Disclaimer: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and all related characters belong to Saban Brands. This is a nonprofit work of fanfiction belonging to the author. As for the pop culture reference… it comes from the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer (yes, I mean the MOVIE, not the dreadful TV show), which belongs to 20th Century Fox.

Author's Note: This is a completely different take on the Rangers' family lives from what I portray in other stories, notably "Tragedies and Triumphs!" I just watch the episodes and look for jumping-off points from regular continuity. There's any number of things you could do!

Continuity: Takes place following "Return of an Old Friend part 2." Not related to any of my other stories!

Maman
Part I: Bringing Home the Boys
by MegaSilver

Kimberly emerged from the Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar with her mother, her father, and her mother's boyfriend, laughing at the mess the latter three were in following the most obnoxious food fight she had ever witnessed.

"My good scarf!" cried Kris Hart.

"Oh, Mom, it's machine washable," Kimberly sighed, trying to stay in a good mood. The truth was, her mother exasperated her fairly regularly these last few years. She was just happy to see her parents both present and next to each other again for Parents' Day, even if it were only for a while.

Terrence Hart wiped a bit of cream off his shoulder and licked his finger. "Well, flying tarts aside, it was a great day, sweetheart. Thanks so much for bringing us out here."

Kimberly beamed.

"It was nice," agreed Mrs. Hart. Her boyfriend Jack Leary put an arm around her shoulder. Kimberly wanted to smack him in the gob. Her happy expression began to melt just a bit.

Mr. Hart looked at his daughter and seemed just a bit taken aback by her change of humor. "Well, ah… I'd better be going. Off to Seattle for work tomorrow"

"On Saturday?" Kimberly was surprised to feel momentarily sad… and then strangely indifferent.

Mr. Hart sighed and nodded. "Afraid so. There's a big trade fair going on and this year I was named the lucky representative." He rubbed Kimberly's cheek a bit. "You coming with Davie to my place next weekend?"

"Maybe; I don't know what I'm doing next weekend yet." The mood was definitely beginning to chill.

"Okay. Come by whenever you like, okay?" Mr. Hart kissed Kimberly on her cheek and she tried to smile in return.

"Right," interpolated Kimberly's mother. "Bye, Terrence; have a good flight."

Almost as soon as Mr. Hart was gone, Tommy appeared. "Hey, Kim! Hi, Mrs. Hart. Just wanted to say goodbye and nice to meet you."

"Oh, thank you; it was nice meeting you, too!" Mrs. Hart smiled and then looked a little concerned. "Your parents didn't come?"

"Ah, no, something came up," Tommy replied quickly, and a bit evasively. "Got me out of the house though, got a chance to see everybody I haven't seen in a while." He winked at Kimberly and she giggled just a bit.

Maybe the day would end okay, after all.

"Umm, hey, you want to come have dinner with us?" Kimberly asked hopefully. "I mean, Mom, can he?"

"Oh, sweetie, I forgot to tell you: Jack and I are going out to dinner and Davie's sleeping over at Cameron's house tonight. But there's a pot roast in the fridge; if you two want to work on that and then go to a movie or something, feel free! We can give you a ride if you want. I mean, if it's okay with your parents."

Tommy's eye seemed to twinkle. "Ah, they'll be fine with it."

At seven o'clock, Kimberly and Tommy were watching TV in the living room as Kimberly's mother, dressed up to the nines, sailed down the stairs, Jack following her. "Bye sweetheart. Pot roast should be ready in about another hour and a half. Don't wait up for me, okay?"

Tommy noticed Kimberly smiled just a little too wide. "Okay. Bye, Mom. Bye, Jack."

"Bye, you two," bade Jack.

"Bye, Ronnie!" Mrs. Hart called to Tommy.

What the heck? Tommy tried to take it in stride as he waved. "Bye!" Then he turned to Kimberly, an expression of bewilderment on his face. "Your mom thinks my name is 'Ronnie'?!"

Kimberly snorted. "It's possible she thinks my name is Ronnie!" she sulked.

"Real quality-timer, huh?" Tommy sighed. He could relate, actually, but he didn't want to start in on that. He wasn't in a broody mood at all; it'd been a great day: he'd gotten his powers back, he'd heroically saved his friends and the world, and here he was with a pretty girl, home alone in front of cable T.V..

I must protect this house!

What to say now?

He took a risk. "Your dad seems nice."

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Actually, if you want to know the truth I'm almost madder at my dad than at my mom. They have joint custody: he gets Dave on Monday nights and every other weekend, but I get to choose since I'm over twelve." She sighed. "I just wish we could be a normal family, you know?"

Tommy blinked a bit. "Well… when you think about it, what's really normal?"

Kimberly hit a button on the remote control. The channel switched, and an old episode of Leave It to Beaver appeared on-screen. "Something like the Cleavers, I guess."

"Come on, Kim, that's just TV. I mean, no one's really like that, are they?"

"Well, you know, a year ago I would've said Spiderman and Superman were just comic books, too."

"Oh." Tommy reflected briefly on that. The truth was, he had always found comic books incredibly stupid and since becoming a Ranger it hadn't even occurred to him to compare their situation with that of any masked marvel. It had just seemed so… different to him, so much more down-to-Earth than the dark angst that permeated every page of a 'graphic novel.' But now that he thought about it, it was true: they really were, in as much a sense as any D.C. character, superheroes. "Good point."

Kimberly looked sadly into Tommy's eyes. "We were like that. Like the Cleavers," she murmured sadly. "Mom and Dad were both there, they got along—or at least they seemed to—, they paid attention to us kids, they took us to Mass on Sunday…" She took a deep breath. "Then suddenly without warning my dad had an affair the summer after seventh grade and my mother just totally fell apart. Couldn't stand the sight of him, couldn't keep herself together. She wasn't like that before; she was always really a pro-active mom, you know?" Kimberly blinked a bit. "We used to be like Leave It to Beaver; now it's more like All My Children. I guess I kind of blame my dad for ruining all that for us. Now that he's gone… Mom's just turned all silly and shallow and obsessed with stupid Jack."

"You don't like him?"

Kimberly gritted her teeth. "He's my uncle's twin brother!"

Tommy was shocked at first. "What? Oh, you mean… your uncle, like, her sister's huband?"

"Yeah, exactly." Kimberly nodded. "Uncle Steve's awesome, though. Ever wanted proof that identical twins can turn out differently, you have it, right there! I don't think he and Aunt Corinne—I mean, my mom's sister, Uncle Steve's wife—were exactly thrilled about the whole thing."

Tommy wasn't sure how to react. "Well… I mean, isn't it better if your mom's with someone?"

"It just happened way too fast," explained Kimberly. "My mom was devastated about my dad cheating and she kicked him out, even—well, sort of… he didn't exactly beg to stay—, and then two months later…" She sighed again. "I just don't understand what her deal was!"

Tommy was silent for a moment. "At least you knew what it was like to have a normal family, even for a while."

"True," Kimberly sighed. "I want to just keep that memory, at least. But I know a lot of people hold it together, like my aunt Corinne and my uncle Steve, or my grandparents… and Trini's and Zack's parents, and Jason's, even—and the Scott's have really been through the ropes. I don't know if Jase told you…"

"He did." Jason had related the whole story of how his parents were alcoholics and hadn't cleaned up until just a few years ago, and how his older sister was living on-and-off with their grandparents or with her unstable boyfriend in Las Vegas.

And suddenly it occurred to Tommy that perhaps those families—by and large cohesive, or having been so at one point, or having pulled through to become so—might be the key to that energy and stability he so loved in this group of friends.

And how the absence of any of that might explain his own isolative posture, and his fascination with this group.

"Yeah?" Kimberly's words brought him back to the discussion at hand. He saw her pulled a knee up to her chest, prop her elbow onto the back of the sofa, and position herself to face him more directly. "You and Jase are pretty close, I guess, huh?"

"I guess." Tommy smiled, turning to look more directly himself. "He doesn't know it, but his friendship's been really valuable to me. I mean I've learned a lot watching him. And all of you. You, too."

"How so?" Kimberly asked, bouncing her eyebrows.

"Aaah…" Tommy hesitated. This was a little too psychological, especially after the conversation they'd just had. He was still just an adolescent male, and completely clueless as to how Kimberly perceived it, but it made him uneasy. "Aww, what the heck. What's it matter?"

Kimberly flashed a pouty look. "'What's it matter'? You brought it up! You can't just leave me hanging like that!"

Suddenly Tommy had an idea. His heart began pounding. Should I? No, she'll think I'm. Aww, man, just one little peck! Won't hurt. Won't be the first time, even. Quickly he leaned over and kissed Kimberly on the lips.

Hoof!

Kimberly looked a little surprised, but pleased. Tommy's heart began to race again, and he knew he wanted to lean in and kiss her again, but it wouldn't be the same adrenaline relief, now that the surprise was worn off.

No, this time a peck wouldn't do.

Fighting his urges, Tommy did what he knew to do from films and leaned in slowly. When Kimberly did the same, he broke through and locked lips. And quickly their tongues slipped through their lips and into each other's.

Tommy was a great deal taller than Kimberly, and kissing her neck while standing up was a bit of an ordeal, but she seemed to enjoy it, so he kept going.

"Tommy, I… I don't…"

Tommy panicked a bit and let up. "What? Your mom might come home?"

"No, she's gonna spend the night at Jack's. Then she's gonna tell us she crashed at Grandma's because it was late and blah blah blah. Like she thinks I was born yesterday." Then she snapped back into the moment. "I mean… I don't know how… I've… I've never done this before."

"Aww, it'll be okay, Kim," Tommy assured her, not really believing that himself.

"Ha-have you ever…?"

Tommy gulped. "No."

They stood there in awkward silence for a moment. Then Tommy pulled Kimberly onto his chest. It was a long shot, and cliché, but maybe it was worth it. "Kim, just think. The Dramole. The Dragon Dagger. The Power Coins. Kim, we almost died today." He pulled back to look into her eyes. "Just let's don't stress about anything. We're supposed to be relaxing."

Kimberly still looked nervous. She bit her lip and didn't say anything.

Tommy nodded toward her full-size bed. "Together, for example… or not, if…"

Kimberly leaned upward.

Green light, though the Green Ranger as he again began kissing his girlfriend.

A half-hour later, Kimberly and Tommy sat across from each other at the dining table under dim lights, munching on the pot roast. It had come out just perfectly.

Kimberly had pinned up her hair and wrapped a throw around her body. Tommy had tied a bedsheet around his waist. And that was all they were wearing.

After a couple of bites, Tommy chuckled. "I'm sorry," he said. "I had no idea what I was doing."

Kimberly covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing laughter. "I had no idea what to expect." She took her water glass and held it up. "Cheers?"

Tommy clinked his glass against hers. "Cheers!"

After the toast, Kimberly frowned. "You know… my mom has a nice bottle of French wine…"

Tommy's eyes went wide. "You think?"

"I don't know. What do you think?" When Tommy didn't answer right away, she seemed to back down. "Well… she's probably saving it for something with Jack."

"Yeah. Besides, if there's an emergency and we have to Morph—"

"Right. Better stay sober."

"Save it for when we defeat Rita."

"Exactly!"

"Then we'll do this again, and—" Tommy's eyes went wide as he realized what he had just said. He glanced askance. "I mean, we'll cook a nice dinner again…"

Kimberly tried to catch his eyes. "Just the dinner?"

Tommy beamed.

Then Kimberly put on a thoughtful expression, and changed the subject. "You know, I don't mean to pry, but… I just thought about what you said earlier, that you'd learned a lot from us. I'm really curious, what did you mean?"

Oh, boy. This might be intense—too intense to tell a girl. It might turn her off.

But after what had just happened, it might be nice to come clean.

Tommy took a deep breath. "It's complicated. I'm not sure I understand it. But I'm starting to think it's… you know… I never knew what it was like to have a normal family like any of yours. I was adopted."

Kimberly sat up straight, looking a bit curious. "But… that's good, isn't it? I mean… it makes you kind of special. Like you went home with parents who really wanted you and picked you out."

Tommy shook his head. "You'd think. I don't know; both my parents are engineers, really brainy and mathematical… I do okay at school, but I'm just not gonna be a science wizard like Billy, you know? And my dad played football. Me, I've always just been into karate, martial arts."

"But you're totally awesome at it!"

Tommy raised his eyebrows and blushed a little. He knew he was good, even if it was a little embarrassing to hear someone say it. "Well, you know… I guess it's just not a social sport like football or baseball."

"So?"

"I mean, overall, I don't think the way I've turned out is exactly what my parents were hoping… what they would've wanted from their own kid." Tommy shrugged. "As I got older, they stopped spending time with me. They sent me to boarding school from first through fifth grade. I saw them maybe four days a month. And then, like, you said your parents took you to—to Mass, you mean, church? Are you Catholic?"

"Yeah," said Kimberly. "I mean, we were. Well… we don't really go to church anymore, unless we're with Grandma or Aunt Corrine but… I don't know. I guess we're still Catholic. But you were saying?"

"See, my parents are Methodist. They didn't go to church every Sunday, but pretty often. They had me baptized when they adopted me, but after I got back from boarding school… see, I'd be watching TV in the living room on Sunday morning, and the church was just up the street, and they'd say 'bye' as they walked through to go out… they didn't make me go to church—or even ask if I wanted to go with them."

"Oh, my gosh!" gasped Kimberly. "That's awful!" Her jaw hung open. "And they even call themselves Christians! But why? Why would they have adopted a kid if they didn't want to spend time with him?"

"Well, like I said, I'm not at all like my parents. I'm not a math genius or a football hero. I guess when they figured that out they realized they would've have a son who'd 'carry on' like they knew to get involved in, so they just pulled back."

"You think they wanted you to be just like a genetic kid would've been?" Kimberly looked disgusted. "That's stupid!"

Tommy shrugged. "I don't really know," he said. "That's just what I think. But you know… in my boarding school we had a dojo—that was pretty rare at the time, but this one just happened to have one. So when I got back to Los Angeles I stuck with karate since I liked it and I was already pretty good… and Sensei Kentaro invited me to his house a couple of times. He was married with three kids and they were a really traditional Japanese family and they were nice… but I don't think I realized until just now why I liked going over there. It's like it was a clue in on… how things were supposed to be. Something I couldn't learn at home." He looked into Kimberly's eyes. "And now that I think about it, maybe that's why I found you and Jase and the others so fascinating right from the start."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Tommy sat back into the couch. "Like it gets me thinking… if I ever have a family I want to do it right. It's always seemed so far off—it still does—but if you don't have a good situation you really have to think in advance and try to learn."

"There isn't any perfect family, really, Tommy," Kimberly admitted. "I guess all you can do is find someone you can believe in and believe in yourself enough to help that person back when things don't go okay."

"Wow." Tommy smiled. "That's beautiful, Kim." His felt his heart accelerate just a bit.

"Really?" Kimberly giggled just a bit. "Not that I know exactly what it means to believe in someone."

Do I say it? Tommy wondered to himself. No, it's too soon. But we… what if I don't get another…

Tommy gulped.

"What is it?" Kimberly cut into his anxieties.

Aww, man. It shows. "Ah, nothing. Bit of cartilage," he lied.

Still in their blanket and sheet, Tommy and Kimberly, the latter under the former's arm, half-enjoyed an episode of Brideshead Revisited, neither particularly concentrated on the story as it unfolded, both too excited by the events of the past two hours. Though they did—especially Kimberly—admire the cinematography.

"Such a pretty house," she murmured. "Do you ever think maybe you'd want to live there?"

"Aww man. That would be nice."

"Yeah." Kimberly looked up at her boyfriend. "But I like Angel Grove just fine, too."

"It's where we are right now."

"Yeah. And everything we love."

Tommy kissed the hair on top of her head. And said nothing more.

That bothered Kimberly just a bit. Was it supposed to mean, 'I love you'? Or would he say it later? Or maybe he wouldn't say it… ever? Maybe this was too fast?

No. No, don't think that. He'll say it later.

She just wanted to enjoy this.

All she could.

"I've never been so bad before in my life," she admitted.

Tommy sighed. "I was really bad," he said. "Under Rita."

"Oh, Tommy that's not the same. Even if I think you're cute when you're bad."

Tommy glanced at her, surprised. "What?"

"You know what I mean!" she insisted, lightly punching him. "It's a joke, silly."

And they began to kiss again.

"Morphenomenal…" Kimberly whispered as Tommy moved down to her neck.

Two weeks later, a column of pink light touched down in the Command Center and gave way to form Kimberly.

"Welcome, Pink Ranger," bade Zordon. "I have called you here alone to discuss a matter of personal importance to you, and I felt it was best to do so discreetly."

"What is it?" Kimberly asked nervously. A million thoughts raced through her mind.

"During your battle with the Pumpkin Rapper yesterday, Alpha picked up an unusual reading of your biorhythms when we got the distress signal from you and the other Rangers. As a matter of precaution I wanted to summon you back here for a scan."

Before Kimberly could react, Alpha approached her with an electromagnetic bio-read wand. "Just a moment, Kimberly!" the robot said. "This won't hurt a bit." Three seconds later, he switched the wand off. "There! That does it." He plugged the wand back into the computer. "Ai-yi-yi! Zordon!"

"I see. This is serious indeed. Kimberly, it may be too early in for you to have known under normal circumstances, but given the implications for the Power mission, I feel I should inform you now that you are pregnant."

"I'm what?"

TO BE CONTINUED…