was your flight?" Billy asked, with a smile.

Tommy glanced down at his watch. Billy laughed out loud.

"What!"

"You've gone through four time zones, my friend," Billy said, showing him the correct time.

Tommy readjusted his.

"By the way, I'd like to introduce you to my students. They're Rangers too. This is Kira, Ethan, and Trent."

All three shook hands with Billy.

"I thought you said you had four students who were Rangers. Where's the other one?"

"He met an accident, before you called. He's in ICU."

Billy winced.

"Ooh. Sorry to hear that. Well, come along then, and we'll brief you on the situation with Zedd and Company."

They all rode in the van, accompanied by military escort. Billy sat in the front seat. Trent had to be moved to another vehicle, as the van could accommodate only seven people—six passengers, plus the driver.

Billy turned in his seat, and looked into the back.

"By the way," he said, smiling, "We have a friend whom you haven't seen in years. She'd be happy to see you."

"Please, Billy," Kimberly said, looking down, "I wish you wouldn't."

"But she's expec—" Kimberly cut him off, raising a warning finger.

"Alright, suit yourself," he said, feigning exasperation.

At CERN, they all got down, with their escorts taking their belongings. As they entered the entrance to the main building, a petite Asian woman waved at them with a big smile on her face. Tommy and Kimberly recognized her. She hadn't changed a bit, since they last saw her. She was still wearing yellow.

Old habits are hard to break, Tommy thought, a smile creeping across his face.

"Kimberly! Kimberly!" Trini shouted, excitedly, waving like crazy. Kimberly dropped her carry-on, and ran towards her old friend.

Trini enveloped her in a bear hug.

"I've missed you, Kimmie," Trini said, choking.

"I've missed you too, Tri," she replied, trying her best not to cry.

But they cried. They couldn't help it. Tommy smiled at the thought. He was envious of Trini. How could she forgive? He wished he had more of Trini's forgiving spirit, and less of his own pride. He envied Trini. If Trini could forgive Kimberly, then why couldn't I? It was one of the questions he was trying to answer. He had none. But he was willing to find the answer.

"Come on. The others are waiting. We have a lot to discuss. Later, after we have discussed the matter at hand, then and only then can we catch up on each other. I know we have a lot of catching up to do, but business takes precedence over personal affairs."

Tommy, Trini, and Kimberly smirked.

"Billy hasn't changed a bit," all three said, simultaneously, and laughed.

It was a reunion. There were Rangers they knew, there Rangers they didn't. Jason hugged Tommy, the moment he saw him.

"Bro! How've you been?"

"Okay, I guess."

They all hugged. Adam was there. Zack. Rocky. Aisha. Katherine. A good friend of Tommy's, Andros. They were many more. They all sat in one of the conference rooms, in front of a panel of directors. They got down to business.