D.O.A.

By Ellen Brand


    "Come on, Jason!" Kimberly called impatiently. "If you want me to help you get a birthday present for your mom, we have to go today! Her birthday's tomorrow!"
    "Just a minute, Kim," he called back. "Jamie, are you sure you don't want to come?" he asked again.
    "Jason, you know malls give me hives. Besides, Tommy and I have to finish this presentation for English. Go find your mom something great," she told him, squeezing his hand. "I'll see you when you get back, if you can drag Kim out of the mall before next week!"
    "Okay." Jason gave Jamie a swift kiss and then was dragged out of the juice bar by Kimberly.
    Tommy and Jamie worked on their presentation for the better part of two hours. As they were putting the final touches on (Jamie steadfastly arguing against the glitter), a California State Trooper came in to the juice bar.
    "Excuse me," he asked Ernie, "could I use your phone? I need to get in touch with some parents."
    "Sure," Ernie handed the trooper his phone. "What happened?"
    "Car accident not too far from here. Looks like the brakes gave out and the little car just wrapped itself around a tree. We just found it when a couple of hikers got back to their base camp and called the station"
    Jamie and Tommy both heard the trooper's words. "Excuse me, sir?" Jamie asked, hoping she didn't know this trooper.
    "Yes?" he asked, turning around.
    "Um, I couldn't help hearing what you said. Could...could you tell me what kind of car it was?"
    "From what we could retrieve, seemed to be a Geo Tracker, a pink one, license KIM-001," he told her.
    "Oh my God," Jamie whispered right before Tommy caught her.
    "Sir, are you sure?" Tommy asked. When the trooper nodded, Tommy asked the question he and Jamie both were afraid of. "Sir, where...where are the passengers?"
    The trooper saw Tommy's worried expression. "Do you know the car?" he asked.
    "It's my girlfriend's. Jamie's...boyfriend was with my girlfriend."
    "I'm sorry," the trooper said. "I'm afraid the passengers didn't survive," he said as gently as possible.
    Jamie had just recovered from her faint when she heard that. "No!" she screamed, clutching Tommy's shoulder. "Jason!"


    The next day, the shock had worn off, to be replaced by tears. Tommy and Jamie were never far from each other, shielding each other from the pitying looks of classmates. Their eyes were shadowed, betraying the night of sorrow that had passed.
    That night, Jamie's mother was going out of town for a three-day business trip. Alone in the house, she called Tommy.
    "Tommy, it's Jamie. My mom left, and I really don't want to be alone tonight. Could...could you come over?" she asked hopefully.
    "Sure, I'll come over. It'll take about fifteen minutes. Will you be all right?" A note of worry had crept into Tommy's voice. He knew what Jamie was capable of doing.
    "I'll be fine. I won't do anything drastic."
    Tommy was true to his word. Exactly fifteen minutes had passed before the doorbell rang. Jamie answered it, wrapped in her favorite baggy purple velour sweat suit and her huge terrycloth robe. "Hi," she said.
    "Hi." Tommy came in and they sat in the den. The night was unusually chill for Angel Grove, a marker of the approaching thunderstorm. Jamie had built a fire in the fireplace and now sat staring into it.
    "Jason and I first made love in front of this fireplace," she murmured. "It was during that time when we had that atmospheric disturbance when Daddy Dearest couldn't see Earth." Jamie smiled, remembering. "Mom had a business trip then, too. Jason came over and we had a picnic in front of the fire. His clothes got soaked on the way over, so he was wearing my robe." Jamie stroked the arms of her robe. "It still smells a little like his cologne. Tommy, I miss him!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.
    Tommy put his arms around Jamie. "I know how you feel. I still can't go to the basement in my house. Kim and I used to practice down there. She would teach me--well, try to teach me--some of her gymnastics moves, and I'd teach her katas. It was our place." Jamie clung to Tommy, her tears soaking the front of his shirt. She felt a drop of wetness on her head and she knew Tommy was crying, too.
    "Tommy," she sniffed, "there's something I should tell you. I've known it for a while now, I think since Zedd tried to marry us off. I kinda love you. Not like I love Jason, but different. You're one of the few people who know how I feel. Christina might be the only other one, but not through experience. I love her like a sister, but what I feel for you is also different. I don't think of you as a brother, but I don't think of you as a boyfriend. Is this making any sense at all?" she asked.
    "You know, it does. I think I feel the same way."
    After that, they couldn't recall who kissed who. It didn't matter. They found their lips pressed together in a sweet, gentle kiss of understanding. Jamie drew strength from Tommy in a way she never had from Jason, had never needed to. A roll of thunder sounded, echoing through Jamie's ears. Thunder had always meant intimacy for Jamie and Jason, since Zedd couldn't see Earth too well during electrical storms. For the time being, Jamie forgot who she was kissing. She deepened the kiss, making it seeking. Her hands slipped under Tommy's shirt, finding the smooth skin underneath. He groaned under her touch, but sorrow had clouded his mind.
    Together, they moved to the floor, Tommy's kisses making Jamie shiver. His touch was so gentle, so soft, so different from Jason. Soon, they had shed their clothes, needing the intimacy that can not be achieved with separation, even the separation of a few layers of clothes. At the height of their passion, only one word each escaped their lips.
    "Jason," Jamie moaned.
    "Kimberly," Tommy groaned.


    The next morning, Jamie awoke in front of the fireplace, the embers still glowing. This was a sign that the arm around her waist wasn't Jason's. The truth of the past two days hit her again: Jason was dead. carefully, she shook Tommy awake.
    He groaned, rubbing his forehead as he sat up. "Morning," he muttered.
    "Not much of a morning person?" she asked.
    "No, and neither are you." Tommy realized that he was naked and fell back, groaning. "Did we do what I think we did?" he asked.
    Jamie nodded. "We did." She found her robe and quickly slipped it on. "You'd better get dressed. The clouds are beginning to clear," she told him as she looked out the window.


    In Zedd's stronghold, Jason paced the length of the cell he and Kimberly were trapped in. The car accident had been a cover for Lord Zedd transporting them out. Kimberly just sat staring morosely at the wall.
    "We have to find a way out of here!" Jason exclaimed, pounding the wall with his fist.
    "Jason, just take it easy," Kimberly admonished. "This has happened before. I'm sure Tommy and the others will find a way to get us out of here. Mashing your hand into a pulp isn't going to help."
    "How true!" Lord Zedd's deep voice boomed into the cell. Jason and Kimberly jumped back from the door. "Soon, all the preparations will be complete! I will have the ability to cast a spell not even the White Ranger can break. You, Kimberly, will be first to succumb to the Dark Power. Your friend here will be forced to watch as you are slowly consumed by the darkness. You shall capture the Green Ranger, returning him to his true nature forever! Then you shall taste the Dark Power, Red Ranger. When you are wholly consumed, you shall return my daughter to me! She shall be brought around and will become your bride as you prepare to rule my Empire after me!" Lord Zedd laughed with glee that his plans were finally coming to fruition.
    "No!" Jason rushed to the door. "I love Jamie! I'd never hurt her like that!" He rattled the bars on the cell window, trying to reach Zedd.


    In the juice bar, Jamie was talking with Christina. "How are you holding up?" Christina was asking her friend.
    "Better than I was before. I think I'm finally accepting the deaths. Tommy's been really sweet. He stayed with me last night when my mom was gone."
    Christina narrowed her eyes as she looked at Jamie. "There was a storm last night," she said.
    Jamie nodded. "I know."
    "Jamie..." Christina looked at her. Frankly, she said, "It's too soon for you to get involved with Tommy. It's too soon for either of you."
    Jamie looked at the table. "We didn't mean for it to happen. It just...did." Suddenly, Jamie stiffened. "Chris, did you feel that?"
    "Yes, I did! It felt like...it can't be! Can it?"
    "It's Jason! I'd know that temper anywhere! Chris, he's alive!" Jamie clutched Christina's hands in glee.
    "If Jason's alive, then so's Kimberly!" Christina exclaimed. "Tommy!"
    "Yeah?" Tommy trotted over from the practice mats. "What's wrong?"
    "Nothing's wrong! It's what's right!" Christina exclaimed. "Jason's alive, and if he is, then so's Kim!"
    "But...where?" Tommy asked, afraid to hope too much.
    "Tommy, if there was a car accident, and now we're sensing that they're alive, and Jason's angry, there's only one place they can be." Jamie pointed upwards.
    "Well, let's go, then! What are we waiting for?" Tommy exclaimed. The three ran out of the juice bar.


    In the throne room, Kimberly was fighting a losing battle against the Dark Power. The only thing keeping her from succumbing was the thought of Tommy and her love for him. "I.... can't...... let... Zedd..... win!" she groaned as she struggled against her bonds. She could feel her body becoming evil and knew that she couldn't hold out much longer.
    Just then, Green Ranger burst into the throne room. "Kimberly!" he exclaimed.
    "Tommy! Hurry!" she called out. Purple Ranger and White Ranger rushed in, Jason close behind. Jamie had located Jason from his anger and he had told them of Zedd's plan.
    "Jason, you and I are going to break those bonds! Christina, break the spell!" Tommy exclaimed.
    "Tommy, that's not a spell! It's Dark Power!" White Ranger realized. "It's not going to be easy. Kimberly, try to fight it off while I work."
    "Okay," Kimberly agreed. She pulled on her love for Tommy as he and Jason blasted the bonds loose.
    White Ranger pulled on all the training she had received from Zordon. Holding her hands in front of her, she pulled the Dark Power into herself, letting it interact with her White Power, effectively neutralizing it. The others felt a rush of air as the now-harmless energy dispersed.
    "Let's get going," Purple Ranger said. 'I haven't seen Daddy Dearest this trip, and I hope to keep it that way!" With flashes of light, the group disappeared.


    Jamie contentedly leaned against Jason as they sat in front of the fireplace, relaxing. "I can't believe we came that close to losing you," she murmured as Jason stroked her arms. "If it wasn't for that temper of yours, I never would have known you were still alive."
    Jason smiled. "Then I guess a temper comes in handy every so often," he replied. Pulling her into his lap, he kissed her. "The thing that made me the angriest was that Zedd was going to use me to turn you evil. I couldn't bear the thought of that, even if he was going to marry us." He stroked her hair. "That would have been the only part of the whole plan I would have agreed to."
    Angel Grove experienced another thunderstorm that night, and Jamie and Jason were free to show each other how much they missed being together. Fleetingly, the thought of Tommy crossed Jamie's mind, but she dismissed it, vowing to forget about the one night they had comforted each other. As Jason's mouth worked its magic, she realized how easy it was to forget.


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