tw: brief mentions of death and suicidal thoughts
Trini’s parents die in an accident when the Rangers are battling Goldar
She doesn’t find out until the hospital calls her and informs her that her brothers are okay
Mateo broke his arm and needed stitches for the cut on his forehead
Alex suffered minor burns and some smoke inhalation
A doctor and a police officer pulled her aside to tell her that one of the “rock monsters” had thrown the car and smashed through the windshield
her father had been crushed
her mother had died en route
And Trini nods, numb and buzzing, and excuses herself back to the room where her brothers are
and she barely has time to make it to the bathroom before she’s throwing up and shaking and on the verge of losing it but then she hears Alex outside the door, asking if she’s okay
and she decides right then and there that even if she isn’t she’s all her brothers have now and she’s going to be strong
A tired looking social worker comes around some time later and gives her temporary guardianship of her brothers
And Trini has to break her brother’s hearts when she explains to them what happened to Mami and Papi
she holds them both as they cry into her lap and swears she’s never letting go
The boys get released from the hospital (because they’re injuries aren’t extensive and they desperately need the extra beds) and Trini has to drive them home by herself, tuck them in by herself, and it isn’t until they’re both asleep do things start to hit her
the house is too quiet, too empty, and her parents are dead, and now she has to take care of her brothers all by herself
So she’s just sitting in her room, holding a picture frame from the mantel downstairs, when Kim crawls through her window
she’s talking as she crawls into the dark room, about how crazy everything looks, how they don’t have school for a while because the place was nearly demolished, how Zack says his mom is okay and Jason’s family is too, along with Billy’s mom, and it isn’t until she sits next to Trini does she realize somethings wrong
and they may have this new link that connects their emotions or whatever, but somehow Trini’s got a dam on hers because it isn’t until Kim touches her cheek, turns her face to look at her, and asks “what’s wrong?” does the dam break
and suddenly Kim understands perfectly
Trini cries and Kim holds her all night
Zack finds out next because he comes to visit Trini the next morning and then he messages Billy and Jason to get their asses to Trini’s now
And they spend a good two hours in a big huddle, everyone holding each other, and Trini cries and they all share her ache
Trini can’t sleep in her house, traumatized by Rita’s encounter and haunted by her parent’s absence
And she’s struggling to juggle lawyers and life insurance and social workers and funeral expenses and finding a full time job because she’s gonna need that if she wants to keep custody of her brothers
Kim makes it a little easier, she stays every night for a week, even when Trini doesn’t sleep, just having Kim next to her helps ease the emptiness around her
Madi and Ted Hart notice their daughters disappearances and when they confront her about it she tells them her friend just lost her parents and has to take care of her little brothers
turns out Madi was the doctor who stitched up Mateo’s forehead and Ted was the officer who pulled them from the vehicle
To make matters worse, the judge assigned to the boys case has deemed Trini unfit to look after her brothers, not because she physically can’t but because she’s too young and without a full time job
And Trini breaks down outside the courthouse because two social workers are taking her brothers away and she nearly sends two police officers flying as they hold her back
Ted holds her as she sobs deeply and when Kim shows up and swoops in to hold her, he knows he has to do something
He calls his wife, who immediately agrees, then makes a few more phone calls and few favors and then its done
Trini’s sitting in her room, alone in the dark, when she starts wishing Rita had killed her the first time, how she wishes she were dead
And then Kim’s stumbling into her room, teary eyed, and running over to Trini and pulling her close
“don’t you ever, ever, think like this! I can’t do this without you Trin, and god I know this sucks, but please, please don’t leave me. I need you. Your brothers need you. And I’m not going to leave you, ever. so please, just stay with me”
and Trini cries and kisses her and Kim holds her so tight she leaves small bruises that disappear by the morning
The next morning Kim gets a call from her mom to bring Trini back to their house
and Kim tells Trini to live with them
she poses it like its a question but Trini knows she doesn’t really have a choice
and she can feel Kim’s resoluteness through the link and it hits her a little because Kim really isn’t going to leave her, no matter what
So she kisses her again and Kim kisses back twice as hard, twice as soft, and doesn’t let go
And when they finally get to Kim’s house, Trini’s things packed in three duffel bags, the front door flings open and Mateo and Alex come barreling out, followed by Madi and Ted
the phone calls were to square away the boys adoption since Madi and Ted were registered foster parents before they had Kim
And Trini breaks down crying and hugging and kissing her brothers, and then the Harts are joining in the group hug
Trini still misses her mom and dad, but she gains a second family
or rather a third because her fellow rangers are family too
Years later, when Trini and Kim have dated for a while, Kim proposes
“I think it’s time you joined the Hart family too. Trini will you marry me?”
