Additional Credits: My undying thanks to Cheryl Roberts for all her help with this entire story. Cheryl, if it weren't for you, this would probably still be in my computer collecting dust!

Tortured Souls: Chapter 3
By Mary "Signkat", Sara "Trini"

The late morning sun reflected brightly on the ocean's surface as it climbed higher into the cloudless Floridian sky. A small flock of birds swooped over the calm waves in search of small fish. Amidst the crowded beach, Trini and Kimberly managed to find a quiet place to soak up the rays.

"What's Jase up to this morning?" the pink bikini-clad girl asked, applying suntan lotion to her arm.

"He was already up and gone for a run when I woke up. He left a note saying that he'd page me and meet up with us later. We were thinking about going to a club or something tonight." Trini answered from her towel.

Setting the lotion bottle in the sand between them, Kim laid back and inquired curiously, "So, how exactly did the two of you hook up anyway?"

"I guess being around Jason at the Peace Conference, I got a chance to see a side of him that I never knew existed. Even with being Rangers together, I had always thought of him as the jock- type," Trini divulged quietly.

Hesitantly, Kim asked, "So, what about Billy?"

"What about Billy? I mean, I still want him in my life as a friend. But as far as ever being more between us than friendship? I waited for him as long as I could. Kim, over the past few years, he's had a thousand chances to ask me on a date or to do something other than study, but he never did. I have known all along that Billy liked me. I didn't want to scare him off, so I just sat back and let him take the lead. I even thought that maybe when I told him about Geneva, he might feel like 'it's now or never'. Even when he saw us off at the airport, all he did was hug me and say 'good luck'. I wish him all the best on Aquitar. Maybe he'll find what he needs to open up there." Kim reached over to touch Trini's arm as she concluded, "Jason has been really sweet and supportive of the whole situation."

"So tell me about you two!" Kim pleaded.

Trini reached for her lemonade, taking a long sip before answering her anxious friend. "One night when we were at the conference, Jase knew something was wrong. I had gotten the letter from Billy that day, saying he was leaving for Aquitar and probably not to return anytime soon. I must have read the letter over and over again at least ten times, insisting that I had missed something. I mean, there was absolutely no 'technobabble' in the letter whatsoever. Even after he lost his Powers, there was always at least some of it in his letters."

A slightly worried look crossed the gymnast's face. "Billy without 'technobabble?' Something must have been wrong!"

"I know. Well, after dinner, I went for a walk up to this one hilltop that I consider my thinking spot because it reminded me of the park back home. Anyhow, Jase followed me that night…."

~*~

Settling down on a boulder, Trini pulled the letter from it's envelope, re-reading it for the hundredth time, hoping that somehow the words had magically re-arranged themselves. With a heavy heart, she knew she couldn't deny the truth. He was gone. From the corner of her eye, she picked up movement –someone approaching. Lifting her head, she focused on Jason. Carefully refolding the letter, she placed it back in the gray envelope.

"Hey, Jason, what are you doing up here?" she chimed in her usually friendly tone.

Approaching her side, he replied, "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"I've come up here a few times when I just needed to think," Trini explained. "I think this is one of the few things I'll miss when the conference is over"

Leaning against the side of her rock, Jason studied his friend's confused expression for a moment before taking in the view of the mountains that lay before them. "Great view too!"

A glance sideways told him that she hadn't heard the comment. "You've been acting distant since lunch. I was wondering if there was anything wrong."

Her train of thought now broken, Trini looked down at the envelope still in her hand, frowning. "Well, I got this letter from Billy earlier." She held it up for Jason to see.

"Did he have some bad news?"

Trini shrugged. "I really don't know what to make of it, to tell you the truth."

Tentatively, he reached out. "Would you mind if I read it?"

For a moment, Trini hesitated before handing it to him.

Dear Trini,

Hope all is going well with the conference. We have had a lot of precipitation here in Angel Grove the last week –as Kim always called it, 'Duck Weather.' I guess I should get used to it, considering my upcoming extended trip. Since I feel I have outlived my usefulness in the Power Chamber, I have decided to take Cestria up on her offer and go to Aquitar. They require help with their transportation systems, and I believe that I could be of great assistance. I have told my parents that I have been accepted to a university in Beijing, China on a full scholarship and will be starting as soon as possible. I haven't made a decision on how long I am going to stay on Aquitar –I'm just going to wait and see. I may try to come home for a few 'vacations' so as not to get my parents' suspicions up, although I have not decided. Until then, I will miss you all.

— Billy

"I never thought I'd see the day when I'd understand Billy without a translator," Jason wisecracked quietly, handing the letter back to its owner.

Shaking her head, the once-Yellow Ranger murmured, "It doesn't sound like Billy in the least. Not the Billy I knew."

"Have you tried to call him?"

"Yeah, his father said that he left for China this morning." Her gaze returned to the snow-covered mountaintops as the sun set gracefully among them.

"If you don't mind my asking, what were you hoping he'd say?" Jason asked with quiet emphasis.

"I like you?" Trini supplied hesitantly. "Maybe something along those lines at least."

Stepping a little closer to the beauty before him, Jason studied her quizzically for a moment. "Are you sure he felt that way?" His fingers brushed her delicate hand accidentally. "Trini, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but William Cranston has never been the type to admit to anyone, let alone a female, his private feelings. If it doesn't involve circuitry, wires, or long Latin names, then he doesn't feel comfortable about being open with it. He holds everyone and everything at an arms length!"

Jason had hit the nail on the head, and she knew it. "I just thought that he would have gotten comfortable enough around me over the last five years to let me get a little closer."

"We all hoped that. Just like I had always hoped that I might get a chance sometime." As the words escaped his lips, Jason was immediately ashamed of himself for uttering them. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said that!"

The bluntness of the words had nearly knocked her over. Straightening, he turned to flee, only to be stopped after three steps. "Jason, wait!" she called after him, abandoning her perch. "Please, what did you mean? About getting a chance?"

He was unable to face her, for fear of rejection. The slight tinkling sound of her dangle earrings warned him of her approach. "I have a confession to make to you, Trini. Ever since we were lab partners in biology Freshman year, I've had a crush on you. I couldn't believe the luck when both of us were picked for the conference… but with Billy in the picture, I knew nothing other than friendship would ever be able to come of it. I didn't want anything that I did to cause problems for the two of you, so I decided it was best to stay in the shadows and not push my luck."

After what seemed like an eternity, Jason turned to find the girl of him dreams standing directly before him. Intense astonishment touched her pale face. In a fragile voice, she responded, "Jason, I'm not sure what to say. I never knew."

Breathing deeply, now that his secret was out in the open, Jason added, "I didn't want you to know –that's why I never let on. I knew you had feelings for Billy, and I didn't want to cause you any hardships."

Inwardly, Trini began to realize that he was not what she had always thought. "So, that's why when I would be working with Kim on gymnastics, you would watch me."

"I didn't think I was that obvious."

"You weren't –at least not to me; Kim pointed it out." As her cheeks continued to burn, a new and unexpected warmth surged through her body. "Why didn't you ever give me a hint?"

"I didn't want you to know. I was afraid that something like this would ruin my friendship with either you or Billy," he admitted freely. "Trini, I don't want to lose you as a friend because of what I just said."

"You're nowhere close to losing me."

Slowly, Jason's arms enveloped Trini in a hug. After a moment, she slipped her arms under his and up around his shoulders.

"Thanks for understanding," she murmured.

"Anytime. You know I'd do anything for you…."

~*~

Kim thoughtfully sipped from her water bottle, as she listened intently to her friend's story.

"From then on, Jason was always by my side. He didn't try to push or rush me into anything. We'd go for long walks and talk about everything and anything. He was just there whenever I needed him. What can I say? I guess I fell in love with him!"

Quickly getting to her knees, the spunky gymnast reached over and hugged her glowing friend. "I'm so happy for you two! I had a feeling that someone would find their soulmate overseas!" Kim gushed.

"My mom wouldn't stop hugging us when we returned to Angel Grove and told her!" Trini beamed "Wanna go take a dip in the water?"

Stopping only momentarily to brush a patch of sand from her pink suit, Kim challenged, "Sure, I'll race ya! Ready? Set? Go!" She took a bit of a headstart before calling 'go'. Trini immediately gave chase, leaving their towels to get a suntan of their own.

~*~

Turning into the motel parking lot, He immediately spotted the racing team's trailer with a white 4×4 parked next to it. Pulling the rental car into the open spot next to the pickup, Jason stepped out and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. *Room 216,* he read to himself. Glancing at the double row of rooms, he found it and headed for the second floor, taking two steps at a time. Within seconds, he was knocking on the door. After a mumble and the sound of stumbling, the door swung open.

"Jase! Good to see ya man!" Tommy squealed like a kid at Christmas, his wet hair still plastered to his forehead. He grabbed his best friend in a massive bear hug, nearly lifting him off of his feet.

"Good to see ya, too, bro! Down, boy!" Jason coughed out. "When did you get in?" The darker haired boy asked as he stepped into his friend's room.

"Just about an hour before I called you. Got busy trying to unpack after I called and didn't realize what time it was until a few minutes ago. I'll be ready in a sec." Grabbing a shirt from the closet, Tommy headed back into the bathroom.

*He only arrived this morning, and this place is a mess already! Suitcase in the middle of the floor, clothes everywhere, the bed covers are almost on the floor. I bet he's been jumping on it!* Jason chuckled to himself, remembering a time when the two of them had been yelled at for the doing the exact thing on his bed and ended up breaking part of the frame. *Who says sixteen is too old to jump on your bed!*

A few minutes later, Tommy emerged dressed and his wet hair pulled back in a ponytail. After picking up most of the clothing on the floor, he threw them and the empty suitcase, into the closet. He retrieved his shoes and socks from another duffle bag and plopped down on the bed to dress his feet. "I hope this movie is better than that one with all those famous people that got turned into aliens. That was so stupid!"

"What did you expect? Rocky picked that one!" Jason groaned. "So, how's the race track treatin' ya?"

Shoving his foot into a shoe, Tommy replied, "Can't complain. No first place wins, but I've never come in last place either. At least it's college money!"

"It'll be so great to have you at A.G.U.!"

"How are things with Trini? What exactly happened to get you guys together?" Tommy asked, holding his other shoe in his hand.

"I guess we kinda realized we had a lot in common at the peace conference. I mean, spending so much time around each other, we got to see a side of each other we couldn't have before –with Zordon calling us every other second and stuff."

"Yeah, that was the only pain…. The monsters seemed to know just when we didn't need their attack! So, where is Trini?"

"She's with Kim. I think they went to the beach or the mall or something. You know how they are!" Jason grinned playing with the collar of his open jean shirt.

In an attempt to hide the hurt at the mention of his former girlfriend's name, Tommy began adjusting the laces of the shoe which he still held "…how's she doing?" the grief-stricken boy asked hesitantly.

"Trini's good; she keeps talking about…."

"No, actually I meant Kimberly," Tommy interjected.

Slightly surprised by the question, Jason looked up at his friend and just now noticed how serious his friend's face had become. "Uh… well, I guess she's doing okay. Trini talks to her a lot more than I do. Last time I really got a chance to talk to her at any length was just after she came down here. I figured you'd have talked to her more than I have!"

"I haven't talked or heard from her since she sent me that letter."

"You never even called to ask her about it?"

Hanging his head, Tommy shrugged. "I guess I figured that if she wanted to hear from me so badly, she'd call me."

"Tommy, Tommy, Tommy…. I think you need to understand something about Kim. I've known her since third grade. Heck, ever since her brother went off to military school, I've considered her my little sister! So if there's one thing I know about Kimberly Harte is that she doesn't give up easily. Besides, her mom won't allow her give up when it comes to gymnastics. If she thinks that she's done something to make someone she really cares about upset with her, she's like a deer trapped in a car's headlights. You, my friend, represent the car in this scenario."

"What are you talking about? Kim wouldn't run from anything!"

"Maybe not when it comes to Ranger business, but when it comes to love and emotions… she gets scared easily. I assume by now that you've heard from Trini or Billy how Kim was when her parents were getting their divorce a year before you joined us."

"Billy just mentioned to me not to really approach the subject of her father and that Kim was kinda touchy about people making comments about her eating and to give her a lot of room. He acted like everything was a big secret"

"Yeah, well, that's not the half of it. I'm gonna tell you this because you really should know –and since we're no longer Rangers, Kim can't kick my butt as easily without the Powers. From the very beginning until her dad moved out, Kim's parents fought constantly; only after Mr. Harte had finally moved to Washington state did her mom find out that he also had a mistress on the side for some time. For about a year and a half before the divorce and during it, things around Kim's house got pretty vicious, and from the bits that I witnessed between her mom and dad, it got somewhat physical, too."

Not wanting to believe his ears, Tommy questioned, "You mean like hitting?"

"Exactly."

"Did he ever hit Kim?" he demanded angrily, as he shoved his foot into the second shoe.

Running his hand through his hair, Jason answered, "Not that I know of. But Kim was a basket case; she was sure they were splitting because of something she had done. In her words, if she was maybe a better gymnast or a better daughter, that they wouldn't have to get a divorce. All of Eighth Grade and the first half of Freshman year was absolutely *no fun* for Kim. Her brother stopped coming home for holidays and during the summers –actually I haven't seen him in years. We all took turns having her stay at our houses on the weekends. Sometimes when her parents were fighting, she would show up at Trini's or my house at like 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning –her parents wouldn't even realize she was gone! Mrs. Harte would lecture her on how men like her father were bad, and how they would just use a woman for what they wanted then throw here away like yesterday's newspaper. Kim was so afraid of being alone… I think it still scares the shit out of her sometimes. She wouldn't even eat lunch in the cafeteria by herself, and that was if she even ate at all. I really don't even think she ate at home. You think she's skinny now? Kim was like a china doll; weighed maybe 75 pounds –she looked kinda like the kids in Africa that you see on those commercials. Billy could pick her with just one arm. I couldn't believe that her mom never even noticed her sudden weight loss." Jason couldn't help but shake his head at the memory of his friends bad times.

"We tried everything to keep Kim eating at least something; in the end, the only thing that saved Kim from herself was that Zordon intervened. He helped us get her into the hospital by telling her that if she didn't get help and get her strength back she couldn't be a Ranger with the rest of us. It was only after that that she admitted there were problems. Without Zordon, I really think we would've lost her, Tommy."

Tommy's face turned ghostly white as the last words hit his ears. "I don't believe it! What are you saying, Jase? Kim thinks that I might hurt her the same way her father did to her mom?"

"Maybe."

"I've gotta talk to her Jase."

"I'm supposed to meet Trini and Kim later on; I just have to page Trini so we can figure out where. Maybe you could surprise Her?"

Tommy stood up to retrieve his room key and jacket before the two boys headed for the door. "Yeah, I guess I could." He let out a long sigh, letting the information sink in. "We should probably get going if we want to make the show. I just have to go leave a message for Uncle Jon at the main desk, then we can take off."

Minutes later, in the front office, Tommy was writing a message for his uncle.

"Mr. Oliver," the lady behind the desk called, approaching, "I forgot to give this to you when you checked in, but this message was taken for you prior to your arrival." She handed him a pink slip of paper.

"Oh, thanks," Tommy said, taking it from her but not looking at it right away. It wasn't until he and Jason started for his truck that he glanced at the slip of paper, almost immediately, he mumbled to himself.

"What is it? Bad news?" Jason wondered.

Tommy shook his head. "It's a message from Kat. She wanted me to call her in England as soon as I got in."

"Do you think you should call her back now? The movie doesn't start for another 45 minutes yet; we've got time," Jason commented, peaking at his watch.

"Nah, I'll do it later; it's no big deal." Balling up the pink paper, Tommy shoved it into his pocket.

"It's your call! I still think it's cool about how the timing of your race and our vacation turned out!" Jase jibed.

"I just hope I run good enough for you guys tomorrow!"

conte­ V