Long Journey Home

As the sun began to set, the group dispersed, agreeing to meet again the next day. Kat and Tanya left together, as did Rocky and Adam. Jason continued to sit on the blanket Tommy had brought, deep in thought. Tommy watched his best friend in silence for a while, then cleared his throat. Jason turned towards him, smiling a question.
 
"You want to talk, bro?"
 
"Yes -- no. Not today."
 
Tommy sat up. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but the whole affair had brought up too many questions in his mind, about himself, his relationship with Kat, his unresolved feelings for Kim and most of all the near-consuming fear he’d felt about possibly having lost Jason permanently.
 
"Jase .... we need to talk. Well, at least I do," he amended.
 
Jason regarded Tommy with eyes that were at once warm yet unreadable.
 
"I know. So do I. There are things I have to tell you ... but not now, not today. I -- I need some time, okay? Right now, I’m just glad to be back."
 
Tommy thought for a moment, then conceded.
 
"Okay, for now. Just ... just don’t take too long, okay?"
 
"I won’t. I promise."
 
Tommy sank back onto the blanket, satisfied. He knew Jason would keep his word. Content, he watched his friend watch the sunset, feeling at peace for the first time in weeks.
 
 
***
 
The next week passed uneventfully for the Rangers, if one didn’t count the regular attacks by Mondo and his army of cogs. Graduation was approaching with frightening speed, and everybody was making plans for life after school. Tommy was surprised when a visit with his uncle’s racing team and a spin ‘round the track for fun resulted in an offer to come racing; he and Jason had made tentative plans years ago of opening a dojo together, which would mean taking business classes at college aside from getting their official coaching qualifications. However, any prize money Tommy might win would bring them one step closer to realizing their dream. That was one of the things Tommy planned to bring up as he and Jason made their way out to the reservation where David lived. It was time for them to have their talk, and the desert would offer them more than enough privacy, while being close enough for Tommy to get back quickly if the Rangers were needed.
 
After spending the night with Sam Trueheart and Tommy’s brother, the two set out on a small hike to find a quiet place for their talk. David had listened avidly as Jason had recounted some of his experiences of the past weeks, and had flushed a deep red as he learned that in one reality, he and Kat had been a couple. Tommy and Jason exchanged surprised and amused glances, but made no comment; this was something better left alone. Tommy had admitted privately that his relationship with Kat was heading nowhere; while they were still good friends, it was tacitly assumed that it would end when they pursued their careers.
 
Settling down in a shaded place, both young men sat silently for a while, neither knowing quite how to begin. Finally, Tommy cleared his throat.
 
"Jase?"
 
"Yeah?"
 
"Look .... maybe it’s none of my business, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’ve been things about your 'little trip' you haven’t been telling us."
 
Jason smiled ruefully, drawing up his knees and resting his arms across them.
 
"You know me too well." Inhaling deeply, he admitted to Tommy’s suspicions. "You’re right; there were things I didn’t -- don’t, actually -- want the others to know about. It’s not that I don’t trust them, but ..."
 
"I understand." After a moment, Tommy asked what he was almost positive about. "It’s got something to do with Tammy, doesn’t it? My counterpart in that first reality?"
 
"That’s part of it. To be honest, a fairly large part." Collecting his thoughts for a moment, Jason looked at his friend.
 
"I fell in love with her. Maybe not quite at first sight -- I was too shocked to see you as a girl -- but it was close."
 
"I thought so." Tommy’s calm acceptance eased Jason’s nerves somewhat. "The way you talked about her .... it was fairly obvious."
 
"Yeah -- to you and everybody else over there. I thought I could handle it, I really did -- I kept reminding myself that I didn’t belong there, but ... one night, we were walking home from the Youth Center ..." briefly he relived the magic of that evening, and their first kiss. Looking straight at Tommy, he confessed. "I kissed her. I was lost after that. If someone had told me I had to stay there forever, I don’t think I would have minded."
 
Tommy was stunned. Jason had never dated much, to the chagrin of a lot of girls at school; for himfallfall so hard, and fast ... he fought down the slight twinge the thought cost him. It was an effort to concentrate on Jason’s next words.
 
"That was about two weeks into my stay. I ...." he blushed slightly, ".... I’ve never been so happy."
 
The quiet admission brought a lump to Tommy’s throat. However, he knew there was more.
 
"After another two weeks, there was this dance at school; I took her, of course. Oh man, Tommy, she was so beautiful ..."
 
Tommy squirmed slightly. Jason had told them that Tammy had looked almost exactly like him; it was somewhat embarrassing to watch the reminiscent glow on his best buddy’s face. Soon, though, Jason sobered. In a soft voice, he told Tommy about that night, about the scare they had had. Then, he admitted what the Red Ranger had begun to suspect.
 
"We made love that night. It was her first time, and she was so ... I don’t know. All I can say is that I never wanted it to end. We fell asleep afterwards, and the transfer must have happened then, because the next thing I know was that I was in bed, completely naked, and you were making love to me."
 
"Oh man ...." Tommy didn’t know what to say. He was partly embarrassed because his imagination kept providing him with images of Jason making love to a tall girl with long, dark hair and brown eyes -- and with images of himself bent over his best friend, their skin touching. Another part of him hurt with his friend, because he could still hear echoes of the pain Jason must have felt at losing Tammy so abruptly. He deliberately chose to ignore his reactions. Instead, he offered his own memories of that time.
 
"You know .... that was Jason’s greatest worry -- that Tammy would fall for you. He wouldn’t say it to my face, but I heard him talking to Adam once. He wanted to ask her out, but was convinced she thought he was still in love with Kim, so he never said anything. When he’d learned that you weren’t seriously involved with anyone, he was afraid you might ruin his own chances with her. Plus, I got the feelhe whe was pretty jealous."
 
Jason snorted. "If what I suspect is true, he returned to the place and time I was in when the transfer happened. That means he woke up in Tammy’s bed, with no idea how he got there. I just hope he didn’t hurt her too much."
 
Tommy briefly laid his hand on Jason’s shoulder. "Don’t worry; he cared too much about her for that."
 
"You think so?"
 
"Definitely."
 
For a moment, the two were silent. Then, Jason went on.
 
"Being Jess was at once harder and easier, and I don’t mean the obvious. Easier, because you were you, and harder because she and her Tommy were a couple already. I’m just glad she got back before the 24th."
 
"Why’s that?" Tommy asked, curious. Jess had never mentioned anything about a particular point in time when she had to be back; she just wanted to get back, period.
 
Jason smiled gently. Casting a slightly mischievous glance at Tommy, he told him the reason.
 
"Because Tommy wanted to propose on that day." He chuckled at the blush that tidbit provoked.
 
Recovering himself, Tommy smiled back. "You think he did?"
 
"Oh, I’m sure. Maybe he didn’t even wait that long."
 
"Why wouldn’t he wait?"
 
Now it was Jason’s turn to blush. Meeting Tommy’s eyes with an effort, he confessed to something he still felt somewhat ambiguous about himself.
 
"Because we’d just made love about an hour before I was transferred again."
 
The Red Ranger sat, stunned. That revelation wiped the memory of Jess's justifiable anger right out of his mind. He had trouble forming the words.
 
"Y-you ... made love .... to me .... as a girl?"
 
"Yeah," Jason admitted quietly. "It was so weird .... I’d tried all week to keep my distance, but when you stood in my doorway, you looked so lost ... about as much as I’d felt, and I only knew that I couldn’t see you hurt that much. I -- I didn’t think, it just happened. You needed me, and I was there. I had to help you somehow, and that was the only way I had." Neither young man noticed that Jason made no distinction between his best friend and that other Tommy.