Note: Thanks to

improved the story, I guess I forgive you after all ...;-)DB

Zack bounded up the stairs to Intensive Care two at a

time, too impatient to wait for the elevator; he was tired from a twelve-hour

shift at the hospital and the long drive home hadn't helped. He was lucky

he hadn't had an accident himself, exhausted as he was, but no force in

the Universe could have kept him away from Angel Grove right now.

*Jason ... dear Lord, let him be allright ....*

The young doctor took a second to catch his breath before

he entered the waiting area of the ICU unit. The sight greeting him made

his throat constrict. Katherine was sitting in a chair by the window, tears

streaming silently down her pale cheeks, and Tanya and Trini were trying

to comfort her, with very little effect. Rocky and Adam stood a few feet

away, looking helpless -- and furious about it. Zack forced himself to

go closer.

"Guys...?"

The two young men turned to look at the original Black

Ranger.

"Hi, Zack," Rocky sighed. Adam just nodded a greeting,

sending a cautious look towards the three women. Trini smiled briefly at

her old friend, but returned her attention immediately back to Kat, who

just sat immobile, staring blindly ahead. Tanya was talking to her in a

low voice, but it didn't seem to do any good. Zack swallowed the lump forming

in his throat and stepped up to his friends.

"How is Jason? Is he ..." the young man couldn't bring

himself to say the word. Rocky's phone call had been alarming enough, but

surely ....

"Not yet, but he will be - unless a miracle happens,"

Adam murmured grimly, careful Kat shouldn't hear him. The only reason she

was not in Jason's room right now was that the hospital staff were running

yet another set of tests on their friend, in the hopes of finding a way

to battle the incipient infection and blood loss. In a few sentences, he

filled his predecessor in on the first team leader's condition.

"Hmm," Zack murmured, his professional's mind sorting

through everything he'd ever learned about blood transfusions. "Do his

doctors have any idea what that weird element in Jase's blood is exactly?"

"No; they suspect it was caused by some radiation, or

mutation, or something, I guess," Rocky muttered. He was very much tempted

to hit something ... or maybe someone, only that wouldn't help Jason,

either. Ever since he'd helped dig the erstwhile Gold Ranger out from under

a pile of gravel, he had to do everything in his power to not think

about all the times during the past year when he'd snubbed Jason, or been

rude to him because of a quarrel that wasn't even his own. Now, when it

might be too late, he regretted his actions deeply. What if he never got

the chance to make amends?

*NO! He'll get through this ... he just HAS to ...

it can't end like this! It can't!*

Rocky shook himself. He couldn't remember ever feeling

this miserable, except maybe the day he injured his back and had to quit

the Rangers, or the day his father had died after a sudden heart attack.

Now it was a friend lying behind hospital doors, hooked up to machines,

fighting for his life. Unfortunately Rocky was all too aware that sometimes,

even the best fighter lost. A quick glance at Kat almost brought tears

to his own eyes. The young woman was the picture of misery; not that he

could blame her. If she lost Jason ... her husband, the father of her baby

... Rocky had seen the lingering sadness in his own widowed mother's eyes

too often, even after over fifteen years, and wouldn't wish it on anybody,

much less a good friend. With an effort, he wrenched his thoughts away

from his grief over his late father to the present.

"What if we don't find a donor at all? Or not in time?"

Rocky didn't want to say this, but knew it was the question on everyone's

mind.

The three young men sighed almost in unison. Here they

were, former Rangers all - they'd lived through so much, accomplished so

many things, helped whole worlds - and now one of their own needed help,

and they couldn't give it. Instead, they were forced to stand by, doing

nothing, while they waited to see if Jason's body could fight alone.

"We just have to ..." Adam's voice trailed off unhappily.

He, too, was battling his own regrets about how he'd handled things. How

often had Tanya tried to tell him things about her best friend, and he'd

refused to listen? He'd hurt his wife just as much by his stubborn refusal

as he'd hurt his friends. Sure, he still didn't condone Kat and Jason's

actions, but now, faced with the possibility of losing Jason, he was asking

himself if it would have been really so wrong to at least listen, and be

civil.

*I wouldn't have taken any loyalty away from Tommy

Little Robin is not at fault, after all ...*

Lost in their thoughts, neither noticed Trini coming up

to them. Her quiet voice broke them out of their distraction.

"I've been thinking, and I'm pretty sure I know what the

problem is," she said, looking meaningfully at Zack.

"You do?" All three glanced at the slender Asian woman

in surprise.

"Sshhh," Trini cautioned them to keep their voices down,

in deference to Kat. "Yes. That unknown element in Jason's blood ... it

has to do with us having been Rangers. Our accelerated healing, the enhanced

strength the Power gave us ... the Morphin' Grid changed us. We all have

the same thing, to various degrees."

"But I already had myself tested - I'm O-Negative, universal

donor blood type - and I'm not compatible with Jason," Adam protested.

Puzzled, he remembered something else. "And how come I could donate blood

in January to one of the stunt guys at the studio? He never was a Ranger

..."

"It doesn't matter from Ranger to non-Ranger," Zack recalled.

"Zordon explained that once. It's the other way around that it gets complicated.

But we all used to donate blood to each other when we were injured; Trini's

O-Negative, too, and I was compatible with Kim."

"We never did," Rocky said, mentally going back

to those first scary, exhilarating days after he'd assumed the Red Ranger

Powers from Jason, and the myriad things they'd had to learn in a hurry.

"Billy tested us after the transfer, found out that we all had different

bloodtypes, and since we couldn't play vampire on Adam every time we needed

a supply ..."

"...he basically started our own blood bank," Adam continued,

remembering as well. "We all donated blood for ourselves in quiet

times. It usually was enough; I only was emergency backup a couple of times

for Aisha, and as we gained more experience, our injuries got less serious."

"Makes sense," Zack agreed. "And how typically Billy!"

The four shared a brief smile as they thought of their

oh-so-methodical absent genius friend, but sobered again almost immediately.

"That doesn't help us right now, though," Zack got back

to their problem. "If even Adam as a universal donor and with the

Ranger factor is not compatible with Jason ... who is?"

"Tommy."

"What?" Adam, Rocky and Zack stared incredulously at the

former Yellow Ranger.

"Don't you remember?" she addressed her old friend. "That

time after Tommy came back to the team and we fought Robogoat ... his Powers

failed him, and he was hurt really bad. Jase donated to him."

"How could he?" Adam wondered. "I mean, I clearly remember

that Billy once said none of us would be able to help Tommy with blood.

I'd always assumed it was because he was the White Ranger ... "

"That was before. There is some link to a Ranger's

color," Zack said, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice as hope

cautiously reared its head, "with Green and Black being related; you could

probably donate to me." He nodded at Adam. "But - and Trini's right, I

remember now, too - Tommy and Jase's case is special."

He smiled encouragingly at Tanya and Kat, who had drifted

over to listen to their conversation. Tanya still had an arm around her

friend's waist, supporting her, and Kat smiled wanly - an expression that

did nothing to hide the quiet despair in the blue eyes.

"They always were, to each other," she whispered, her

accented voice rough with tears. "In what way, though?"

"It's not because Tommy was White," Trini took up the

tale, "but because he was Green Ranger. Or more precisely, because of the

Green Dragon coin."

"What does the coin have to do with it?" Rocky frowned.

"Both Tommy and Jase held it," Zack explained. "You see,

it's like this - when Tommy lost his Powers for the first time because

of Rita's Green Candle, he gave his Power Coin to Jason so the Powers wouldn't

be lost. Then, when Rita kidnapped our parents and we gave up our coins

to Goldar, Jase returned the Dragon Coin to Tommy and he became Green Ranger

again. There was no formal Power transfer, no intermediary, nothing. Just

Tommy putting his coin into Jase's hand, and later Jason putting it back

into Tommy's. They held the same coin. And, although he didn't do

it often, Jase used the Dragon Powers in addition to his own. It

wasn't like when I gave my Powers to you, Adam, or Kim hers to Kat. It

attuned them to each other to an incredible degree - even more than they

were before." The first Black Ranger shared a smile first with Trini, recalling

those emotion-laden moments, then directed it at his successor and the

second Pink Ranger.

"Furthermore, they're both AB-Negative," Trini added,

cautious optimism coloring her soft voice for the first time since she'd

gotten Rocky's phonecall. "That means Tommy ought to be able to donate

blood to Jason, and save him."

"If we can get hold of him in time," Tanya cautioned.

She could feel the sudden tension in Kat. "What if he's back East, racing?"

"He isn't," Rocky interjected. "I talked to him on the

phone last week, and he's scheduled for test drives at his uncle's facility

in Stone Canyon until the end of the month. He should be home."

Adam cast a wary glance at Katherine. He hated to hurt

her more than she already was, but there was this slight problem everyone

was overlooking .... he cleared his throat. Avoiding Kat's eyes, his next

words doused the optimism that had sprung up in their group more effectively

than a bucket full of ice water.

"Okay, but ... will he even want to help Jason?"

"Of course he will!" Rocky protested hotly. "How can you

even think he won't? Tommy's a good guy - Jase has always been his

best friend, and Kat ... " Suddenly realizing what Adam was alluding to,

Rocky fell into an embarrassed silence. "Oh."

"Yeah - oh," Tanya sighed. She once more hugged Kat, who

had paled even more - although that hardly seemed possible - and shuddered

noticeably at that reminder of the injustice she and her husband had done

Tommy. Neither of the former Rangers said a word; they could hardly look

at each other, but least of all at the devastated blonde.

"One of us just has to go and ask him," Trini finally

voiced what they all thought. "Rocky's right; Tommy is not a bad guy, and

surely he'll come through ..."

"Especially since it's a matter of life and death," Zack

said soberly. "If it were for anything less, I don't know, but for something

like this ... " he let the implication hang.

Rocky inhaled deeply and squared his shoulders. They were

fast running out of time, and who knew how long they'd need to convince

Tommy. "Who's gonna go and talk to him, then?"

"I will."

The soft voice was hoarse but steady, and left a stunned

silence in its wake. Slowly, four pairs of eyes in varying shades of brown

zeroed in on their Australian friend, who met each unflinchingly, although

she was biting her lips nearly bloody with the need not to break down.

Not now, when there was something she could do at last.

"Are you quite sure, Kat?" Tanya asked after a moment.

"I don't want to alarm you, but what if he won't even see you?" She knew

from Adam's reports that Tommy might have gotten over Kat's betrayal and

renewed his relationship with Kimberly - something she hadn't had the heart

to tell her best friend about yet - but he also was very bitter still.

"It's a risk I have to take," the blonde whispered. "I

hope to God Tommy will at least listen, but I know that I'll never

forgive myself if I don't try."

"I understand," Tanya murmured back, hugging her best

friend. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Or I could go," Adam offered. Truth be told, it was the

last thing he wanted to do, but felt he owed it to ... whom? He didn't

know. It didn't matter. To his barely-hidden relief, Kat shook her head

'no' as she gave him a small, grateful smile that didn't mask the bleakness

in the crystalline eyes.

"Thanks, Adam, Tanya, but no. This is something I have

to do myself. I'm Jason's wife; I made a promise to him when I married

him, and if this is what it takes to keep that promise, so be it." Kat

disengaged herself from Tanya's support. Her marriage vow rang clearly

in her mind - *in sickness and health ...* - she tried hard to forget

about the *'til death do you part* section. Feeling suddenly

very cold and alone, Kat steeled herself. "Besides, I ... I don't want

to make Tommy feel pressured in any way."

Right then, a nurse waved to her that she was free to

go back inside the sickroom. With another small, wan smile, the blonde

left her friends, still poleaxed at her announcement.

"Like Tommy isn't going to feel pressured by either helping

Jason or letting him die," Rocky muttered as the five sat down in the uncomfortable

chairs.

"True," Tanya said, "but Kat is right. He needs to make

that decision without getting the sense that we're ganging up on him."

"Exactly. And, who knows ...."

"Who knows what?" Rocky looked questioningly at Trini

when she wouldn't continue. The almond-shaped eyes were downcast, but shimmered

gently when she looked up again.

"Maybe ... just maybe, that's the catalyst that will Tommy

help to finally forgive them."

The five friends fell silent at that, suddenly having

something else to hope and pray for.

Katherine told the cab driver to stop at the corner of

Tommy's street, paid the fare and got out. Shading her eyes against the

bright October sun, so different from the darkness shrouding her heart,

she slowly walked toward the neat house she knew so well. She'd stayed

at Jason's side until her mother-in-law came to spell her for a bit, then

made her way home after briefly looking in on her baby at the DeSantos'.

She needed the reassurance of holding the sturdy little body close, to

look into the bright, sparkling dark eyes so like Jason's, and had made

a silent promise while she kissed her son's wispy dark hair.

*If there is anything I can do to save your daddy,

I will,* she vowed in her mind. *I love him too much to let go without

daddy back.*

Next, she'd taken a quick shower and changed her clothes;

Kat hadn't wanted to delay things further, but had reluctantly accepted

Sophia DeSantos' advice. The older woman had been right; it did make

her feel marginally better to be clean, and it had given her a little more

time to compose herself and marshal her thoughts. The warm, compassionate

hug she'd been given by Rocky's mother had helped, too ... only now, as

she was approaching the Oliver home, the brief feeling of sympathy and

comfort it had left her with vanished again. As Kat reached the driveway,

she noted that not only was Tommy's sports car parked out there, next to

his parents' sedan, but also a small hatchback and a somewhat battered

truck.

*David's,* Kat realized with a sinking feeling.

*Why would he ... oh.* Today was Tommy's birthday; the date had

completely slipped her mind. No wonder his brother had come to visit.

*Sam's probably there, too.* The young woman moaned

to herself. Facing Tommy again after all this time, with a request like

the one she had to make, was going to be difficult enough; that she had

to do it in front of an audience ... an image of Jason's pale, still face

lying immobilized on the hospital bed appeared before her mind's eye. It

firmed her resolve once more to see this through, and she forced herself

to walk up to the front door. Kat's hand shook as she reached for the doorbell.

*For Jason. Whatever it takes.*

The cheery chimes were still echoing softly when the wooden

door opened and Kat found herself face-to-face with Rachel Oliver, whose

laughing hazel eyes hardened as she recognized her unexpected visitor.

For an interminable moment, the two women just stared

at each other. Then, Kat squeezed the words she needed to say out of her

suddenly dry throat.

"Please, may I come in? I ... need to speak to Tommy."

"What could you possibly have to say to him?" Rachel asked

coldly. While she was very pleased that her son had found happiness with

Kimberly again, she still hadn't forgotten how truly miserable Kat and

Jason had made him last year.

Kat inhaled shakily. She somehow hadn't expected she'd

have to go through Rachel first.

"I ... I need to ask him a question. Just one, and it

won't take more than a couple of minutes. I give you my word I won't hurt

him, but ... this is really important. I wouldn't have come, otherwise.

Please." She looked imploringly at Tommy's mother.

Something in her eyes, or voice, must have convinced Rachel

Oliver that Kat meant what she'd said, because after a long, searching

glance, she stepped wordlessly aside and gestured the younger woman towards

the back of the house.

"He's in there."

"Thank you," Kat rasped, swallowing hard, and for the

first time since Tommy had broken up with her over a year ago, set foot

into the shaded foyer of the Oliver home.

The walk to the living room seemed interminable, and Kat

was painfully aware of the last time she'd crossed the expanse of polished

hardwood in the opposite direction, Tommy's harsh "Get out, and don't come

back. I never want to see you again" echoing loudly in her mind. He'd meant

every word, she knew, and it was incredibly hard to overcome the pain and

shame of that long-ago day. But that didn't matter; not when it was Jason's

life at stake. After what seemed like ages, Kat reached the door and, drawing

a deep breath, pushed it open.

The lively conversation in the cheery, comfortable room

came to an abrupt halt as Kat stepped inside, Rachel on her heels. Tommy's

mother stayed next to the door as the dancer faced the assembled persons

- Tommy, Kimberly, David, Sam and Mr. Oliver. A couple of gaily-wrapped

packages sat on the floor next to Tommy's chair, who'd just unwrapped a

white sweater. He absently laid the gift over the back of his chair as

he rose slowly from his seat near the window. Kat didn't notice any of

this. Five pairs of eyes came to rest on her with various expressions of

disbelief, but she saw only one - the chocolate orbs of her former boyfriend,

which widened in surprise, then became cold and unreadable.

"What do you want?"

Kat barely refrained from flinching at the hostile tone.

*Pull yourself together. What did you expect? Surely

not instant forgiveness. He's entitled.*

"I ..." she had to clear her throat. If only Tommy wouldn't

glare at her so!

"I need to ask you a favor."

"What?!?" Tommy looked at Kat incredulously. "You have

some nerve! Why would I do you a favor?"

He purposely ignored his mother's reproving look at his

rudeness. Some part of him, the one that had started to heal the wound

the young woman standing before him had struck last spring, admonished

that he was being unfair, but right now the former Red Zeo Ranger didn't

care. Seeing Kat again, in the very room where her confession had hurt

him so, made any gentler reaction vanish like snow in summer. Instead,

all the old pain and outrage surged forth once more.

"You seem to have forgotten what I've told you the last

time you were here," Tommy said coldly. He deliberately shut out Sam Trueheart's

disapproving look, or Kimberly's soft, chiding "Tommy!"

Kat blanched. Fighting down her tears, she shut out everything

around her and made herself speak.

*For Jason!*

"I haven't forgotten anything, Tommy," she said, so quietly

it was hardly more than a whisper. "But as I told your mom, I wouldn't

have come at all if it weren't important. Please," she requested hoarsely,

"for the friendship we once shared, will you at least hear me out? I give

you my word I'll leave directly afterwards."

The long-haired young man regarded her silently for a

long time, taking in her still willowy figure which somehow seemed fuller,

more feminine than before, her simple jeans and blouse, and long silvery-blonde

hair, caught at the back of her neck in a ponytail with a Garfield clasp.

He deliberately overlooked the signs of despair in the blue eyes, the pale

cheeks and the minute tic making her mouth tremble. It was of no concern

to him if Kat was unhappy, wasn't it?

*Serves her right. She made me unhappy, too!*

Tommy felt slightly ashamed at the pettiness of the thought, but squelched

the feeling. He watched as his former girlfriend bit her already-swollen

lower lip. A tiny droplet of blood appeared, but was automatically licked

away. The young man repressed his instinctive urge to offer comfort to

a friend. *Kat's no longer my friend! She threw that away last year!*

However, that sounded a bit false ... Tommy shook the thought off,

continuing to watch Kat. He knew her well enough to recognize her nervousness

and fear, but he refused to let it sway him.

*What will it hurt to at least listen?* a voice

in his mind asked. *You have Kimberly back now; what will it serve to

than that.*

The voice was right, but something darker, something that

had clung to the hurt and feeling of betrayal for all the long months,

wasn't ready to give up yet. Somewhere deep down, Tommy didn't much like

what he was feeling, but for all his brooding, loner ways, he wasn't really

the introspective type. He was likely to go with his emotions if and when

he could afford to; the trouble was, his emotions were pulling him into

two different directions right now. Could he listen to Kat, or would it

be better - no, easier - to send her away? A soft, shuddering intake

of breath, a barely audible swallow as Kat waited for him to make up his

mind, tipped the scales. His ex-lover was the supplicant; he could afford

to hear her out. At last, he nodded grudgingly. "Okay."

Kat swallowed again. This was it - her one chance, the

only chance, really, to save Jason's life. She cleared her throat

and tried to speak as briefly and succinctly as she could, without giving

too much away ... and without collapsing into a sobbing heap of misery.

As a result, her voice was dull and monotonous as she made her plea.

"I need your help. Or rather, Jason does. I don't know

if you've heard, but ... but he had an accident yesterday. He was badly

hurt, and has lost too much blood." Tears threatened again, but Kat blinked

them away. She wouldn't break down, not now! "He's been unconscious

since; I ... I know that you have the same blood type as Jason, and I've

come to ask you to donate for him."

Something within Tommy figuratively sat up as he heard

the news of Jason's injury. He and his family had only returned to Angel

Grove today from a trip to meet with the Rushs, and hadn't had a chance

to look at the paper yet. But the petty, selfish part of him, the one that

refused to let go of the hurt, silenced his instinctive concern almost

immediately. Instead, it made him ask in a deliberately disinterested voice,

"Why me? Surely there are other ways ..."

"If there were, if we hadn't exhausted all other possibilities,

do you think I would have come?" Kat asked tonelessly. A tide of hopelessness

threatened to drag her under, but determinedly she made herself go on.

"Trini said the two of you ... had been tested once, and

found to be truly compatible," she continued, trying not to make

her emphasis too obvious. It had taken her considerable thought to formulate

her request and explanation like this, just in case she didn't have a chance

to speak to Tommy alone. For all of them, the promise not to reveal their

identities as Rangers still held, even though Zordon was long gone. She

only hoped Tommy would make the right connection. She could see in his

eyes and his unconscious move towards a no-longer-present communicator

that he did. It gave her a fresh glimmer of hope.

"Please, Tommy ... I'm not asking for myself. I'm asking

you to help someone who used to be your best friend."

"Our friendship didn't mean too much to either one of

you when you betrayed me last year," he said bitterly, unable to let it

be. He didn't dare look at Kimberly, whose soft brown eyes were trained

on him imploringly. He knew Jason was one of her oldest friends, and that

her warm heart was aching already, for him and for Kat. Since they'd become

lovers, she'd made a few tentative comments about getting back with all

of their friends, but so far, Tommy hadn't wanted to consider it.

Kat closed her eyes briefly. She had hoped Tommy would

be able to look past that for the sake of the friendship he'd once shared

with her husband, but apparently that was not to be. Still, she made one

last effort. If that required baring her soul, so be it. Looking squarely

at her erstwhile lover, she pulled out the last weapon in her arsenal -

the naked truth.

"Tommy ... I know Jason and I have hurt you, and I am

more sorry about that than I can ever say. We never wanted to cause you

pain, and still we did. I'm not asking you to forget, or to forgive ...you

have every right to refuse me. But please ... it's not for me, it's for

Jason. He ... he's slipping into a coma. If you don't help him, today,

he ... he will die."

At the edge of her consciousness, Kat registered Kim's

small exclamation of shock and distress as she said that, but it didn't

break her concentration. She had to make Tommy relent, she just had

to!

"Please, Tommy ... I'm begging you. You're the last hope

Jason has. For whatever once was between you, for whatever you and he shared

... please help him!"

Kat's chin quivered with the need not to cry, but with

a supreme effort of will she managed. Her cold-as-ice hands were clenched

at her waist, unconsciously wringing each other, but all of her attention

was focussed on the hawk-like features of the man she once had loved so

much. It caused her almost physical pain to see them so implacable, knowing

as she did how warm-hearted Tommy could be, but she found nothing of that

warmth in the brown eyes now. Rather, they seemed to be growing more distant

by the second. Whatever hope she'd had died an agonizing death in her heart.

A single tear slipped out of the corner of her eye as Tommy just stood,

staring at her motionless and silent, his back to the window, as he'd stood

a year ago when he'd cut her out of his life.

*No ... I cut myself off from him. As he's now cutting

Jason away from me.*

Pain threatened to overwhelm her as Kat realized that

her effort had been in vain. The slender shoulders sagged in resignation

as she admitted defeat. The young woman was about to turn away, when she

looked back one last time at the man she'd fallen in love with so long

ago, pined for all through her marriage to another, and had intended to

go back to only yesterday morning. A moan almost escaped her at the thought

of how she must have hurt Jason with her request for a divorce, not realizing

until it was too late that he'd long since taken Tommy's place in her heart.

Now Jason would most likely die without ever hearing her say that she was

sorry, that she didn't mean her words ... that she loved him. Well,

she'd tried.

And failed.

That sense of failure made her stop and say one last thing

before she left, this time for good. She knew she wouldn't be coming back

here - ever. Her blue eyes, so bleak and swimming with moisture, met Tommy's

shuttered brown ones; to the shocked and silent watchers they seemed like

twin windows into Purgatory. The accented voice was rough with pain, and

so soft Tommy had to strain his ears to hear.

"Tommy ... you have every right to hate us; I don't blame

you for it. I even can accept that you won't forgive us. We brought it

on ourselves, after all. I know we hurt you; I know it was our fault. But

I didn't know you could be cruel."

With enormous dignity - and the last bit of self-control

she could summon - Kat faced Rachel Oliver, who was still standing beside

the door. Into the silence that had settled over the room at her words,

she tried, and failed, to call forth a polite smile.

"Thank you for letting me have my say. Good bye."

The door closed behind Kat with a muted 'click'.

Outside in the dim hallway, her composure finally left

Kat. She barely made it to the front door when, blinded by her tears, she

just couldn't go on. Shoulders shaking with silent sobs, she leaned against

the wooden frame, hid her face in her arms and let the pain engulf her.

Five of the six people in the living room stared at Tommy,

who had grown noticeably pale under his tan as he stared at the door Kat

had just closed behind her. His mother looked at him with sad, reproachful

eyes.

"This is not like you, Tommy," Rachel said slowly. "You

know I'm on your side all the way, but Kat is right about one thing - I

didn't know you could be cruel."

With that, the older woman let herself out of the living

room, moving on silent feet to the oblivious Katherine who was still crying

noiselessly at the doorframe. She put a comforting arm around the shaking

shoulders, waiting for the storm to pass. When it finally did, she waited

until Kat dried her cheeks, then met the tear-drenched blue orbs.

"You love Jason, don't you?" Rachel asked quietly. It

had been obvious to her from the way the blonde had begged her mule-headed

son to save his friend. Her heart went out to Kat as she watched the wobbly

smile playing briefly around her quivering lips.

"Yes." It filled Kat with a desperate form of pride to

finally admit it out loud to someone.

"I didn't know before, but I do."

The quiet admission, spoken so simply, told Mrs. Oliver

a large part of the story, and she hugged Katherine in sympathy.

"Then your place is with him now," was all she said, though.

"I'll talk to Tommy; maybe he'll come around tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will most likely be too late," Kat whispered,

but found a tiny, brave smile for the other's effort. "Thank you."

With that, she turned, opened the front door and walked

slowly away from the Oliver house, a slender figure trembling with grief

and weighed down by a fatigue that was more of the soul than of the body.

Rachel watched her go with a heavy heart, her long-held anger at her son's

ex-girlfriend dissipating slowly. Kat may have broken Tommy's heart a year

ago, but he was healing. The pain she was feeling now would leave

scars for a lifetime. Shaking her head, she went back inside. Maybe there

was a way she could talk some sense, or at least compassion, into her son,

after all.

Meanwhile, Tommy was facing down his girlfriend and the

rest of his family. He knew he'd handled the situation badly, but Kat had

caught him utterly by surprise; seeing her again had reopened wounds he'd

thought had healed, and her message had shaken him more than he was ready

to admit.

*Jason .... dying? Impossible! He can't die - he just

likely trying to play on my sympathy,* he tried to convince himself,

but it sounded hollow even to his own ears. Kat may have her faults, and

she'd hurt him badly, but Tommy was honest enough to admit that she would

never act so low. She wouldn't lie about something like this.

Mr. Oliver was riffling through the current issue of the

Angel Grove Clarion that had been delivered only this morning. No-one

had had the time to take a look at the paper yet ... ah, here it was! Tommy's

father skimmed the article hastily.

"She was right, son - Jason was in a construction accident

yesterday morning. According to this," he tapped the newspaper, "the roof

of a building he was in collapsed on top of him." Briefly, he summarized

the report, looking as shocked as the other occupants of the room.

"Tommy, you have to help Jason," David finally

said. He'd met Jason shortly after his return, and while he'd liked him

well enough, he'd always slightly envied the rapport the broad-shouldered

then-Gold Ranger had with his newfound brother. It was something he was

still trying to establish between himself and Tommy - that feeling of kinship

that was evident between the two friends even to a casual observer. They

were truly two of a kind.

"Never mind that he used to be your best friend; forget

for a moment that he did badly by you. He's a Human being in need, and

if Katherine is right and you're the only one able to save his life ...

if you don't, and he should really die, you'll never be able to live with

yourself if you could have done something to prevent it and didn't."

Tommy flinched slightly and turned away. He knew David

was right, but something within him made him stay stubbornly silent. However,

he met Kimberly's tear-streaked face. Her reaction to Kat's narrative hadn't

gone unnoticed by the racer, but he'd made himself ignore it. Now, he couldn't.

"Please, Tommy," his old and new love choked out. Kim

hopped up from the couch she'd been sitting on and put a small hand on

his arm. Her doe eyes looked into his own, begging.

"David's right. And if you don't want to help Jason for

your friendship, or for yourself, please help him for me? He's one of my

oldest friends ...." her voice trailed off as she read the pain, confusion

and stubbornness in Tommy's expression. Sighing, she removed her hand as

a decision crystallized in her mind. When Kat and Jason had gotten married,

she'd sided unhesitatingly with Tommy, and she, of all people, knew perhaps

better than most just how much he'd been hurt by their actions. After all,

Tommy had unburdened to her often enough as they'd started to rebuild their

relationship. Kimberly perfectly understood his feelings, but right now,

somebody else's were more important. She only hoped that in time, Tommy

would come to understand hers.

"Tommy ... I love you, you know I do, but right now ....

my place is at the hospital, with the others." Kim didn't need to check

with anyone; she knew instinctively that their friends would be there.

And she wanted to be with them. "I just can't stay here when one of my

friends is maybe dying and another is losing her husband ... and the father

of her baby." She watched Tommy blush guiltily, and smiled sadly as she

turned to leave.

"Kat and Jason made a mistake; please don't make a bigger

one yourself."

Rachel put an understanding arm around the petite gymnast's

waist as she guided her outside. The older woman inwardly agreed with every

word her son's brother and girlfriend had said, but waited to put in her

own two cents. Sometimes, a mother had to bide her time ... or let others

do the talking more effectively.

"A mistake," Tommy muttered rebelliously, beginning to

feel thoroughly ashamed of himself. Which didn't exactly improve his mood.

He knew very well that simple Human compassion and common decency alone

should have him on the way to Angel Grove Memorial already, but some part

of him still didn't want to give in, didn't want to forgive, still clung

to the hurt and betrayal. Besides, after the way he'd acted, how could

he just up and go after Kat, without making a complete fool of himself?

Tommy tried to save what little face he had left by hiding behind bluster,

ignoring that he had to work at keeping the outrage in his voice. "If that

would only be all that it was! They're happily married, with a baby,

and I'm supposed to accept it just like that?!?"

"Nobody said you have to. But Kimberly is right, son,"

Mr. Oliver said quietly. "You're not vindictive, or you wouldn't be the

man I brought you up to be. Don't compound their mistake by making

another one - one that can't be undone. Theirs can be forgiven eventually

if maybe not forgotten; yours might be fatal - literally." He hadn't gone

into the lurid details of Jason's injuries the Clarion's article

had enumerated, but he knew how truly serious the situation was.

"Dad ...!" Tommy groaned/growled. He loved and respected

his father, his opinion meant the world to him, but could nobody see

how he was feeling? The young man looked half defiantly/half helplessly

at the last member of the small gathering, who'd remained silent so far.

The wise old eyes of Sam Trueheart, still sharp and maybe seeing deeper

than most, met his own probingly, but without accusation.

"Yes, a mistake," he finally said in his calm, measured

way - the way that had once led Tommy-as-a-child to follow the Falcon and

thus to the Zeo Crystal and ultimately brought about the reunion with his

brother. "Katherine and Jason made a mistake that hurt you - and all of

your friends, splitting up a close group of people by inadvertantly making

them choose sides. But how do you know it didn't hurt them as well?

Is their marriage truly as happy as you think it is? I have met them both,

and seen the kind of persons they are; they are not likely to build happiness

on the grief of another." Sam let his words sink in for a moment before

he continued. "You don't judge people by a mistake they've made; you judge

them by how they live with that mistake. It seems to me they have lived

with honor."

Rachel had returned after watching Kimberly drive off,

but had kept her peace so far. Now, she added one last thing Tommy needed

to consider to make his decision.

"They have a baby, Tommy." Her adopted son's head jerked

up sharply at the reminder. "A baby, not yet a year old, who will never

know its father if Jason dies. This baby is the truly innocent victim if

you choose to do nothing. You yourself have never known your biological

parents. I know that, no matter how much your dad and I love you, that's

something that's hurting you deep down, and always will. Be honest - would

you really wish that kind of pain on your friends' child?"

The silence in the sunny room was long, and heavy, but

it was finally broken by Tommy's defeated sigh.

"No," he admitted. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

He drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders, knowing - as he'd done

from the start, really - what he would have to do. However, he wasn't quite

ready yet to rush to the rescue. He needed to sort out his mind first,

needed to get his head back together after seeing Kat so unexpectedly -

a Kat who was no longer the girl he'd been in love with, but a woman begging

for her husband's life. The chocolate-brown eyes were sober as he looked

at each member of his family in turn, receiving silent encouragement.

"I ... I need to think. Alone."

With that, Tommy left his parents' house, swung himself

into his car and drove away.

Kat hadn't bothered to take a taxi back to Angel Grove

Memorial; it wasn't too far to walk from the Olivers' house, and she desperately

needed the time to collect herself. Not caring that passers-by were staring

as she trudged down the sunlit streets, she did nothing to check her tears

as they flowed down her pale cheeks. Better to cry herself out now than

to collapse helplessly when Jason needed her most.

She didn't pay much attention to her surroundings as she

walked, but was abruptly jerked out of her thoughts as a small hatchback

car stopped right next to her and a familiar voice insistently called her

name.

"Kat? Kat, wait ..."

The blonde blinked her eyes free of tears as she halted.

It took her a few seconds to come back to reality and recognize the woman

in the driver's seat.

"K-kimberly?" Kim had been at the Olivers'; her presence

had registered, but the distraught woman hadn't really attached any special

significance to it. It hadn't surprised her, because Kim had always taken

Tommy's side. Kat and Jason had never blamed the gymnast for that; they'd

known about their friend's lingering feelings for him, and had accepted

her decision and avoidance of them without question. Somehow, being condemned

by Kim for their mistake had never hurt as much as the same reaction from

Adam and Rocky. But what was she doing here, picking her up? Why

hadn't she stayed at the Olivers' house? What ....

"Get in, Kat. Please?" Kim leaned over and opened the

passenger-side door. "I'll drive you back to Jason."

With a weary sigh, Kat gave in. It really didn't matter

if she got back a few minutes earlier or not, but she was so tired ...

and Jason needed her still ... as soon as she sat down and buckled in,

Kim drew away from the curb. The two women didn't talk for a few moments,

but finally Kimberly broke the heavy silence which was interrupted only

by Kat's sniffles as she scrubbed ineffectually at her wet cheeks.

"Tommy's not a bad guy, you know that. He'll come around,

I'm sure of it. You just surprised the heck out of him, showing up like

you did. Give him a little time, and he'll be there."

The blonde laughed, a short and bitter sound.

"Time is the one thing Jason doesn't have. Just before

I left, Dr. Jones updated us. Jason's wound is definitely infected, he's

starting to run a fever, and he's narrowed down the remaining time to until

morning. If he doesn't get a full blood transfusion by then ..." she gulped

down a fresh onslaught of tears. Her blue eyes burned and were red-rimmed

as she looked sideways at her predecessor, unsure of what her reaction

would be. She just couldn't figure out why Kim had followed her instead

of staying with Tommy. Wasn't she glad that they finally had to pay for

what they'd done to him? *No matter that this is too high a price ...*

Kat turned off that train of thought. Neither Kimberly nor Tommy were

that vindictive. But oh, how she hoped the first Pink Ranger was

right about Tommy coming around! *I won't believe he'd let Jason die

...*

Kim noticed Kat's confusion and wanted to answer, but

needed to watch downtown rush hour traffic before they both ended up at

the hospital ... as casualties in the ER. Making a quick decision, the

petite brunette coasted into a close-by parking lot and killed the engine.

Putting a hand on Kat's shaking shoulder, she tried to give as much reassurance

as she could.

"Kat, have a little faith ... you know Tommy! He's

always been there for his friends, no matter what. In the end, he always

comes through. You should know; you loved him once ..."

"Yes," Kat sighed. "So much that in all the time I was

married to Jason, I never once saw how much he's come to mean to me until

now ... when it might be too late ..."

"What? But ... Kat, I thought you left Tommy because you'd

fallen in love with Jase!"

"Is that what Tommy chose to believe?" Kat sighed again.

"I guess I can't blame him ... it must have looked that way, I'm sure ...

but I really didn't. We were just friends, nothing more. Not until much

later ... I loved Tommy, yes, but he was never around anymore. I was alone

so often ... and Jason was there, he made me feel good, less lonely ...

Tommy even sent him to me sometimes ... that one night, we had fun

together, but it was all harmless. Our first kiss just happened ... and

it felt so good, somehow I couldn't stop ... didn't want to stop

..." She rambled on, telling Kim how it had been, how she and Jason

had suffered from guilt and shame at having hurt Tommy so much these past

months and what strain it had put on their marriage.

Kimberly listened in silence, knowing from her own experience

how cathartic it could be to unburden oneself to the person one had wronged.

True, she wasn't Tommy, but she guessed correctly that in Kat's mind, she

probably was the next best thing, and wouldn't - couldn't - deny her friend

the comfort to be found in that. She held a cold, trembling hand between

her own warmer ones, rubbing it consolingly as Kat talked, and sorted through

things in her mind, correcting assumptions she'd made, realigning facts

Kat told her with what she'd heard from Tommy so she could deal adequately

with the situation.

At last, Kat wound down. Pouring out her heart like that

left her feeling even more exhausted, and curiously empty. All that was

left was her fear for her husband - that she might lose Jason and not even

have the chance to tell him she loved him.

"...and to think I believed Tommy had forgiven me after

I'd seen his interview on the Edie Jenkins show," Kat murmured forlornly

as she finished.

"What are you talking about?" the first Pink Ranger asked,

alarmed. That had been about two weeks ago ... she and Tommy had been together

again since the end of July! Could it be Kat didn't know? But Tommy

had told Rocky and Adam .... belatedly, Kimberly realized that both young

men had refused to stay friends with the Scotts on Tommy's behalf. If Kat

hadn't talked to Tanya recently, there was every chance she was unaware

of her and Tommy's reignited love affair. She groaned inwardly. If there

was one thing she didn't want to have to tell Kat, it was that Tommy

had come back to her, Kimberly. Not now, at least. However, it seemed as

if she would have to ... Kim was recalled to her surroundings by Kat's

slightly shamefaced look.

"I ... it might have been my imagination, but when that

woman asked about Tommy's dream girl, he looked into the camera as if directly

at me, and ..."

"...he said it was a blue-eyed blonde," Kimberly moaned,

remembering now. "Oh God, Kat ...." she reached out to draw her friend

into a hug, but Kat resisted. Puzzled by the other's blush and chagrined

expression, she raised a questioning eyebrow, momentarily distracted from

her misery.

"What?"

Kim inhaled deeply. She had to tell Katherine now.

Not to do so would be unnecessarily mean. Wishing she were anywhere else,

she tried to make her voice as sympathetic as possible as she faced her

friend.

"Kat ... Kat, I really hate to be saying this to

you, especially now, but ... Tommy and I have been back together - truly

together, as in a couple - since July," she said softly. "We just didn't

want Edie Jenkins to dig into our relationship, so I asked Tommy to avoid

those questions if he could. When that wasn't possible, I guess he just

said the first thing that popped into his mind. We never even thought you

might be watching - or that you'd think he was talking about you ...."

Kim trailed off, waiting anxiously for Kat's reaction. Having seen the

taped interview, it was easy for the petite woman to understand where her

friend's misconception had originated. The blonde was so distraught already

with worry over Jason, there was no way of gauging how this bit of news

would affect her.

Katherine just stared at Kim. This turn of events was

something that had fleetingly crossed her mind during her vigil last night

when she'd finally faced and accepted her feelings for Jason, but then,

the thought had still stung. To hear it confirmed now was ... curiously

anticlimatic. After going through the emotional wringer of her confrontation

with Tommy, Kat realized that deep down, she wasn't surprised at all.

*I have moved on; why shouldn't Tommy? It was over

...*

The realization was strangely liberating, even more so

than admitting to herself that somewhere along the line her feelings for

Tommy had changed and been replaced by love for her husband. It enabled

Kat to find a tiny, fleeting, but genuine smile for a worriedly waiting

Kimberly.

"You know," the Australian said slowly as she leaned back

in her seat, "yesterday morning that would've really hurt. I was so convinced

Tommy was talking about me ... I even was ready to leave Jason." Kim's

shocked gasp drew the blue eyes to her face. "Now, I'm just ... relieved,

I guess, that Tommy's happy again." A faraway look came into the crystal

eyes as Kat remembered her state of mind of the morning before. Her voice

was absentminded as she talked. "I'd seen the pictures of you in the National

Inquisitor, of you and Tommy at that anti-drug gala ... I was so jealous

of you, almost like during the time when I was under Rita's spell. But

now ..." The two had talked about that once, after Muranthias, when Kim

had reassured a naturally wary Katherine that she hadn't come back to steal

Tommy from her. Kat grimaced slightly; it hadn't been a pleasant discussion,

but necessary. As this was now; it was hard to admit her folly, but she

continued regardless. It felt so good to unburden herself to a friend ...

and instinctively she knew that Kim would understand, wouldn't judge.

"Now, all I want is for Jason to regain consciousness,

to live ... so that I can apologize for asking him for a divorce,

for hurting him like that ... just to ask his forgiveness. I'm going to

make up for every hurtful word I ever said to him, for every insensitive

thing I ever did ... if he'll let me. If I still can." She drew a shuddering

breath as the dire situation crashed back into her conscious mind. "God,

Kim, he just has to live; I couldn't bear it if Jason ... if he

died!"

Without a word, Kim reached out again and this time succeeded

in hugging the blonde. The taller young woman gratefully accepted the comforting

embrace, and while a few more tears slipped out and soaked into Kim's pink

sweater, she whispered brokenly what she'd only admitted out loud once

before to Rachel Oliver so short a time ago.

"I love Jason, Kimberly; I didn't know until now, when

I may lose him. I never told him, and if Tommy doesn't help him, h-he'll

d-die thinking that I w-want t-to leave him!"

"Tommy'll come around, Kat," the gymnast murmured as she

held her weeping friend tightly, stroking the pale-gold hair soothingly.

She fervently hoped that it wasn't an empty promise, that her lover would

come to his senses in time. It didn't bear thinking about if he wouldn't.

For Jason's as well as for his own sake. If Tommy reconsidered and was

too late ... no. Kim ruthlessly shoved the thought aside. However, while

this talk had been necessary between them, they'd been sitting in this

parking lot far too long. Kat needed to be back at her husband's side -

and she, Kimberly, needed to be there as well, with the rest of their friends,

waiting, hoping ... and praying.

As soon as Kat regained her composure, Kim released her.

The two former Pink Rangers shared a tremulous smile, then Kim started

her car again and silently drove them to the hospital.

The two women entered the hospital lobby and slowly made

their way to a rest room before they went up to Intensive Care. Splashing

some cold water in her face, Kat tried to erase at least some traces of

her tears, but the red-rimmed eyes and pale cheeks reflecting back at her

from the mirror told their own story. Kat shrugged mentally as she dried

her hands. Who cared what she looked like? Jason was dying.

"No," she whispered, wanting to deny it, but feared

she was only fooling herself. Time to face reality. She'd tried; she'd

failed. All she could do now was stay at Jason's side until it ended, one

way or another. Sighing desolately, the blonde took the elevator upstairs,

to tell their friends. Kim never moved from her side, offering silent support

with her conviction that Tommy would come. Eventually.

"There she is," Tanya nudged Trini as she saw Kat approaching.

Eyes widened as the group recognized the slight figure, also dressed in

pink, following her, but the five friends gathered around them immediately,

anxious to hear what she'd accomplished.

"Where's Tommy?" Rocky asked impatiently. "I'd have thought

he'd drive you ..."

"He ... he's not coming," Kat answered brokenly, as fresh

tears started to fall. "I hurt him too much last year; he doesn't care

enough anymore."

"What?!? But ... that's impossible!" her former teammate

exclaimed, sharing horrified glances with his friends. "He has to!

Jason is his best friend; he can't just let him die!"

"I don't think it really matters to Tommy, Rocky," Kat

murmured through her tears, momentarily forgetting Kim's reassurances.

"And I don't really blame him; we were the ones at fault, and deserve that

he doesn't want to help us."

"'Deserve' has nothing to do with it, Kat" Tanya protested

vehemently, her sense of fairness outraged at her former team leader's

callousness. "Yes, you screwed up, yes, you hurt him, but that doesn't

give Tommy the right to play God! Because that's what he's doing if he

doesn't help Jason now!"

"He'll come around," Kimberly spoke from behind the group

of ex-Rangers. While she knew their friends would accept her presence without

question, right now Kat needed their support far more than she and so she'd

stayed back a little. As they parted to look astonishedly at her, the slender

young woman smiled tentatively and came closer. She looked earnestly into

her successor's eyes. "Kat, I told you you just caught him by surprise.

Tommy's not mean, you all know that. I'm sure, once he has time to think,

he'll help Jason."

"Unfortunately, time's the one thing Jason doesn't have

a lot of," Trini murmured, greeting Kim with a brief hug. "While Kat's

been away, his condition has worsened. The fever from his infection is

playing havoc with his immune system, and he's gone from being unconscious

to comatose ..." her gentle voice trailed off as Kat sobbed once and hid

her face in her hands. Nobody knew what to say.

"I didn't realize it was this bad," Kim whispered,

going pale. "Oh my God ..."

Katherine swallowed her tears with an effort and made

herself look at Kim. How little it mattered that she'd envied the pretty

gymnast only a day ago! "And I wasn't here ..." she managed around another

sob.

Kimberly didn't think, she just reacted. Here was a friend

in pain, and she just couldn't stand by without offering what comfort

she could. Hugging Kat for all she was worth, she let her own tears come

as she murmured, "Kat, don't. You tried to do what you could to help him;

I'm sure if Jase were aware, he'd understand. You couldn't know." Her own

grief threatened to overwhelm her. "I'm so sorry ...".

"So am I," Kat replied, accepting the embrace gratefully.

Having the comfort and support of her friends was a small piece of warmth

in a world that had become bleak and cold ever since Skull had brought

her the news of Jason's accident. Both the police officer and Bulk had

dropped in briefly this morning, but while their reception had been warm,

there really was no place for them among the former Rangers now. Later,

they would get proper thanks for their help and concern, but this was not

the time to admit outsiders into the once more tightly-knit circle of friends.

The seven gradually recovered their emotional equilibrium

while Kim and Kat composed themselves as best they could, when the door

to Jason's room opened and Helen Scott stepped out. She cast a last, lingering

glance at her unconscious son, then turned towards her daughter-in-law,

trying to hide her desperation. "He's peaceful. I ... I guess that's something

at least; if Jason were in obvious pain ..." The older Mrs. Scott rubbed

at her smarting eyes and smiled bravely. "I'll pick up Robin at Sophia's

and wait at home; John'll be by later."

"Thanks," Kat choked out. "I'll ... I'll call if anything

..."

"Yes," Helen interrupted hastily. She really didn't

want to give voice to her deepest fears. Instead, she reached out and drew

Kat close. The two blonde women held onto each other for a long time, drawing

mutual comfort from their love for the injured man fighting to live behind

that white-painted door. Finally, Helen let go. "Look after my boy for

me, Katherine," she pleaded. "I'll take care of yours."

"I will," the younger woman promised. She watched as Jason's

mother briefly spoke to the assembled group of their friends, thanking

them for their support. Not a word was said about the absence of three

of them for the last year, and when she took her leave, Rocky, Adam and

Kim wouldn't meet anyone's eyes for a minute.

"Don't," Kat asked them quietly. "Please ... don't look

like that. I'm just too glad you're all here now." At that, the group gathered

around their Australian friend once more, giving and receiving comfort

from each other. Like it had always been. Katherine gazed at each in turn

as she continued. "I truly don't know what I'd do if you weren't here with

me right now. I need you all so much ... we both do ..." She drew in a

shuddering breath. "I need to go back to Jason. Will ... will you wait

here?" The timid question brought affirmative murmurs from all of them.

Summoning a grateful smile, Kat then went inside the dimly-lit sick room

to keep watch over Jason, while the others settled in the uncomfortable

chairs once more, to wait for whatever the night might bring.

After driving around aimlessly for nearly an hour, thinking,

Tommy finally arrived at the only decision he knew he could make. No matter

what his personal demons told him, he had to save Jason, betrayal

or no. His injured feelings weren't worth a life - especially not someone's

who had been as close to him as Jason. Once that thought had become clear

in his mind, he sought his way back towards the city. He took his sweet

time on the drive to Angel Grove Memorial, though; it wasn't that he didn't

feel some urgency to get to the hospital, but he needed a little more time

by himself to sort out his emotions which were churning with a confusing

mixture of hurt, anxiety and something that he finally identified as ...

relief.

*Where did that come from?*

he asked himself as he took the long way along the outskirts of town. *Why

hurt me?*

*Because despite everything, they're your friends,

and you missed them,* that nagging voice in his mind told him quietly.

It had tried again and again over the past year to make him see, but he'd

been too stubborn, too caught up in himself to listen. *Your family

past time to forgive and move on. It's not as if you didn't want to ...*

The ex-Ranger signalled and threaded his way into the

right exit lane. The park came up on his left, and Tommy drove past, back

towards downtown.

*I know they're right. And I do admit

it's time ...* he sighed to himself. But with

that admission came a small rush of guilt. Because if he conceded that,

he also had to concede that he'd played a part in how things had turned

out - and that hurt. Not his feelings, exactly, but it definitely affected

his self-esteem - the way he looked at himself. Thinking back on how obdurately

he'd clung to his - at least initially justified - outrage, Tommy felt

ashamed of himself. It was exactly that part of him that Rita had exploited

when she'd made him her Evil Green Ranger; he'd always been all too ready

to think that everybody was out to get him.

Not the Green, White, or later Red Ranger, but him, Tommy

Oliver.

To an extent, it had stemmed in not knowing his true roots

after he'd learned he was adopted. When the Oliver family had first moved

to Angel Grove, Tommy had just been trying to come to terms with his unknown

heritage, but it had been hard. Very hard. He knew his adoptive parents

couldn't love him more if they tried, but mostly, he remembered feeling

as if he belonged nowhere at all ... once Jason had broken Rita's spell

and welcomed him on the team, though, all that had begun to change. His

friends' - and most of all Jason's - unhesitating acceptance of him exactly

as who and what he was had gone a long way to make him come to terms with

his situation, to accept himself ... and be happy about it.

Once Zordon had made him the White Ranger and set him

the task of leading the team, Tommy had believed to have overcome most,

if not all of his insecurities. His friends' steadfast support and trust

in him had helped cement those feelings, and the teenaged boy had reveled

in feeling accepted and ... well, loved. Most of all by his girlfriend

and his best buddy - his Bro. Jason.

However, losing some of his friends, again most notably

Jason, and later Kimberly, to circumstances beyond his control had eroded

his self-confidence once more at a very subtle level, Tommy knew now. Oh,

it hadn't shown outwardly; being the leader of the Rangers had required

that he master himself and his emotions in order to survive - and win,

both on a personal level as well as in their fight to save Earth from being

conquered by Evil. And he had - through five sets of Powers and an ever-changing

team, he'd come through, and once he retired from Rangering at long last

had been able to live as himself instead of in service to Mankind.

He'd found his brother and at least some of his answers, started to build

a career, had success, and a wonderful woman was waiting at his side. Then,

that woman had left him. Losing Kat at that point in time, when he'd thought

he had his life completely under control at last, had pulled the rug out

from under his feet in a way that was far harder to bear in the long run

than the emotional pain her desertion had caused.

*I always asked 'Why me?', never just 'Why?'* Tommy

realized finally as he cruised over the freeway surrounding his hometown.

*I was too concerned about me than about what Kat was feeling

about how he was doing? Not often enough ...*

The first glimmers of that realization had made an appearance

that night in New Orleans, when he and Kim had shared their first real

kiss as adults - a kiss that very well might have led to more if a phone

call hadn't interrupted. Things had just careened out of control, and he'd

been content to let himself be swept along ... just as Kat and Jason probably

had been that spring night last year. Now that Kimberly was back in his

life and he could love again, Tommy slowly was regaining his confidence.

It was a long road, and he'd only taken the first hesitant steps, but he

knew at the end he'd find healing. At long last, after not wanting

to see, he could understand. On the heels of that understanding finally

came acceptance ... and the beginnings of forgiveness.

Tommy saw the sign to Angel Grove Memorial and made the

turn, skillfully maneuvering his car into a parking space. He shut off

the engine and sat for a few minutes, staring at the tall building. The

late afternoon sun gilded the top floor windows, almost blinding him in

their intensity. Tommy closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his hands

which clutched the steering wheel like a lifesaver. Memories of two other

times resurfaced when he'd also stood in front of the sliding doors, frightened

nearly out of his wits but too stubborn, too proud to acknowledge it -

the first time right after Kimberly's fall off the balance beam while she

was still on the team, and again later, after Rocky's accident which caused

his replacement by Justin. Thankfully, both incidents had ended well.

Today was the third time ... and suddenly an icy hand

seemed to fist around Tommy's heart. What if this time, their luck had

run out? What if this time, they did lose a friend? His best friend?

"No!"

Tommy was unaware he'd spoken aloud. The denial had been

instinctive, and was born of the reawakening need to help the man who had

become his best friend all those years ago, and of all the determination

and defiance with which he'd always faced his enemies - from Rita to Zedd,

Mondo and lastly Divatox. At one point or another, Jason had faced any

and all of them at his side, however briefly; fought along with him, supported

him, helped him. Not one evil alien entity had been able to defeat them

as a team; there was no way he'd let Human incompetence win where far more

sinister enemies had failed.

*Not if I have anything to say about it!* With

that thought firmly in mind, Tommy climbed out of his car, locked it and

strode purposefully towards the hospital's main entrance. There were lots

of things still to be sorted out for all of them, but they could wait;

Jason could not.

"Dr. Jones, a Mr. Tom Oliver to see you," a nurse informed

the harried physician. She knew the man was exhausted and that he deserved

his break, but everybody in Intensive Care knew about the young man slipping

dangerously close towards the edge of no return with every hour that passed,

and the group of his friends waiting, being there ... supporting his blonde

wife who was so desperately hoping for a miracle. If this hawk-faced young

man was right about his claim, maybe that miracle was going to happen after

all. It was worth a disrupted nap time-cum-coffee break.

Alec Jones sighed as he rose from the couch in his office

and slipped his white coat back on. *What now?*

he thought irritably as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, Mr. Oliver."

"Doctor."

Tommy briefly shook hands with the older man. There was

no comfortable way to ease into this, so he came directly to the point.

A growing sense of urgency he couldn't explain colored his voice as he

met the tired grey eyes.

"I've come to donate blood for Jason Scott."

The medic sighed again as he gestured his visitor to sit,

When the long-haired young man silently refused, he just perched himself

on the edge of his desk. He'd been on his feet far too long already.

"Mr. Oliver ... what makes you think you would be a match

for my patient when the Red Cross and the National Blood Bank couldn't

find one? I assume you are aware of the problems we had in this regard?"

Tommy nodded.

"Yes, or I wouldn't be here. If I'd known sooner ... I

was out of town," he said quietly. It wasn't a lie, and there was no need

for this stranger to know all the private details. "But, I don't think

I'm a match, I know I am. Jason has donated to me in the past.

Just ask our friends." He hadn't seen anybody yet, but was pretty certain

Zack would be there; maybe another doctor's opinion would carry more weight

than just his own word.

"That doesn't mean you're suitable now," Alec replied

cautiously. "We don't know when he acquired that weird element in his blood.

It may well have been after that transfusion."

"It wasn't, trust me. Besides, you can always test me,"

Tommy offered with a tiny, mysterious smile that dsappeared almost as soon

as it had come. It momentarily puzzled the doctor, but he considered it

to be unimportant. He had a patient to think about.

"We'd have to do that anyway; we can't just take your

word for something like that."

"Agreed. But, shouldn't we get to it, then?" The urgency

was getting stronger, the closer he was to Jason and the longer he had

to wait. Now that he was here, Tommy needed to act. Besides, patience had

never been his strong suit. Why wasn't this man doing something

already? Didn't these tests take time? Time Jason didn't have, if what

Kat had said was true?

Alec Jones silently took the measure of the man standing

so tensely in his office. The name and face were slightly familiar, but

he couldn't accurately place them. Not being much of a sports fan, there

was no way Jones could know about Tommy's status as a local celebrity with

an ever-growing reputation. *No matter,* he dismissed it as

irrelevant. He could always ask later. *If there is a 'later'.*

The man was about the age of his patient, lean, fit and well-muscled,

and wore casual yet stylish clothes that bore a well-known brand name.

Even a tired doctor knew that much, especially since his teenaged

kids always badgered him to buy them. With an effort, Jones recalled himself

to the here and now.

"May I ask why you are offering to donate blood,

Mr. Oliver?"

Tommy didn't have to think before answering. It was automatic,

and it was right.

"Jason is my friend. He'd do the same for me."

The doctor regarded his determined would-be donor for

a long minute, gauging his sincerity. Finding nothing amiss, he finally

decided to be as open as possible without violating patient confidentiality.

"Assuming you are indeed a perfect match -" Alec held

up his hand to still the incipient protest, "... and believe me, with something

as inexplicable as this, I won't agree to anything unless it's perfect

- I'm not at all sure that it would still do any good at this point. That

young man lying in IC since yesterday has lost so much blood, the infection

from his ruptured artery is spreading faster than we anticipated ... he

may need more blood by now than you have to give," he informed Tommy seriously.

The former Ranger blanched as the meaning of the quiet statement sank in.

"You said you were unaware of your friend's condition until today; unfortunately,

because of that, it may already be too late. It's not your fault, Mr. Oliver,"

Dr. Jones said hastily as he noticed that his visitor was swaying slightly.

Tommy reached blindly for the backrest of the chair in

front of him as he reeled as if he'd just received a heavy blow. His hands

tightened around the wooden frame until his knuckles stood out in white

relief. *This can't be happening! It can't be too late - I won't let

it! I've got to save Jason!*

"Does that mean you won't even try?" he asked hoarsely,

trying to control his roller-coasting emotions. "You're giving up on Jase,

just like that?" Right this moment, Tommy forgot everything but

the need to help his friend. "Jason's a fighter; always has been. We're

... we're a team; if I can help him, he'll pull through. I just know

he will!"

"I wish I could share your confidence; however ..."

"No!" Tommy interrupted hotly. "You said Jason needs a

blood transfusion, and I'm willing to donate; take whatever you need from

me, but do something!" He didn't care that his voice had risen and

taken on a note of desperation.

"Mr. Oliver, we can't ignore medical facts. It's a sad

thing but true that we have kept Jason Scott on saline solution IVs longer

than was strictly advisable because I refused to give up. I admire

your determination to help your friend, but we can't bleed you dry. Your

friends won't thank you if you harm yourself in an attempt to save a life

that is in all likelihood already lost, to put it bluntly. You'd do better

to support his wife if ..." Alec snapped his mouth abruptly shut as he

saw the flash of rage and despair heat up the brown eyes of the man before

him. It told him very clearly that this was not acceptable, that

he'd better come up with something else - or else. It was more than

slightly disconcerting, but perversely it also brought back hope to the

physician. A thought began to nibble at the outer edges of his mind. He

got up and strode to the window, looking out to the mountains in the distance.

They were getting hazy, with early dusk approaching ... fall was indeed

coming fast. Alec took a few moments to compose himself as he strove to

capture the elusive idea. He just got hold of it as his thoughts were interrupted

by Tommy, whose voice had grown noticeably rough.

"Is ... is there really nothing I ... you ... can do?

It can't just be too late ..."

Alec Jones weighed his options carefully. There was indeed

a slim hope, but ... he turned back towards his visitor, searching his

eyes long and hard.

"There might be a way," he offered slowly, testing

the other's resolve as the idea clarified in his mind. It was risky,

but ...

"What? I'll do anything," Tommy promised fervently.

"I can't guarantee it'll work, but we could go

for a direct transfusion. We wouldn't draw blood from you, process it and

then hook up an IV as we'd do normally, but establish a direct link, letting

your blood flow immediately into Jason's circulatory system," he explained.

"It's more dangerous, not least because obviously we can't work under as

sterile conditions as otherwise, but if you're willing ... we could stretch

the limits of what we can safely take in one setting ... add antibiotics

as we go ... and if he should show signs of improving, we could

let you rest a day or so, then draw more blood ... once, or maybe twice

..."

"Do it," Tommy decided unhesitatingly.

"You must understand that this will be extremely taxing

on yourself, Mr. Oliver," the physician cautioned. "The risk to you is

not inconsiderable. You'll experience a major blood loss in a very short

time that will be equivalent to a hemorrhaging wound ...plus, if worse

comes to worst, the puncture wound in your arm might get infected as well.

And it still might be all for naught."

"That doesn't matter. If it's Jason's only chance, I'm

willing to take it."

The sincerity in voice and eyes was unmistakeable. Giving

in - and not at all unhappily; not even the veteran medic had been unaffected

by Jason's plight - Alec put a grateful hand on Tommy's broad shoulder

and squeezed once, briefly.

"Very well, then. Let's get you tested."

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Tommy let himself be

ushered out of the doctor's office towards Intensive Care. He hadn't realized

before how much this meant to him, but hearing that it might be too late

for Jason if something didn't happen now had only served to convince

him that what he was doing was right. Dimly, he realized how a weight

he'd been carrying for far too long lifted from his heart - only to be

replaced by a deep, abiding fear for his friend's life. Praying that he

hadn't come too late to do any good, Tommy followed Jason's doctor down

the corridor. Just before they passed the swinging doors, Alec Jones halted,

turned towards him and regarded him warmly.

"I just want to tell you one thing, Mr. Oliver - whatever

the outcome, Jason is one lucky man to have friends like you and the others

waiting in here. If good wishes, prayer and devotion to a friend can accomplish

anything at all, his wife and the rest of you are giving it in spades."

Knowing that the man was right, Tommy just nodded in acknowledgement,

feeling the security of the bond all of the Rangers had always shared settling

once more in his soul. Only now he let himself realize that it had been

missing from his life for far too long. Sending up a silent plea to whatever

Higher Entity might be listening to help Jason, he went after the doctor.

"There's Tommy!"

Zack's jubilant stage whisper brought the others out of

their thoughts, and as one they turned to watch their former leader emerge

from a side door into the waiting area of ICU. He was pressing a cotton

pad to the crook of his elbow, where a nurse had drawn blood to test him

for compatibility. Tommy smiled slightly as Kimberly hugged him carefully,

but his expression was serious as he faced the rest of his friends.

"Hey, guys."

"I knew you'd come!" Rocky enthused, but fell silent as

Tommy fixed him with hooded eyes.

"Then you knew more than I did," he confessed quietly.

"If it hadn't been for Kim and my folks ... I may have eventually decided

it was my duty, after all, but I don't know if it would've been in time."

"Aw, Tommy ..." Rocky tried to protest, but a headshake

shut him up.

"Don't make me better than I am, Rocko," the one-time

Red Zeo Ranger advised. "I was feeling pretty mean for some time when Kat

came to see me. I just hope I changed my mind soon enough to do any good."

"We all do," Tanya whispered as she hugged her old friend.

"Jason just has to live; it'd be too cruel if ..."

"Yeah," Kim sighed from Tommy's side. "It may have taken

a disaster like this, but I can't help but think that now that we're all

together again that everything will be fine ..."

"Let's hope you're right," Adam mumbled. The others nodded

in agreement as they gathered close, waiting for the lab to confirm the

compatibility of Tommy's blood with Jason's.

Kat sat at Jason's bedside, hunched over in the uncomfortable

chair, but her physical discomfort didn't matter. It didn't even register

on her conscious mind that her body was cramping up, that muscles and sinews

protested at being held still in one position too long. She clung to Jason's

hand as she had all night, memorizing his too-pale features which were

now flushed unhealthily as the fever raged through his unprotected body.

The tiny cuts on the handsome face stood out in stark relief, but Kat didn't

even see them. She was completely focussed on the closed eyelids, willing

them to flutter and lift so that she could once more look into those dark

eyes and see the warmth in there that she'd been so unwilling to acknowledge.

*I never knew how much I'd miss that spark you always seem to have,

It was probably true, Kat thought. She and their son were what

Jason most valued. She remembered how hopefully Jason had offered to take

her out just before she'd destroyed his world by her request for a divorce.

The way the midnight eyes had lost their lustre, gone dull within a few

heartbeats ... and it had all been her fault ... *How could I

have done that to you? Why didn't I see?* The young woman was so absorbed

in her misery that a nurse's light touch on her shoulder made her flinch

in shock.

"Mrs. Scott? You need to go outside, please," the nurse

murmured gently.

"No," Kat protested weakly as the stranger was gently

but firmly disengaging her hands from around Jason's limp one. "I ... I

can't go; I need to be with him ... d-don't want to leave him .."

"You can wait outside with your friends; we need room

to work in, and we can't afford another possible source of infection in

here," the nurse replied as she ushered a reluctant Kat to the door. A

couple of med technicians bustled in with an extra bed and some strange

apparatuses. Kat looked at the commotion with confused eyes.

"Wh-what's going on here? What are you doing? Is ... is

something the matter with Jason?" Her heart was starting to beat frantically.

Kat was no medical expert; the monitors had all sounded the same to her

in the background, but what did she know? Had Jason's condition deteriorated

and she hadn't noticed? What if ...

"Please, tell me, I ..." she clutched imploringly at the

nurse's forearm, just before the dark-haired woman propelled her out into

the corridor: "He .. Jason's not ... not dying, is he?"

"Not if we can help it," the voice of Jason's doctor spoke

up. He was personally wheeling a cart with all sorts of instruments and

tubing inside. "Mrs. Scott, we may have found a way to save Jason,

but only if you let us work in peace. A donor who is a perfect match has

been found, and he's standing by. I honestly don't know if it will do any

good anymore, but we'll at least give it a try. But we need to work fast

- time's running out on us. If you really want to help your husband, you're

going to have to leave. Now!"

"I ... okay," Kat whispered, her mind numb with shock

and worry. They'd found a donor? Jason could have a transfusion, after

all? But Trini and Zack had said only Tommy could safely donate blood to

Jason ... Tommy wasn't coming, though ... but Kim had said he would ....

had he changed his mind?

*OhGodpleaseGodletitbeTommylethimhavecomeafteralllethimsaveJasonIlovehimsoJasonpleasedon'tleavemeGod

....*

Once outside the room, Kat found herself indeed face to

face with her former boyfriend. Hope flared in her sapphire eyes as she

looked up into his face and encountered a familiar expression - determination,

and a glimmer of the warmth she had missed so during their earlier meeting.

Tears welled up and she did nothing to check them as she stared at Tommy,

desperately hoping that he meant it, that he hadn't come too late.

"Th-thank you," was all she managed to choke out in a

strangled voice, however. She was trembling from head to foot, but she

didn't care; Tommy was here, he had never let any of his friends down,

now that he had come Jason would be safe, he just had to be, he had to

...

Her ex-boyfriend gazed deeply into the pale face, searching

for he knew not what, but feeling nothing of his earlier resentment. Kat

so obviously was in pain - more pain than any Human being should feel,

and he vowed once more to himself that, no matter what the next twenty-four

hours would bring, he wouldn't hurt her anymore. They'd done enough of

that to each other already. Tommy didn't try to speak; he had no words

right now, but he did manage a small smile and nod at the blonde

dancer before he was summoned by the physician.

"We're all set up. Any time you're ready, Mr. Oliver."

"Coming."

Blinded by her tears, Kat watched numbly as Tommy was

being led away, inside Jason's room, and her heart went with him, willing

success into whatever was going to happen behind that closed door.

Tommy lay down on the medical cot next to Jason's bed

and tried not to watch as a nurse slid an ominously large needle into the

vein in his right elbow, taped it down, strapped his arm to the cot and

affixed a clear plastic tube to the other end. Needles of any kind weren't

exactly things he liked. Dr. Jones was doing the same to Jason's left arm,

checked and adjusted the medical machinery one last time, then smiled encouragingly

at Tommy.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," he answered.

"Okay. Let's start, then." The physician carefully opened

a gauge and turned towards the monitors.

There was a slight, numbing sensation of coldness, and

then a minuscule tugging as blood began to spurt into the tube in a dark

red flow. Fascinated against his will, Tommy watched as that red trail

crept onwards, across the space between his cot and Jason's bed. As the

tube was filled all the way, it disappeared inside another needle ... and

since that needle stuck in Jason's elbow, into his bloodstream.

Automatically, Tommy's eyes snapped towards his friend's

face, looking for a reaction, but naturally there wasn't one. Reason told

that it would be a while, if at all, until any kind of effect could be

seen. Dr. Jones seemed intent on watching his readouts, adjusting a dial

here, tightening a tiny screw there, so gradually Tommy relaxed back onto

the firm cot, but continued to look at Jason. His mind instinctively filtered

out the traces of grime and dust in the dark hair, the cuts, the fevered

flush on too-pale cheeks ... and found that outwardly at least Jason hadn't

changed at all. Inwardly, though ... he had betrayed him ... no.

Tommy refused to think about that any longer. It had been a lapse, an error

in judgement, a mistake. Finally, Tommy believed. Jason was still

the man who had befriended him all those years ago, who had reached out

to him unhesitatingly and been his support and mainstay through adolescence

and into adulthood. He just couldn't have changed at the core of

his being - the part that had always spoken to Tommy ... whose spirit had

always responded to its mate, right from the start.

The broad chest seemed to move hardly at all, but the

heartbeat monitor emitted a steady beep-beep that was making Tommy sleepy

the longer he lay in the quiet, darkened room. Nurses and doctor whispered

to each other as they moved about, too low to understand, but it didn't

matter. Vaguely the young man realized that his ever-growing lassitude

was due to the blood loss he was experiencing, but it didn't matter; he

was literally giving a part of himself so that his friend could live. And

Jason was his friend, Tommy knew that now; betrayal or no, he wanted

Jason back in his life. Kat, too; it had hurt to curb his impulse to comfort

her this afternoon. They may no longer be in love with each other, but

they'd started out as friends once ... why couldn't they be friends again?

Tommy yawned, his body reacting to the drainage, but he

didn't mind; in a strange way, it felt as if with every droplet of blood

flowing from him into Jason, a bit of the anger, hurt and pain was washed

away as well.

*Like water eroding sand from around a rock,* Tommy

thought drowsily, finding the image strangely fitting. For their friendship

had always been a rock; strong and solid and something for both

to lean on through danger, loss both personal and of Powers, and quiet

times. They'd find a way to rebuild that, he was sure of it now.

It would take some doing on both their parts, but the core of what had

always been between them right from the beginning was still there. It had

just become obscured somehow by diverging interests, by changing circumstances,

by different choices ... by life. And life was what this was all about,

wasn't it? Jason's life.

*You gave your blood for me once, when I'd nearly killed

give you back your life as well.*

"Just hang in there, Bro," Tommy murmured as he felt himself

being drawn under into sleep. "I'm here ... I'll help you ... I promise,

Bro ..." His blood continued to flow into Jason, but that was as it should

be. The chocolate eyes closed wearily, and the leanly-muscled body relaxed

as Tommy inexorably succumbed to the darkness.

Another darkness had long fallen outside when Kat crept

quietly back into her husband's room. A couple of nurses had wheeled the

cot with a sleeping Tommy to another room a while ago, and Kim had gone

to sit with him. The others either dozed in the waiting area, looked in

on Tommy or had gone to the cafeteria for some food. Kat had asked permission

to be with Jason again, and after some hesitation, Dr. Jones had given

it. So it was that Kat found herself alone with her husband in the dimly-lit

room.

She pulled up a footstool and settled back at Jason's

right side, taking his hand in hers as she'd done almost all the time she'd

stayed here. It literally gave her something to hold on, even though the

strong fingers lay limply in hers. But while the dry skin was far cooler

than she was used to, it was yet comforting to feel the thready pulse at

the wrist, or to nuzzle her cheek into Jason's palm. She did so now, kissing

the center tenderly as she cupped it against her face, hoping that somehow,

it would register on Jason's unconscious mind that she was here, at his

side, where she belonged.

Kat gazed longingly at the still face, wishing for the

thousandth time that the dark eyes would open and look at her ... give

even the tiniest sign of recognition. Nothing happened, and she wearily

closed her eyes, holding tightly onto Jason's hand as she let her mind

go blank of everything except her feelings for the injured man. She felt

strangely divorced from her cramped posture, not caring that her body hurt

in various places from sitting still so long. After a while, her emotions

would no longer be contained, and almost unconsciously, she began to speak

as if to herself, slowly, haltingly, as she quietly confessed her love

to Jason ... it didn't matter any more if he could hear or not.

"Why couldn't I see? Why didn't I know? Oh Jase ... you've

come to mean so much to me, and I've been so blind ... I've hurt you so

often, and you always forgave me. If ... no, when; I can't bear

to think otherwise ... you wake up, will you do so once again? Because

I'm sorry - so, so sorry - that I said those things to you ... I didn't

mean any of it, I know that now. I don't love Tommy anymore; or only as

a friend. He's here ... he has come ... he's truly given his blood to save

you, you know that, love? Don't let it be in vain ... everybody's

here, waiting, praying for you to come back to us ..."

The young woman had to swallow; her throat was raw and

dry, but she was beyond tears by now. They still threatened, sitting just

under the surface, but this was not the time to shed any more. However

disjointed or rambling her confession was, this was a time where only truth

could be spoken.

"Do you know that all our friends have come to support

us? They'd all have given whatever you needed if they'd been able. Jase,

we're back together, everybody except Aisha and Billy; the only one missing

to complete the circle is you. Don't leave us, dearest. Not now. You're

a fighter; don't give up. Not when we can let the past go at last."

A strangled sob escaped Kat despite herself. She pressed

another kiss into Jason's hand before she could go on.

"We need you to do that, Jason. We need you, period.

Our friends ... Tommy - I think it'd kill him if you died when he's come

to save your life - your parents would miss you so much ... so would Robin.

Our baby. You love him so ... don't let your son grow up without knowing

you, love ... he needs you. And so do I." Kat smiled mistily; although

she didn't know if her husband could even hear her, it felt incredibly

good to just say it out loud to him. "I love you. I didn't know until now,

when I'm in danger of losing you. I think, now that I can see clearly,

that maybe you've come to care a little for me as well. I hope you do;

maybe you'll be able to forgive me my stupidity. But ... I also can't help

but hope and pray that somehow, you'll pull through. You've always

been so strong and stubborn ... oh Jason, please don't give up!

We all still have so much living to do ... and we don't ... I don't

want to live without you. I'm not even sure I can."

She kissed the cool hand once more, then lay her head

wearily onto the edge of the mattress. Closing her burning eyes, disregarding

her extremely uncomfortable position, Kat whispered brokenly what was deepest

in in her heart.

"Please ... don't leave me, Jason. I'm sorry for everything

I did to hurt you ... I love you. I need you. Please come back to me..."

The softly-accented voice drifted off as the young woman

gave in to her physical and mental fatigue and slipped into an exhausted

sleep that was anything but restful.

Darkness. There was darkness all around him.

The last thing he remembered was hearing a crunching,

her..." before the darkness claimed him.

He'd floated in a sea of agony for a long time, oblivious

even these odds could be beaten.

Agony had long given way to an encompassing cold and

to be embraced.

Every one of his fighter's instincts surfaced, hesitantly

that would bring victory ... if only he could remember ...

With Spirit once more fighting to survive, memories

was light...

Light.

Of course! Light was the element which would help beat

muscles and nerves to let in Light.

Unbeknownst to the exhausted woman slumped at the edge

started to tremble, fluttered and at last cracked open.

Kat shivered slightly in the dimly-lit room, caught halfway

between sleep and wakefulness, as she was suddenly gripped by a sense of

something happening. Chasing the cobwebs from her tired mind, she stayed

in her hunched-over position for a second or two, trying to persuade her

body to follow her command to move. Her cheek was still resting against

Jason's hand, and she relished the contact with the warm skin, the minute,

almost imperceptible brush of a fingertip against the baby-fine hair at

her temple. Katherine wallowed in the sensation, uttering a soft, pleased

"Mmmm" as she nuzzled into the ghostly caress. Only gradually the significance

of what her senses were telling her sank in. She caught her breath and

froze.

*Impossible! Jason's unconscious! He can't be touching

me ... can he?*

Her mind tried to wrap itself around the idea. After having

almost given up all hope, it took some effort, but another whisper-touch

at her forehead made her heart rate speed up alarmingly. Hardly daring

to breathe, almost afraid to move and learn that she'd been imagining things,

Kat forced herself to open her eyes. She was loathe to lose that small

touch, but she just had to see, had to know, had to

make sure that her prayers had been answered. Gulping down an almost paralyzing

fear, the young woman slowly lifted her head from the crisp sheet and sought

out Jason's too-pale face.

She met a pair of dark, fever-bright eyes, which were

only open a tiny slit, but looked at her consciously and with recognition.

"Jason," she breathed, suddenly lightheaded with excitement

and wildly surging hope. "Oh my God, Jason ..."

Instinct propelled her up, closer to the dry, cracked

lips which tried to form words as the midnight eyes followed her every

movement. Tears once more started to flow, but Kat didn't care; Jason was

awake, looking at her ... she'd prayed for another chance, and like a miracle,

her prayers had been answered! Her own eyes bright, Kat very tenderly touched

a darkly-stubbled cheek.

Jason exhaled softly as he felt the caress, but fought

to keep his eyes open. Now that he was conscious again, if only barely,

he was beginning to hurt in places he hadn't even known he'd had, he couldn't

move anything but his eyes and a finger or two of his right hand, he knew,

he'd tried, and he was desperate to go back to sleep, to be rid of the

pain, but there was something he had to say first, to ask Kat ...

he struggled to make his vocal chords cooperate. Finally, he managed to

form something vaguely resembling coherent words.

Kat felt more than heard his effort, and while she was

fumbling with one hand for the button to summon a nurse or a doctor, she

leant over Jason, wanting to but not daring to kiss him ... fearing she

wouldn't be able to stop.

"What is it, love?" she whispered as she located the call

button at last. Pressing down on it, she then gently brushed a strand of

dark hair back, a gesture of caring and tenderness she had very rarely

offered Jason during her marriage so far. Silently she vowed to do it more

often as she noticed the softening in Jason's eyes.

He summoned what little strength he had.

"Don' ... goooh," he mumbled, barely able to form the

words. "Llllovvyuuhh ... dooohn' leavmuuh..."

"Oh God."

Kat couldn't help her sob. Behind her, she heard the door

to the room open, but it didn't matter. Despite her former hesitancy, she

lowered her face to the immobilized dark head. As Alec Jones hurried into

the room to see to his patient, Kat was oblivious to all but the spark

once more lighting up the bruised, exhausted dark eyes. Placing her trembling

lips in the softest of butterfly kisses against Jason's, she smiled tremulously

at her husband as she bound herself to him all over again in a promise

far more heartfelt than her wedding vows had been.

"I won't leave you, dearest. I was wrong, and I'm sorry.

I promise, we'll talk about this tomorrow," she added as she was insistently

shouldered aside by a determined nurse. Kat moved to the foot of the bed,

out of the way of the busy hospital personnel. Jason didn't let her out

of his sight as he endured a brief but thorough examination, but was relieved

to let himself go again as his physician straightened with a relieved look

from his gauges and dials. Alec tucked his stethocope back into his coat

pocket and smiled at the young couple.

"We'll have to take it to the lab for confirmation, but

I'd say the transfusion was a success. His BP is approaching normal, ECG

is much better than before, the fever has gone down a couple of degrees

... with all due caution, it looks like we've won."

Tired as he was, not caring about his physical condition

right now but only about the fact that Kat had said she wasn't going

to leave him, Jason mentally fully endorsed the sentiment as his fatigue

overwhelmed him, taking Kat's last whispered words back into the depths

of healing sleep with him.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise, Jason. I love you."

To be continued ...

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