A week had passed since Christina and Tommy had been abducted. Jamie
was sitting in the youth center with Jason when Christina entered, a worried
expression on her face. "Christina, what's wrong?" Jamie asked
her.
"Can I talk to you? In private?" Christina asked, casting
a glance at Jason.
"Well, that's obviously my cue to leave. I'll catch you later, Jamie,"
Jason said, giving Jamie a quick kiss as he stood up. Christina waited
until Jason was out of sight before she sat down.
"Now will you tell me what's wrong?" Jamie asked, slightly
exasperated.
"I'm late."
Jamie checked her watch. "Actually, you're fifteen minutes early."
"No, Jamie, I mean I'm late."
"Oh," Jamie said as the meaning sunk in. "No big deal. Everyone's
late from time to time."
"I'm not, usually. I've been as regular as clockwork ever since I
started."
"Well, how late is it?"
"Four days," Christina sighed.
"That's not a lot, considering the stress recently. Do you think..."
"I'm not sure. It is a possibility, though. Before Billy left, we....you
know, and then on the moon.... Neither time was all that safe, if you know
what I mean."
"Chris...." Jamie sighed, shaking her head.
"Jamie, I know what you're going to say. You have to remember the
circumstances on the moon."
"Yes, but with Billy...."
"It's too late to change it."
"Are you going to tell Tommy?"
"I don't know how to. It's not something you casually mention over
a plate of fries. Besides, like you said, it could just be stress. Lord Zedd's been stepping
up attacks lately. I think I'm just going to wait a few days, then if it
hasn't started by then, I'm going to take a home test."
Jamie put her hand over Christina's. "Remember, I'm behind you all
the way."
"Thanks. A friend is definitely what I'm going to need."
A few days later, Christina and Jamie were at Angel Grove Pharmacy.
"Jamie, I don't know if I can do this," Christina said. "I
mean, look at the cashier! He has to be at least eighty!" Christina
turned to run.
Jamie snagged the back of Christina's blouse. "Chris, it's either
this or a clinic. If you go to a clinic, the bill will go to your parents.
Do you want them to find out you took a pregnancy test?"
Christina sighed. "You're right." She turned back to the shelf.
"I never realized there were so many types."
Jamie plucked one off the shelf. "This one. I had a friend back in
LA who swore by it. It was one of the few that didn't test positive when
her boyfriend took it. It's supposed to be fairly accurate."
Christina gathered her courage and bought the test. As they were leaving
the pharmacy, Christina ran into Tommy. Literally.
"Hey, are you okay?" Tommy asked, helping Christina pick up her
bag.
"Um, fine!" Christina snatched the bag from Tommy, but not before
he caught a glimpse of the contents.
"A pregnancy test?" he asked in a low whisper. Christina only
nodded sadly.
"I think I might be," she whispered back, not meeting his gaze.
"We're going back to her dorm so she can take it," Jamie said.
Christina finally lifted her eyes to Tommy's, braced to see anger. Instead,
she only saw concern.
"Chris, do...do you mind if I come along, too?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I...I'd like it if you were there. I...I mean,
if I am, it...it might be....yours."
"I know," he replied.
"C'mon, we're wasting time!" Jamie exclaimed.
In the dorm, Jamie and Tommy were sitting in Christina's room waiting
for the results. Well, Jamie was sitting. Tommy was pacing back and forth,
picking up knick knacks and putting them back. His nervousness was quite
apparent.
Christina sat in the bathroom, nervously watching the test. She heard Jamie
say outside the door, "The five minutes are up. If the test is red,
you're pregnant, if it's blue, you're not pregnant." Christina didn't
reply. "What color is it?" Jamie finally asked.
Christina opened the bathroom door, still staring at the test stick. "It's..."
she started.
"It's what?" Jamie asked.
"It's purple."
"Purple? It should be red or blue."
"Well, it's purple, see?" Christina thrust the stick at Jamie
and collapsed on the bed, moaning.
Jamie scrutinized the stick. "Well, it's a bluey-purple," she
offered. Christina threw a pillow at her.
"Now what?" Christina moaned, sticking her head under one of
the remaining pillows.
"Chris, maybe you should go to a family planning clinic. Some of them
offer free pregnancy testing. You need to find out for sure so you can
get on with your life," Jamie said.
"I'll go with you," Tommy offered, sitting beside Christina and
gently rubbing her back.
"Find me the number," Christina muttered from under the pillow.
Christina and Tommy sat nervously in the clinic waiting room. Christina
reached over and placed her hand on Tommy's. "Thank you for coming
with me today," she whispered. 'I don't think I could go through this
alone."
Tommy turned his hand over so he could lace his fingers with Christina's.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "It's only right," he replied.
"I mean, I might be the father. I don't want you to go through this
alone. I'll be here for you." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.
A nurse finally arrived. "Christina?" she asked.
"Right here." As she stood up, Tommy gave her hand another squeeze.
"I'll be right here when you get out," he told her.
After what seemed like an eternity to Tommy, Christina came back out of
the examining room. "Well?" he asked, taking her hand.
"They have to send the test to be examined. The results should be
back in a few days," she whispered, holding on to his hand tightly.
"What are we supposed to do until then?" Tommy wondered aloud.
"Wait," Christina replied bitterly.
Christina came back from rehearsal to find her answering machine blinking.
Hitting the play message, she heard "Christina, this is the Stone
Canyon Planned Parenthood Clinic. Your test results have returned. Please
call our office for the results. Thank you."
With a shaky hand, Christina dialed the number. She mechanically gave her
name and listened to the results.
"Thank you," she replied woodenly, then hung up the phone.
Tommy answered the door and saw Christina standing there, her face the
same color as her leotard. "Christina? What's wrong?"
"I need to sit down," she whispered. Tommy led her to the den
where she gratefully collapsed onto the old leather couch. "You should
sit down, too," she whispered. He did, on a chair that he pulled up
to face her.
"What's wrong?" he asked again.
"My test results are back. I'm going to have a baby," she whispered.
Tommy was glad he was already sitting. As it was, he nearly fell out of
his chair. Until he heard that, he had clung to the faint hope that she
wasn't pregnant. "Now what?" he asked.
"I don't know," Christina moaned. "I haven't thought that
far ahead. What am I going to tell Zordon, my parents, Billy?"
Tommy stifled a groan. "I had almost forgot about that," he said.
"Is there any way they can do a paternity test in utero?"
Christina shook her head sadly. "No, not until later in the pregnancy.
By the time it's safe, Billy will be home. I can't lie to Billy, Tommy."
Tommy moved to sit next to Christina on the couch. "Maybe we should
take things one step at a time. We still have eighteen weeks before Billy
and Kim are back."
"I know." Christina rested her head on Tommy's shoulder. "What
are we going to do?"
On the moon, Zedd was cackling with glee. "At least one thing went
right! The spell I cast over the Green Ranger to ensure a child would result
from his coupling with the White Ranger was effective! Of course, the White
Ranger, as good and sweet as she is, will not terminate the pregnancy,
nor will she give the child up for adoption. The child shall be born, and
when it is, their joining will be complete! Not even that divorce will
mean anything. The Green Ranger and the White Ranger will have no choice
but to return to the dark side!"
"But Lord Zedd, why will they have to return here?" Goldar asked.
"Idiot! Once the Blue Ranger learns of the White Ranger's pregnancy,
he will reject her, casting her off as unfaithful. The Pink Ranger will
feel betrayed by the Green Ranger, as he now has a permanent link to the
White Ranger through the child they share. She will deny him as the Blue
Ranger denies the White Ranger. This will be their only haven."
Christina, after returning from Tommy's, sat on her bed, hands on her stomach. A baby, she thought. I wonder what it'll look like? Will it look like me? Or will it look like Tommy, or maybe Billy? Oh, why did Lord Zedd have to kidnap me? I might not be in this mess if he had just left me alone. Christina's thinking switched to what she was going to say to Billy. She couldn't tell him this over the phone or in a letter. What am I going to tell Zordon? she thought as well. I can't stay a Ranger during my pregnancy! Sighing, she fell onto her back. Life had been a lot simpler before she became a Ranger.
Billy and Kimberly's time in Washington was over. On the plane, they
had a small discussion about the situation they had left in Angel Grove.
"I don't know if I can look Tommy in the eyes," Kimberly was
saying. "I mean, I know he was under a spell, but still! It hurts,"
she confessed.
"I know what you mean. When we entered that room and saw...that, I
thought I would never be able to forgive either of them. But when Christina
was free of the mind control, I saw the hurt and the pain in her eyes.
I had no choice but to forgive her," Billy said. "Honestly, I
can't wait to see her again. I think there's something wrong. Every time
I've talked to her, she's been hesitant, like she's holding something back."
"Tommy's been like that, too. You don't think..... Could the spell
have a residual effect?" Kimberly asked, worried.
"No, I don't think so," Billy replied hesitantly. "They
were always close. Maybe it just was bad phone connections."
"Yeah, that's probably all it is," Kimberly sighed, unconvinced.
She turned to look out the window. "Angel Grove looks so pretty from
up here, so peaceful."
Tommy and Christina waited by the gate, each nervous to see Billy and
Kimberly again. Christina's pregnancy was only beginning to show, as she
was now nearly five months pregnant. "Tommy, do you really think this
is the right way to tell them?" she asked him.
"There's no other way. We have to tell them, and we have to do it
as soon as possible." He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"It'll be all right. Try not to worry."
She smiled bravely as the first passengers began to exit. It seemed to
take forever for Billy and Kimberly to appear. When they did, though, the
tension was thick.
"Billy, I have to talk to you," Christina said. He agreed, and
they went into Starbuck's, Kimberly and Tommy following. The two pairs
took separate tables. "Billy, I don't really know how to tell you
this..."
"Christina, I know you haven't been telling me something. I could
sense it every time we talked," he said, gently. "Is it about
Tommy?" Oh please, don't let it be about Tommy, Billy thought
wildly.
"Sort of. It's also about you. Billy, I'm...." she paused, not
knowing if she could continue. "I'm pregnant," she finally blurted
out.
Billy felt as if all the air in the room had suddenly disappeared. "You're...pregnant?"
he finally choked out.
Christina nodded sadly. "About five months," she said, not meeting
his gaze.
"So..."
"It could be yours...or it could be Tommy's."
Billy gripped the edge of the table tightly. "When will we be able
to find out?"
"It's not really safe to test until the baby is born."
Billy carefully let go of the table and looked at Christina. She finally
met his gaze, tears glistening in her eyes. "I didn't want this to
happen," she whispered. "Billy, I love you."
He moved to the chair next to her. "I love you, too, Christina. I
know you didn't want this to happen." He put his arm around her, squeezing
her shoulder. "Does Zordon know yet?"
"No. I have to tell him soon, though, and my parents, too."
Billy laced his fingers with hers. "I'll go with you. The circumstances
may be odd, but I do love you, and I'll back up any decision you make regarding
what may be our child." Gently, he kissed her cheek.
At the other table, Kimberly wasn't taking the news quite as well. "Tommy,
what does this mean for us? Christina might be carrying your child. That's
a bond stronger than anything," she said, trying not to cry.
"Almost anything, Kim. I still love you as much as before you
left. This hasn't changed how I feel about you. It won't change. Besides,
it might not even be mine. There's a really good chance that it might be
Billy's. She and I are both hoping for that. Kim, it's all we have to hope
for." Tommy took Kimberly's hand in his. She looked into his pleading
brown eyes and knew that she had to place her faith in the slim chance
that the baby was Billy's.
"I will," she agreed.
A few days later, Christina was in the Command Center, flanked by Billy
and Tommy. With their help, she had told Zordon about her pregnancy. "So,
I can't be the White Ranger any more," she concluded, twisting her
hands together.
"For now, that is not a problem. You can resume your duties after
the child is born. However, the fact that you were with child when you
obtained the Zarakin divorce is a problem. Under Zarakin law, if there
is a child involved, a divorce cannot be valid. Christina, Tommy, under
Zarakin law you are still wed," Zordon informed them.
"What?!" they both exclaimed.
"Under Zarakin law, a couple must remain married as long as the child
lives or until it reaches an age where it is no longer dependant on the
parents. However, there is more."
"What else could there be?" Christina murmured. Alpha, noticing
the shade her face was, brought her a chair.
"As you and Billy have exchanged vows, even private ones, you are
considered handfasted under Zarakin law."
"Handfasted?" Tommy asked.
"It's an ancient ceremony where a couple exchange vows and rings in
private. In medieval times, it was considered as strong and binding as an
actual marriage ceremony," Billy explained. He touched Christina's
class ring, which hung from a chain around his neck. "Nowadays, it
would only be considered going steady."
"So what's that have to do with the situation?" Tommy asked.
"Zarakin laws accept handfasting as a form of legal marriage,"
Zordon simply said.
"So in Lord Zedd's eyes, we're both married to her?"
"Exactly."
Christina moaned. "Why does all this happen to me?" she groaned.
"Why do his stupid schemes fail where Jamie is involved, and why do
they work too well on me?"
Christina's pregnancy was now seven months along. She and Billy had
told her parents not long after telling Zordon. Her father had taken it
remarkably well. Her mother had fainted. Christina still smiled as she
remembered her father gently carrying her mother to the spare room. Billy
had put his arm around Christina protectively as they were telling her
parents and it had felt so good to her.
He does still love me, she thought to herself as they gently swayed
to the music at Jamie's birthday/costume party. They couldn't dance very
close because of her ever-swelling abdomen, but he held her in his arms
so lovingly, she didn't mind.
After the slow song had ended, Billy led Christina to one of the firmer
couches in Jamie's basement. She naturally leaned back against him, resting
her head on his shoulder. She had almost started to drift asleep when something
startled her. "Oh!" she exclaimed.
"What? Is everything all right?" Billy asked protectively.
She turned to him, smiling. "Everything's fine! Give me your hand!"
He did and she placed it on her belly. "There! Did you feel it?"
she asked, looking up at him, love shining in her eyes.
Remarkably, he felt something akin to a butterfly's wings fluttering in
her stomach. "Is it..?" he asked.
"It is! It's our baby, moving!" she smiled. She had ceased thinking
of the possibility that the baby was Tommy's, except for when she had to
visit her obstetrician. Smiling, Billy leaned over and kissed her gently.
The kiss was interrupted by a large yawn that Christina tried, unsuccessfully,
to hold back.
"I'm sorry," she giggled. Billy couldn't help but laugh, too.
"C'mon, I'll take you back. You have a big day tomorrow." He
helped Christina to her feet and up the stairs after bidding goodnight
to Jamie and the gang.
He had to wake her up when they arrived at the dorm building. "Thanks
for bringing me back," she whispered as they said goodbye. "I'll
see you tomorrow at nine?"
"Yeah, Tommy's offered to take us all to the hospital." A slight
edge of bitterness crept into his voice.
"Billy, don't think about it. We are going to see our baby for the
first time. Don't think about the other possibilities. This is our baby.
I'm sure of it." With that, she kissed him one last time and disappeared
into her building.
Christina was lying on the examination table anxiously, waiting for
Dr. Williams to arrive. When the doctor did arrive, it was with an apology.
"I'm sorry about that," she said. "There was a set of triplets
who decided not to wait another three weeks to be born. We just got the
three of them into the infant ICU." Dr. Williams was a young doctor,
her black hair coiled into a bun on the back of her head, her dark eyes
warm and friendly. "So, how are you feeling today?" she asked
Christina.
"Excited," Christina confessed. "I've been so anxious for
this day to come. I can't wait to see my baby."
Dr. Williams spread the conductor gel over Christina's belly and began
to run the ultrasound wand over her stomach. A grainy image appeared on
the monitor. "There it is," Dr. Williams smiled, pointing out
the figure.
"It's beautiful," Christina murmured. Billy squeezed her hand,
and Tommy rested his hand on her shoulder.
"Uh-oh," Dr. Williams said. "Christina, take a look at this."
She pointed to something on the screen. "Christina, it appears that
you don't have a baby. This isn't a shadow. It's a twin."
"Twins?" Christina whispered. "Two?" She looked at
Billy and Tommy. Now this was a possibility none of them had expected.
It was Christmas Eve. Despite being nine months pregnant and due to
have her baby any day, Christina insisted on going to the candlelight service
at her church. "I haven't missed a service in eighteen years and I'm
not going to let a little thing like being pregnant make me miss one! I'm
going tonight, with or without you!" she exclaimed when Billy and
Tommy tried to talk her out of it. Finally deciding not to argue with the
pregnant woman, they agreed to take her.
They arrived half an hour early so Christina would be able to get a comfortable
seat. As she gazed around the church, transformed with poinsettias and
evergreen, she felt an odd ripple across her abdomen. She dismissed it
as nothing. When it came again just as the service was starting, she began
to wonder. She carefully checked her watch and noted the time. She did
this every so often during the service. After the final hymn, she realized
that her contractions had started. She didn't mention anything to Tommy
or Billy, though.
On the way back to Tommy's Land Rover, though, she had to stop. "Oh,
no," she whispered. "Billy! Billy!" she called out.
"What is it?" he asked, rushing to her side.
"My water just broke," she told him, eyes wild.
"C'mon, we'll get you to the hospital!" Billy caught up to Tommy
and told him what had happened. Tommy raced ahead to the parking lot to
bring the car around, as well as call Dr. Williams on his mom's cellular
phone.
At the hospital, Dr. Williams met them at the admissions desk. "You're
already checked in, Christina. Let's get you to a delivery room."
The nurses helped Tommy and Billy into the sterile gowns they had to wear
in the delivery room. Their eyes met, and they exchanged a silent look.
Both of them knew that this was the time of reckoning.
Christina entered the delivery room at ten thirty PM. Just as the last
stroke of midnight faded, two strong cries filled the air.
"Congratulations, Christina," Dr. Williams smiled, placing the
babies in their mother's arms. "You have two strong, healthy baby
boys."
"They're so tiny," was all Christina could say, looking at the
infants. Billy gingerly sat down on the bed next to Christina. Tommy stood
behind him.
"Well, I'll go prepare the nursery beds," Dr. Williams said,
smiling. As she left the room, the twins slowly opened their eyes.
Christina gasped. "Billy, look!" One of the babies had eyes as
clear green as Billy's. The other, eyes as soft brown as Tommy's. "Billy,
is it possible...?" she asked, looking him right in the eyes.
Billy thought back, racking his brain. "Actually, it is possible,
but the odds are astronomical! I believe that there are only five other
reported cases of this happening."
"What?" Tommy asked. He hadn't been close enough to see the babies'
eyes.
"Tommy, I think one boy is Billy's and the other is yours," Christina
said softly. "Look."
Tommy did, and was surprised to see his own eyes looking back at him. "Amazing,"
he whispered. 'Truly amazing."
Billy looked at Tommy. "I think we're right back where we began,"
he said. "We know the paternity, but..."
"Billy, Tommy, let's not worry about it for now. Could one of you
call Jamie? She wanted to know the minute the babies were born," Christina
said.
"I'll call her. Tommy, you call Kimberly," Billy instructed.
As they walked out of the room, Tommy and Billy looked at each other. "Good
luck," Billy told Tommy.
"Thanks. Oh, congratulations, Billy."
"Congratulations to you, too."
On the moon, Lord Zedd was fuming. "It didn't work!" he growled. "Goldar, you must have done something to the potion!"
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