Disclaimer: I don't own PR, I only wish I did.

I know a lot of people do "what if" stories about Jason or Kim replacing Tommy in DT, but I thought I'd try it in a different way. Hope you enjoy.

The last thing Jason Scott ever would have expected was to get a call inviting him to Reefside, California. A call asking him to come visit his best friend from high school, Tommy Oliver. Tommy was offering to make arrangements at a hotel for Jason, or even go so far as to give him a spot on his couch, should Jason be so inclined.

Jason accepted the invitation but said he'd make his own arrangements with the hotel, after getting a recommendation from Tommy. It was going to be weird seeing Tommy again. Things had been weird for a couple of years now.

All former Rangers, prior to the whole retiring escapade that had ended Tommy's illustrious career as a Ranger and unofficially marked what Jason referred to as the "downhill slide," had been present at Trini Kwan's funeral. Jason had stood between his two closest friends from childhood, Billy Cranston and Kimberly Hart.

The three of them had grown up together, and in their freshman year incorporated Zack Taylor and Trini into their unofficial group. Kimberly by that point, though still cherishing her friendships with Billy and Jason, had grown sick of testosterone and adopted Trini as her new best friend. Likewise, Billy developed a close relationship --bordering on the edge of just friendship but never actually crossing the line-- with Trini, as they were infamously known as resident tech-genius and genius-in-training. Bonds between all five of them became incredibly strong as they were selected as Earth's last line of defense, the Power Rangers.

By this point, Tommy had moved to Angel Grove, and had joined the group, as Jason's best friend, his near-brother, and his second-in-command. Then things had taken an interesting turn. Tommy lost his powers, a change that had devastated him, one that had made him have to move away as he tried to cope with not only the physical aspects, but the emotional aftermath. Zordon then chose the ex-Ranger to accept the White Ranger power coin, and become new leader. That had driven Jason crazy. He'd put on a good show, honestly and truly happy for his bro and his return. And on some level, Jason had been relieved to be stripped of leadership duty, because it took a lot out of a person. But that didn't mean that he hadn't lain awake many nights, wondering why he'd been demoted without warning, without explanation.

All six of the Rangers had submitted applications for the Peace Conference, encouraged by Mrs. Applebee and Mr. Caplan alike, as the best that Angel Grove High had to offer. Considering how many students across California had entered, it was phenomenal that the chosen three all came from AGH, and were half of the Ranger team. But it was a chance that none of them could pass up, so they'd agreed to pass on their powers.

It was in Switzerland where Jason, Zack, and Trini developed an inseparable bond. When the Peace Conference came to an end, Zack opted to stay in Europe for a little while with his new girlfriend, and Trini had made mention of wanting to travel. Jason knew what was in his heart--and it was going back to Angel Grove and seeing if he could get his position back. But when he'd arrived, the power coins were destroyed, the Command Center was wasteland, Kimberly had gone to Florida, and Billy wasn't donning the spandex anymore. Nothing made any sense, but almost immediately on his arrival, Tommy --still leader-- had asked Jason to accept the Gold Ranger powers. Jason was eager to rejoin the team, and did so without reservation.

He was so thrilled to be part of the team again that he ignored the warning signs of his waning powers. They slowly depleted his strength until he had no choice but to return them to Trey. At last he knew what Tommy had gone through, and he regretted any negative thought he'd ever had about being replaced by his best friend. Shortly thereafter, he and Emily had moved to L.A. together. Emily worked as a waitress and tried to jumpstart an acting career, while Jason got a teaching job at a karate studio and took night classes to get his high school diploma. Things were good, life was good, until Jason got the call from Kimberly one afternoon. He'd been staying late at the studio after the last class, getting in a workout, when his cell had gone off. The words still burned in his brain: "It's Trini…there's been an accident." Kim's haunted voice then delivered the details of the funeral, and Jason told her firmly that he'd absolutely be there, and she should be strong, because that was what Trini would have wanted.

Then he'd launched himself at his punching bag, ramming his fists into it repeatedly until his arms felt like wet linguini, and even so, he kept going. Finally he collapsed to the floor, his back to the base of the bag, sobbing. No one ever witnessed his breakdown, nor did he have any subsequent ones. He was thought of as the strong one, and he knew he had to be strong for his friends, Kim in particular.

He and Emily made the drive back to Angel Grove for the funeral. Kimberly and Billy were there --Billy had long since returned from Aquitar, healed, and was going to MIT-- and Zack completed their group, the people who had known Trini best. A few of the other kids from the Peace Conference, Zack's girlfriend included, had flown in for the funeral. Aisha Campbell had come the farthest, from Africa, to help Kimberly through the ordeal and pay her respects to her predecessor. Adam Park and girlfriend Tanya Sloan came from up the coast, Rocky DeSantos from Nevada, Katherine Hillard from London. Tommy had been there, too, but really, none of the ex-Rangers did much speaking. They stood in a group at the funeral, but few words were spoken. Now was not the time to open old wounds or mend broken friendships. They were there for Trini, and that was it.

Jason was in occasional contact with Billy, Tanya, and Kimberly, but other than that, he kept in touch with no one. It was hard seeing or hearing from any Ranger after his ordeal, especially now that Trini was dead. So he'd been surprised to hear from Tommy, even more surprised to hear that Tommy was in Reefside. From what Tanya had told him, post graduation, Tommy had opted to start a racing career. But now he was saying something about teaching high school. And the surprises didn't end there…when Jason had Googled information on Reefside, California, he found that it was the home of a few Big Monster attacks. He wasn't sure if he should have been surprised by the news or not. Maybe the threat of imminent squashing was the only way Tommy could sleep at night. But rather than making him apprehensive about his visit, Jason was now looking forward to it.