Name: Zega Rangers
Episode: Bonding Over Pain
Summary: Brad and CJ search for the portal to get them back home as
tension-sexually and regular-slightly builds in the Zega Station.
Episode 3
Brad hit the raging waters hard. His body ached from it. The water pushed
him under. He forcefully pushed himself to the surface. He saw a bobbing
head with brown and blue hair. "CJ!" He called. The head went under. He
cursed and dived under. He saw CJ's lifeless body floating. He rushed over.
Brad snaked his arm across her waist. He pedaled hard, pulling himself and
CJ up to the surface. He felt her head fall against his chest. "CJ?" He
looked at her. She wasn't conscious. He sidestroked against the rough
water. He saw a grassy shore nearby. He moved over to it. He reached the
shore. CJ still made absolutely no movement. He grabbed onto the shore with
his free hand. He pushed CJ up. Finally, after much effort, he was able to
get her upper body out of the water. Brad pulled himself up. And grabbed
her. He scooped her up into his arms and pulled her further into the shore.
He laid her down on her back. He kneeled down beside her.
"CJ?" He said.
He shoved her hair out of her face. He lowered his head to her face, trying
to see if she was breathing. Nothing. "Damn." He tilted her chin up and
pinched her nose. He lowered his mouth to hers. He put his mouth over hers
and began to perform CPR. He sat up straight; there wasn't any response from
her. He sighed painfully. He pushed down on her bare, tight stomach. OK,
he thought to himself, now is not the time to check her out. "Come on CJ."
He lowered his mouth to hers again. Still, nothing. He cursed furiously.
He lowered his mouth to hers again. All of a sudden she coughed as water
sputtered out of her mouth. Brad couldn't help as a smile came to his face.
She was OK. She coughed. Brad helped her turn to her side as she puked
water. She groaned.
"Ow." She said softly.
"You OK?" He asked. She softly shook her head.
"My shoulder, it hurts where that chick shot me." She groaned again.
"Well, think of it this way," He said as he helped her sit up. "At least
you're not dead." CJ chuckled softly. She rolled her shoulder.
"Yeah, thankfully. She must've had her laser on stun or something." She
looked at Brad. "Where are the others?" She asked.
"Uhm, actually, it's just me. They were only able to send one person to come
and get you." CJ looked at him.
"OK, you've got me. Now what?"
"We're supposed to find some portal in the forest or whatever." She took a deep breath and ran her hand over her head.
"Jeez, I must look like crap." She sighed. Brad smiled at the normality in
her tone.
"You look like someone who almost died." He chuckled. CJ smiled.
"Alright, don't we have a portal to find?"
"Sure you're up for it."
"I'm up for going back to Angel Grove." Brad nodded and stood up. He held his hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. They began
to walk. CJ pulled her hair out of the two braids. Brad looked at her as
she raked her fingers through her hair. OK, he thought to himself, now is
not the time to check her out, either. He sighed.
"Over the hills and through the woods, to Grandma's house we go." Brad
muttered sarcastically. CJ laughed.
After what seemed like hours, CJ stopped and leaned against a tree.
She slowly slid to a sitting position on the ground.
"Brad." She said. Brad stopped and looked back at her. He walked over to her.
"Hey you OK?" He took her arm and gently pulled her up. She slumped against him.
"Just, tired." She mumbled. Brad held her up.
"Yeah. It's been a long day." He looked over to see the sun setting. "And
it's about to be dark, anyway." Brad looked down at her. Her eyes were half-mast. Damnit, he thought, now is still not the time! He cleared his throat.
"Come on, let's try and find a place to rest." She nodded.
Kimberly stood against the wall at the Zega Station nervously wringing
her hands. Tommy looked at her. He walked over.
"Hey." He said, offering her a small smile. Kimberly looked up and returned
his smile.
"Hey." She nervously pulled her hair behind her ear. Tommy looked at her.
"Hey. They'll be OK." He said. Kimberly looked at him. That's not all I'm
worried about, she thought to herself. She couldn't help looking him over.
He was dressed in black sweats and a gray work out shirt. His chest and arms
were a bit more muscular then she had remembered, and his long hair was gone.
He also had the slight showings of a growing goatee on his face.
"I hope so." She forced out. Tommy nodded. He looked her over. She wore tight jeans and a purple t-shirt. Her hair was shorter and now went down to
the middle of her neck. It was also somewhat layered. Her cheekbones where sharper and defined then the last time he saw her, yet her eyes still held that innocent and child like sparkle that had attracted him to her so many years ago.
"You want to uhm, go and talk, alone?" He blurted out. Kimberly looked at
him.
"Uhm..."
"Kimberly, go, we'll contact you guys if anything happens." Trini said.
Kimberly looked at her; slightly surprised Trini was overhearing their
conversation. She walked over to her.
"You're not helping." She said to her friend in a low voice through clenched
teeth.
"Just go talk to him." Trini said. "It'll be good for both of you."
Kimberly sighed and turned to Tommy.
"OK." The two disappeared in flashes of gray and purple light.
Brad half carried CJ as they walked deeper into the forest. He saw a
clearing with rocks and logs. He brought her over and set her down by a log.
She leaned against it. CJ watched as Brad gathered up some smaller logs and
grabbed two palm-sized rocks. He held them over the logs and began to strike
them together. CJ narrowed her eyes in puzzlement.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Making a fire." He said logically as he continued striking the rocks.
"What are you a boy scout or something?" She chuckled.
"Actually, I was. Quit like a year ago." He said. CJ stopped.
"Oh." She laughed softly. "I should've known."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Brad asked.
"You're like this, All American Boy." CJ said. "Let me guess, you date the
friggen Homecoming Queen or something." Brad finally got the fire going. He
stood up and walked over to her. He sat down next to her.
"Actually, if you must know, I don't date." He said.
"You don't date?" She looked at him skeptically. He doesn't date? She
thought to herself. A guy that good looking, and he doesn't date. Right.
"Nope." He looked at her. "And what do you mean, 'All American Boy'?" CJ chuckled.
"Nothing, it's just that, well, Boy Scout? Come on." She smirked. Brad
laughed.
Tommy and Kimberly appeared in Angel Grove Park. Kimberly looked
around, smiling.
"Wow, I haven't been here in ages." She said softly. "Brings back old
memories." She said, looking at Tommy. Tommy looked at her.
"Yeah? Like what?" He asked, smiling.
"Well, me and yo-" She stopped herself. Tommy looked at her. Well? He thought to himself. He couldn't help feeling his heart lift at the thought
of her thinking of them. Me and you, walking along here, together. She
thought.
"Uhm, nothing." She looked down. Tommy's heart sank.
"Oh." They walked along the park. "So, how've you been?" He asked.
Kimberly looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"My sister and her husband died a month ago, and I've become a mother. How would you be?" She said. Her voice colder then she intended. Tommy
mentally cursed himself. Not a good conversation starter, he thought.
Kimberly sighed and looked down. "Sorry." She said softly. "I've just been
stressed." Tommy nodded. He saw a bench. He led her to it. The two sat
down.
"I can only imagine." He said to her. "How's CJ been holding up?" He
asked. Kimberly sighed painfully.
"She barely talks to me, and when she does, she just says the perfect thing
to make me go insane." Tommy looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Kimberly raked her fingers through her hair.
"Well, this morning for example. She came down, wearing this fake nose ring, which looked pretty real. I told her 'You almost gave me a heart attack' and
she said something about, losing her parents and legal guardian in one month,
wouldn't that be a record." Tommy looked at her.
"Kim I'm so sorry."
"Ted, Karen's lawyer, said that although they wanted me to become CJ's legal guardian, the offer of foster care until she became 18 was available." She
said. "But..I don't know, something told me that was just out of the
question." Tommy nodded. "I mean, the girl looses her parents, you can't
just throw her into a foster home and pray everything's alright."
"She needs family." Tommy said to her. Kimberly looked at him. His soft,
caring, warm brown eyes gazed back at her. She quickly looked down.
"Yeah."
Brad watched as the flames flickered. He looked over at CJ. She
untied her sweatshirt from her waist and laid it by the fire. CJ sighed and
caught him looking at her. She shrugged.
"Figured it'd be dry soon if I put it by the fire." She said as she sat back
down. Brad couldn't help looking at her body, that was barely covered in
black sweats and a small blue sports bra. Dear lord man! Said a voice in
his head. Control your friggen libido. This is not the time or the place to
be checking her out.
Brad was sleeping peacefully when he heard whimpering and crying.
"No....Mom! Dad!" He opened his eyes to see CJ tossing her head from side to side. He pulled himself up and moved over to her side.
"CJ?" He said. He slightly shook her shoulder.
"Mom! Dad! NO!" She screamed as she jumped up to a sitting position, into Brad's arms. Brad pulled away slightly and looked at her. Her face was tear-streaked. "Oh god." She whimpered. "It was just a dream." She began to
sob. Brad held her closer, letting her cry into his chest.
Trini stood by the controls, doing......Anything. Anything that kept
her mind off of the very handsome man in green standing not to far away.
This afternoon, when Quinn translated Billy's science-speak, Trini was
slightly surprised as she felt the strong pang of jealousy. She's just a
child. She thought. And it's obvious that she and that young man, Tyrell,
have something going on between them.
"Hey." She gasped silently when she heard Billy. He was now standing right behind her at the controls. He looked over them. Trini swallowed the lump
in her throat.
"Hey." She said. Good god woman, said a voice in her head, its just Billy, you've stood this close to him before. Although, then, they were teenagers,
and all raging hormones aside, there wasn't that much of sexual need in the
group. But now, both adults, raging hormones raced at a speed of light.
Brad held on to CJ as she cried. Her body shook with the intensity of
her sobs. He held her closer and tighter. The last thing he wanted was for
her to give herself a seizure or something.
"Shh.." He whispered as he stroked her hair. "It's OK, It's OK."
CJ didn't realize at first where she was. All she knew was that when
she woke up, there were arms around her. Strong, warm, gentle arms. She
appreciated those arms after being gripped by that cold and fierce nightmare.
When the arms threatened to pull away, she almost let out a whimper. She
looked up to see whom those arms belonged too. Brad. He looked at her and
pulled her back into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
She felt him hold her tighter as he stroked her hair.
"Shh." She heard him whisper. "It's OK, It's OK." Some how, his words, and
his touch brought her out of her state of shock and pain. She sighed as her
sobs subsided.
Kendra, Keith, Tyrell and Quinn sat in the Zega Station.
"How do you think they're doing?" Quinn asked as she nervously twirled her hair around her finger. A movement she did only when she was the epitome of worried.
"I think it's just a matter of time before they're back here." Kendra said,
trying to ease her friends mind.
"I sure hope so." Quinn muttered. Tyrell numbly put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. Kendra watched as her brother displayed such care to
their best friend. She couldn't help smile as realization of Tyrell's
feelings for Quinn hit her.
CJ pulled her face back and wiped her cheeks. She saw a huge wet spot
on Brad's t-shirt. CJ realized it was from her tears.
"Oh..I'm sorry." She said softly. Brad smiled.
"It's OK." He let her go. CJ reached over and touched her sweatshirt. She was glad it was dry. She slipped it over her self, zipping it up to right
below the end of her sports bra. Brad looked at CJ as the flickering flames
made her face become illuminated in orange light. "You want to talk about
it?" He asked. CJ looked at him, tears still in her eyes.
"Yeah. It'd be nice to talk to someone about something." She muttered.
"You mean, you never talked to your aunt?"
"No." She responded bluntly.
"Why not?" Brad said cautiously. He was careful not to over step his
bounds. Last thing he wanted was a beauti...........Er.........Was a
g...........Oi. Last thing he wanted was CJ mad at him.
"Because she doesn't feel." She said, breaking into his thoughts ramblings.
"I mean, it's one thing to talk to someone who doesn't say anything but hold you and say 'I'm sorry', but, it's another thing to talk to a family member
who doesn't say anything when she should be crying with you. I haven't seen
her cry once."
"She cried today." Brad said. CJ's head snapped up.
"She did?"
"Yeah. Maybe she hasn't cried in front of you because she thinks she's
supposed to be the strong one, you know?" CJ nodded.
"I.........I never saw it that way." She wiped at her cheeks. Brad looked
at her.
"Hey, maybe you should talk to your aunt about, like, your dream." He
suggested. CJ shook her head.
"No." CJ said. "I want to talk about it." Brad nodded. She took a deep
breath. "I dreamt I was in this funhouse thing, you know, those things with
all those funky mirrors. Well, I was walking around, alone, seeing all the
mirrors, but I never saw my reflection, I'd see my mother. Then, all of a
sudden, all of the mirrors had them," her voice wavered slightly. "In the
car, driving." Her chin quivered. "I saw the truck coming at them and tried
to stop them, but every time I tried to run over, it was just another
mirror." She let out a sob. Brad reached over and took her in his arms again.
She sobbed into his chest, just like she did a few minutes ago. "I couldn't
stop them." Brad stroked CJ's hair. He felt her slide her arms around his
neck.
"Shh." He whispered softly in her ear. He lifted her face and wiped at her
cheeks with his thumb.
CJ felt Brad lift her face up and felt him wipe her tears away. It
felt oddly comforting. His touch, like his eyes, in contrast with his
somewhat buff body, was soft and gentle. She felt herself almost become lost
in it. She slid her arms away and sat back away from him slightly, without
really calling attention to it.
Brad felt his heart sink as he felt her arms slide away. She pulled
away from him. He looked at her. He knew she felt somewhat awkward for just
sharing something like that. Something in him told him to let out something
about himself. He took a deep breath.
"My dad, left me and my mom when I was a kid." Brad said. CJ looked at him. "It was my birthday. He said he was going to pick up the cake. Said he'd
be back in ten minutes, tops." He stopped. CJ silently slipped her hand
under his. "Well, ten minutes turned to ten hours, ten days, ten weeks, ten
months, and now, ten years."
"Oh god, Brad I'm so sorry." CJ whispered. Brad smiled at her care. For
some reason, her words, her touch, and their current proximity was somewhat
intoxicating to him.
"It's OK." He said softly. "At first, I thought it was my fault, you know?
That, not being the perfect son drove him away." CJ's mouth hung open as
tears slide down her cheeks. "But, I know it's not me." Brad whispered,
almost as if he was trying to reassure her.
"How can you....I mean, I can't last a month, let alone ten years." CJ said.
"After sometime it gets easier." He said. "Sometimes, I see other people
who've got both parents and still can't help feeling jealous. But, I have my
mom, and" he smiled. "She's made it painfully obvious how much she loves and
cares about me." CJ laughed softly. Brad's heart skipped a beat at the
beauty of the sound. He cleared his throat. "And, even if your parent's
aren't here," He motioned around them, as to say, in the world. "They're
here." He placed a hand on her forehead. "And here." He placed a hand by
her chest, careful not to touch any body part that, if touched, would get him
slapped. "They love you. And, Kimberly, and all of us, are here for you."
"You mean that? About....You guy's being there? After I was the epitome of an evil bit-" Brad laughed softly.
"Yeah. I mean, would I be here if I didn't mean that?" CJ smiled.
End Of Episode 3
Teaser lines for ep 4, "Be it ever so humble..."
"I'm wet, I'm dirty, I'm tired, and I'm in some freaky forest place where the
populous wants to kill me, and to top it all off, my aunt is probably back
home, getting Nookie from her ex boyfriend!" CJ yelled at the top of her
lungs. Brad looked at her.
"CJ?"
"What!" She said.
"If and when we get out of here, remind me to never piss you off."
Episode: Bonding Over Pain
Summary: Brad and CJ search for the portal to get them back home as
tension-sexually and regular-slightly builds in the Zega Station.
Episode 3
Brad hit the raging waters hard. His body ached from it. The water pushed
him under. He forcefully pushed himself to the surface. He saw a bobbing
head with brown and blue hair. "CJ!" He called. The head went under. He
cursed and dived under. He saw CJ's lifeless body floating. He rushed over.
Brad snaked his arm across her waist. He pedaled hard, pulling himself and
CJ up to the surface. He felt her head fall against his chest. "CJ?" He
looked at her. She wasn't conscious. He sidestroked against the rough
water. He saw a grassy shore nearby. He moved over to it. He reached the
shore. CJ still made absolutely no movement. He grabbed onto the shore with
his free hand. He pushed CJ up. Finally, after much effort, he was able to
get her upper body out of the water. Brad pulled himself up. And grabbed
her. He scooped her up into his arms and pulled her further into the shore.
He laid her down on her back. He kneeled down beside her.
"CJ?" He said.
He shoved her hair out of her face. He lowered his head to her face, trying
to see if she was breathing. Nothing. "Damn." He tilted her chin up and
pinched her nose. He lowered his mouth to hers. He put his mouth over hers
and began to perform CPR. He sat up straight; there wasn't any response from
her. He sighed painfully. He pushed down on her bare, tight stomach. OK,
he thought to himself, now is not the time to check her out. "Come on CJ."
He lowered his mouth to hers again. Still, nothing. He cursed furiously.
He lowered his mouth to hers again. All of a sudden she coughed as water
sputtered out of her mouth. Brad couldn't help as a smile came to his face.
She was OK. She coughed. Brad helped her turn to her side as she puked
water. She groaned.
"Ow." She said softly.
"You OK?" He asked. She softly shook her head.
"My shoulder, it hurts where that chick shot me." She groaned again.
"Well, think of it this way," He said as he helped her sit up. "At least
you're not dead." CJ chuckled softly. She rolled her shoulder.
"Yeah, thankfully. She must've had her laser on stun or something." She
looked at Brad. "Where are the others?" She asked.
"Uhm, actually, it's just me. They were only able to send one person to come
and get you." CJ looked at him.
"OK, you've got me. Now what?"
"We're supposed to find some portal in the forest or whatever." She took a deep breath and ran her hand over her head.
"Jeez, I must look like crap." She sighed. Brad smiled at the normality in
her tone.
"You look like someone who almost died." He chuckled. CJ smiled.
"Alright, don't we have a portal to find?"
"Sure you're up for it."
"I'm up for going back to Angel Grove." Brad nodded and stood up. He held his hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. They began
to walk. CJ pulled her hair out of the two braids. Brad looked at her as
she raked her fingers through her hair. OK, he thought to himself, now is
not the time to check her out, either. He sighed.
"Over the hills and through the woods, to Grandma's house we go." Brad
muttered sarcastically. CJ laughed.
After what seemed like hours, CJ stopped and leaned against a tree.
She slowly slid to a sitting position on the ground.
"Brad." She said. Brad stopped and looked back at her. He walked over to her.
"Hey you OK?" He took her arm and gently pulled her up. She slumped against him.
"Just, tired." She mumbled. Brad held her up.
"Yeah. It's been a long day." He looked over to see the sun setting. "And
it's about to be dark, anyway." Brad looked down at her. Her eyes were half-mast. Damnit, he thought, now is still not the time! He cleared his throat.
"Come on, let's try and find a place to rest." She nodded.
Kimberly stood against the wall at the Zega Station nervously wringing
her hands. Tommy looked at her. He walked over.
"Hey." He said, offering her a small smile. Kimberly looked up and returned
his smile.
"Hey." She nervously pulled her hair behind her ear. Tommy looked at her.
"Hey. They'll be OK." He said. Kimberly looked at him. That's not all I'm
worried about, she thought to herself. She couldn't help looking him over.
He was dressed in black sweats and a gray work out shirt. His chest and arms
were a bit more muscular then she had remembered, and his long hair was gone.
He also had the slight showings of a growing goatee on his face.
"I hope so." She forced out. Tommy nodded. He looked her over. She wore tight jeans and a purple t-shirt. Her hair was shorter and now went down to
the middle of her neck. It was also somewhat layered. Her cheekbones where sharper and defined then the last time he saw her, yet her eyes still held that innocent and child like sparkle that had attracted him to her so many years ago.
"You want to uhm, go and talk, alone?" He blurted out. Kimberly looked at
him.
"Uhm..."
"Kimberly, go, we'll contact you guys if anything happens." Trini said.
Kimberly looked at her; slightly surprised Trini was overhearing their
conversation. She walked over to her.
"You're not helping." She said to her friend in a low voice through clenched
teeth.
"Just go talk to him." Trini said. "It'll be good for both of you."
Kimberly sighed and turned to Tommy.
"OK." The two disappeared in flashes of gray and purple light.
Brad half carried CJ as they walked deeper into the forest. He saw a
clearing with rocks and logs. He brought her over and set her down by a log.
She leaned against it. CJ watched as Brad gathered up some smaller logs and
grabbed two palm-sized rocks. He held them over the logs and began to strike
them together. CJ narrowed her eyes in puzzlement.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Making a fire." He said logically as he continued striking the rocks.
"What are you a boy scout or something?" She chuckled.
"Actually, I was. Quit like a year ago." He said. CJ stopped.
"Oh." She laughed softly. "I should've known."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Brad asked.
"You're like this, All American Boy." CJ said. "Let me guess, you date the
friggen Homecoming Queen or something." Brad finally got the fire going. He
stood up and walked over to her. He sat down next to her.
"Actually, if you must know, I don't date." He said.
"You don't date?" She looked at him skeptically. He doesn't date? She
thought to herself. A guy that good looking, and he doesn't date. Right.
"Nope." He looked at her. "And what do you mean, 'All American Boy'?" CJ chuckled.
"Nothing, it's just that, well, Boy Scout? Come on." She smirked. Brad
laughed.
Tommy and Kimberly appeared in Angel Grove Park. Kimberly looked
around, smiling.
"Wow, I haven't been here in ages." She said softly. "Brings back old
memories." She said, looking at Tommy. Tommy looked at her.
"Yeah? Like what?" He asked, smiling.
"Well, me and yo-" She stopped herself. Tommy looked at her. Well? He thought to himself. He couldn't help feeling his heart lift at the thought
of her thinking of them. Me and you, walking along here, together. She
thought.
"Uhm, nothing." She looked down. Tommy's heart sank.
"Oh." They walked along the park. "So, how've you been?" He asked.
Kimberly looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"My sister and her husband died a month ago, and I've become a mother. How would you be?" She said. Her voice colder then she intended. Tommy
mentally cursed himself. Not a good conversation starter, he thought.
Kimberly sighed and looked down. "Sorry." She said softly. "I've just been
stressed." Tommy nodded. He saw a bench. He led her to it. The two sat
down.
"I can only imagine." He said to her. "How's CJ been holding up?" He
asked. Kimberly sighed painfully.
"She barely talks to me, and when she does, she just says the perfect thing
to make me go insane." Tommy looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Kimberly raked her fingers through her hair.
"Well, this morning for example. She came down, wearing this fake nose ring, which looked pretty real. I told her 'You almost gave me a heart attack' and
she said something about, losing her parents and legal guardian in one month,
wouldn't that be a record." Tommy looked at her.
"Kim I'm so sorry."
"Ted, Karen's lawyer, said that although they wanted me to become CJ's legal guardian, the offer of foster care until she became 18 was available." She
said. "But..I don't know, something told me that was just out of the
question." Tommy nodded. "I mean, the girl looses her parents, you can't
just throw her into a foster home and pray everything's alright."
"She needs family." Tommy said to her. Kimberly looked at him. His soft,
caring, warm brown eyes gazed back at her. She quickly looked down.
"Yeah."
Brad watched as the flames flickered. He looked over at CJ. She
untied her sweatshirt from her waist and laid it by the fire. CJ sighed and
caught him looking at her. She shrugged.
"Figured it'd be dry soon if I put it by the fire." She said as she sat back
down. Brad couldn't help looking at her body, that was barely covered in
black sweats and a small blue sports bra. Dear lord man! Said a voice in
his head. Control your friggen libido. This is not the time or the place to
be checking her out.
Brad was sleeping peacefully when he heard whimpering and crying.
"No....Mom! Dad!" He opened his eyes to see CJ tossing her head from side to side. He pulled himself up and moved over to her side.
"CJ?" He said. He slightly shook her shoulder.
"Mom! Dad! NO!" She screamed as she jumped up to a sitting position, into Brad's arms. Brad pulled away slightly and looked at her. Her face was tear-streaked. "Oh god." She whimpered. "It was just a dream." She began to
sob. Brad held her closer, letting her cry into his chest.
Trini stood by the controls, doing......Anything. Anything that kept
her mind off of the very handsome man in green standing not to far away.
This afternoon, when Quinn translated Billy's science-speak, Trini was
slightly surprised as she felt the strong pang of jealousy. She's just a
child. She thought. And it's obvious that she and that young man, Tyrell,
have something going on between them.
"Hey." She gasped silently when she heard Billy. He was now standing right behind her at the controls. He looked over them. Trini swallowed the lump
in her throat.
"Hey." She said. Good god woman, said a voice in her head, its just Billy, you've stood this close to him before. Although, then, they were teenagers,
and all raging hormones aside, there wasn't that much of sexual need in the
group. But now, both adults, raging hormones raced at a speed of light.
Brad held on to CJ as she cried. Her body shook with the intensity of
her sobs. He held her closer and tighter. The last thing he wanted was for
her to give herself a seizure or something.
"Shh.." He whispered as he stroked her hair. "It's OK, It's OK."
CJ didn't realize at first where she was. All she knew was that when
she woke up, there were arms around her. Strong, warm, gentle arms. She
appreciated those arms after being gripped by that cold and fierce nightmare.
When the arms threatened to pull away, she almost let out a whimper. She
looked up to see whom those arms belonged too. Brad. He looked at her and
pulled her back into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
She felt him hold her tighter as he stroked her hair.
"Shh." She heard him whisper. "It's OK, It's OK." Some how, his words, and
his touch brought her out of her state of shock and pain. She sighed as her
sobs subsided.
Kendra, Keith, Tyrell and Quinn sat in the Zega Station.
"How do you think they're doing?" Quinn asked as she nervously twirled her hair around her finger. A movement she did only when she was the epitome of worried.
"I think it's just a matter of time before they're back here." Kendra said,
trying to ease her friends mind.
"I sure hope so." Quinn muttered. Tyrell numbly put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. Kendra watched as her brother displayed such care to
their best friend. She couldn't help smile as realization of Tyrell's
feelings for Quinn hit her.
CJ pulled her face back and wiped her cheeks. She saw a huge wet spot
on Brad's t-shirt. CJ realized it was from her tears.
"Oh..I'm sorry." She said softly. Brad smiled.
"It's OK." He let her go. CJ reached over and touched her sweatshirt. She was glad it was dry. She slipped it over her self, zipping it up to right
below the end of her sports bra. Brad looked at CJ as the flickering flames
made her face become illuminated in orange light. "You want to talk about
it?" He asked. CJ looked at him, tears still in her eyes.
"Yeah. It'd be nice to talk to someone about something." She muttered.
"You mean, you never talked to your aunt?"
"No." She responded bluntly.
"Why not?" Brad said cautiously. He was careful not to over step his
bounds. Last thing he wanted was a beauti...........Er.........Was a
g...........Oi. Last thing he wanted was CJ mad at him.
"Because she doesn't feel." She said, breaking into his thoughts ramblings.
"I mean, it's one thing to talk to someone who doesn't say anything but hold you and say 'I'm sorry', but, it's another thing to talk to a family member
who doesn't say anything when she should be crying with you. I haven't seen
her cry once."
"She cried today." Brad said. CJ's head snapped up.
"She did?"
"Yeah. Maybe she hasn't cried in front of you because she thinks she's
supposed to be the strong one, you know?" CJ nodded.
"I.........I never saw it that way." She wiped at her cheeks. Brad looked
at her.
"Hey, maybe you should talk to your aunt about, like, your dream." He
suggested. CJ shook her head.
"No." CJ said. "I want to talk about it." Brad nodded. She took a deep
breath. "I dreamt I was in this funhouse thing, you know, those things with
all those funky mirrors. Well, I was walking around, alone, seeing all the
mirrors, but I never saw my reflection, I'd see my mother. Then, all of a
sudden, all of the mirrors had them," her voice wavered slightly. "In the
car, driving." Her chin quivered. "I saw the truck coming at them and tried
to stop them, but every time I tried to run over, it was just another
mirror." She let out a sob. Brad reached over and took her in his arms again.
She sobbed into his chest, just like she did a few minutes ago. "I couldn't
stop them." Brad stroked CJ's hair. He felt her slide her arms around his
neck.
"Shh." He whispered softly in her ear. He lifted her face and wiped at her
cheeks with his thumb.
CJ felt Brad lift her face up and felt him wipe her tears away. It
felt oddly comforting. His touch, like his eyes, in contrast with his
somewhat buff body, was soft and gentle. She felt herself almost become lost
in it. She slid her arms away and sat back away from him slightly, without
really calling attention to it.
Brad felt his heart sink as he felt her arms slide away. She pulled
away from him. He looked at her. He knew she felt somewhat awkward for just
sharing something like that. Something in him told him to let out something
about himself. He took a deep breath.
"My dad, left me and my mom when I was a kid." Brad said. CJ looked at him. "It was my birthday. He said he was going to pick up the cake. Said he'd
be back in ten minutes, tops." He stopped. CJ silently slipped her hand
under his. "Well, ten minutes turned to ten hours, ten days, ten weeks, ten
months, and now, ten years."
"Oh god, Brad I'm so sorry." CJ whispered. Brad smiled at her care. For
some reason, her words, her touch, and their current proximity was somewhat
intoxicating to him.
"It's OK." He said softly. "At first, I thought it was my fault, you know?
That, not being the perfect son drove him away." CJ's mouth hung open as
tears slide down her cheeks. "But, I know it's not me." Brad whispered,
almost as if he was trying to reassure her.
"How can you....I mean, I can't last a month, let alone ten years." CJ said.
"After sometime it gets easier." He said. "Sometimes, I see other people
who've got both parents and still can't help feeling jealous. But, I have my
mom, and" he smiled. "She's made it painfully obvious how much she loves and
cares about me." CJ laughed softly. Brad's heart skipped a beat at the
beauty of the sound. He cleared his throat. "And, even if your parent's
aren't here," He motioned around them, as to say, in the world. "They're
here." He placed a hand on her forehead. "And here." He placed a hand by
her chest, careful not to touch any body part that, if touched, would get him
slapped. "They love you. And, Kimberly, and all of us, are here for you."
"You mean that? About....You guy's being there? After I was the epitome of an evil bit-" Brad laughed softly.
"Yeah. I mean, would I be here if I didn't mean that?" CJ smiled.
End Of Episode 3
Teaser lines for ep 4, "Be it ever so humble..."
"I'm wet, I'm dirty, I'm tired, and I'm in some freaky forest place where the
populous wants to kill me, and to top it all off, my aunt is probably back
home, getting Nookie from her ex boyfriend!" CJ yelled at the top of her
lungs. Brad looked at her.
"CJ?"
"What!" She said.
"If and when we get out of here, remind me to never piss you off."