After dinner, the red rangers cleaned up their dishes. Cole started a debate with Eric and Wes about whose zords were better while Carter just listened, inserting a comment once in a while. Jason was talking to TJ about the ship and Tommy was leaning back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling with his eyes closed. Andros glanced at the time and stood up, stretching.
"It's getting late," he said.
Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him.
"Sleeping arrangements are going to be tight," he said. "Especially since the girls' rooms are off limit."
"Girls?" Cole said.
"Yes," said Andros. "Cassie, our pink ranger, didn't want anyone in her room and Ashley, our yellow ranger, still keeps some of her things in her old room since, being on a spaceship, our room isn't that big."
"Wait a minute," Cole said. "Your room? As in share a room?"
TJ snorted, shaking his head and trying not to laugh. Andros glared at him.
"Ashley is my wife," Andros said, looking back at Cole.
"Oh," Cole said. "I guess that makes sense."
Andros took a deep breath.
"Anyways," he said. "So TJ will be sharing my room. Wes, Eric, and Cole, you'll take Carlos' room. Jason and Carter, you're in TJ's. Tommy will be in Zhane's room."
"Hey, wait a minute," Cole protested. "Why does he get a room all to himself when the rest of us have to share?"
Andros and TJ exchanged glances.
"He snores," TJ answered. "Like sawing logs. No one would get any sleep."
"Hey!" Tommy exclaimed, sitting up and glaring at TJ.
"Don't deny it, Tommy," TJ said, grinning. "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about Jason. You probably heard him snoring plenty of times when you were in high school."
"TJ," Tommy growled.
But Jason just laughed, shaking his head.
"I don't remember a whole lot of snoring in high school," he said. "But I was usually asleep first."
"Still not fair," Cole muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Hey man," TJ said. "Our ship. Our rules. If you don't want to share, we can always strap you to the bed in the med bay for the night. Not the most comfortable place in the world to sleep though."
Cole shook his head, shooting a glare over at Tommy. Standing up, TJ motioned for the others to follow him.
"Come on," he said. "I'll show you guys where the rooms are. Oh. If you break anything, there will be consequences and you won't like them."
Exchanging looks, Wes, Eric, Carter, and Cole followed TJ out of the dining room. Andros followed behind them, heading for the control room. Tommy stayed where he was, leaning back and closing his eyes again. The room was silent for a few moments.
"Did you need something, Jason?" Tommy finally asked without opening his eyes.
Jason, who was still standing in the room, jumped in surprise.
"Practice," Tommy said. "I had Rocky. And now I have Hayley."
"Who's Hayley?" Jason asked, sitting down at the table with Tommy.
Tommy shook his head.
"Not a subject for right now," he said.
They were both quiet again for a moment. Sighing, Tommy opened his eyes and sat up, looking at Jason.
"Look, Jase," he said. "I need to apologize."
"Tommy," Jason said. "That's not—"
Tommy held up a hand to stop him.
"I need to," he said. "I should have been at your wedding, and I wasn't. And don't say it's ok, because we both know better."
"I—Yeah, it really wasn't," Jason said. "I never thought you'd back out on me like that."
Tommy sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I never meant to," he said. "But that's no excuse."
"Tommy," Jason said. "Things happen. But you never even gave me a reason. All I got was a cryptic phone call."
There was a pause.
"I—I was in the hospital, Jason," Tommy finally said. "And before you get all worked up, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. You and Trini both would have freaked out. I just—I didn't want to ruin that day for you."
Jason was silent for a moment, staring at Tommy in complete shock.
"You were in the hospital," he finally got out. "And you didn't tell me?"
"It was the night before your wedding, Jason," Tommy said. "If I had told you where I was, you and Trini both would have come running. I'm fine now."
Jason shook his head.
"You're lucky Trini isn't here," he said. "She'd kill you. Next time you end up in the hospital though, you'd better tell me. Or I'm going to put you in the hospital."
"I think I can handle that," Tommy said, smiling. "But we should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
"So why are we crammed in here again?" Cole muttered. "Ear plugs would solve a snoring problem."
Wes and Cole were lying on the floor in Carlos' room. The small rooms meant they were almost shoulder to shoulder, without a lot of room to move. Eric was in the bed, having pushed both of them off in order to claim if for himself.
"Shut up, Cole," Wes muttered. "Or go sleep in the hallway."
"But—" Cole started to say.
He was interrupted suddenly by a pillow to the face. Grumbling, he shifted and tried to get comfortable.
"Are you good down there?" Jason asked Carter. "If you need some more pillows or something I think there are more in the closet."
Jason was lying on the bed in TJ's room. Carter had made a bed of blankets and pillows on the floor.
"No, I'm good," Carter answered. "It's actually quite comfortable. Better than some of the beds at the firehouse. Some of those were like boards."
"Alright," Jason said, rolling over and closing his eyes. "See you in the morning."
"Goodnight," Carter said.
TJ sat on the floor in Andros' room, leaning against the bed.
"So do you think Tommy's gonna be ok?" he said. "He didn't look that great at dinner."
"I don't know," Andros said, climbing into his bed. "He says he's fine. But he's refusing treatment until after the mission is over. Doesn't want it to interfere."
TJ sighed, shaking his head. Shifting his bedding around, he climbed under the blankets and got comfortable on the cot.
"He always was stubborn," TJ said. "I guess we'll just have to keep a close eye on him tomorrow."
Andros nodded.
"D.E.C.A.," Andros said after a moment.
"Yes, Andros?" D.E.C.A. answered.
"Where is Tommy?" he asked.
"Tommy is currently sleeping in his quarters," she said.
"Thank you," Andros said. "Please wake me if his condition changes."
"Yes, Andros," said D.E.C.A.
"Wake up, Andros," D.E.C.A. said.
Andros groaned, rolling over to look at the time.
"What is it, D.E.C.A.?" he mumbled. "It's too early for my alarm."
"Andros," she answered. "Tommy has left his room. He appears to be in some distress."
That snapped Andros awake and he vaulted out of his bed, leaping over TJ who shot upright out of a dead sleep.
"What?" he said, staring around. "Andros? What's going o—uh oh."
TJ hopped up, stumbling out of the room after Andros.
Eric and Carter, who had both gotten up early out of habit, were standing in the hallway talking quietly. Movement down the hallway caught their attention and they turned to see Tommy wandering toward them. He was looking around in confusion, like he didn't know where he was.
"Are you ok, Tommy?" Carter asked as he came closer.
Tommy stopped, staring at the two of them.
"How do you know my name?" he asked. "Who are you?"
Carter frowned, putting a hand on Tommy's arm. He jerked away.
"Tommy, what's wrong?" Eric asked.
Before Tommy could say anything, Andros came running around the corner.
"Tommy!" he exclaimed, stopping short when he saw the other two. "Oh. Carter. Eric. Umm…"
"Is he alright?" Carter asked.
"Yeah, he's, uh—" Andros stammered. "He's just—umm…"
"He's sleepwalking!" TJ yelled, skidding around the corner and grabbing Tommy by the arm. "Come on, Tommy. Let's get you back to bed."
"Do I know you?" Tommy asked, his brow furrowed as he looked at TJ.
"Yes," TJ said. "You just don't recognize me because you're asleep."
"But I'm not sle—" Tommy started to protest.
TJ clapped a hand over his mouth, muffling the rest of Tommy's protest as he pulled him around the corner.
"That was weird," Eric said. "How did you two know he was sleep walking?"
"D.E.C.A. told me," Andros said quickly. "Umm… I need to go."
He spun around, quickly following after TJ and Tommy. Eric and Carter watched him go. Shrugging, they headed in the other direction.
"Let's get something to eat," Carter said. "They'll take care of Tommy."
"You can't keep me here," Tommy said, glaring at TJ and Andros.
They had him back in Zhane's room, but were having trouble snapping him back to a normal state of mind. Nothing they had tried was having any affect.
"How does Hayley do this?" TJ groaned.
"I don't know," Andros said, shaking his head. "But we can't let the others see him like this, not without telling them everything."
"And Tommy wouldn't like that," TJ muttered.
"I'm standing right here!" Tommy snapped. "And I'm still waiting for you to tell me who you are and why you're holding me here."
TJ groaned, shaking his head. Then he stopped, getting an idea. He ran into the bathroom and came back with a glass of water. Without pausing, he tossed the water into Tommy's face. Tommy stumbled backward, sputtering.
"What was that?" he exclaimed. "TJ! What are you doing?"
"Yes!" TJ said, punching the air. "It worked."
Andros sighed, shaking his head as Tommy glared at him.
"What are you two doing in here?" Tommy demanded. "And—how did I get out of my bed? Oh no…"
"Sorry about the water, Tommy," TJ said. "But we couldn't figure out how to snap you out of it. And we didn't want to lock you in here for the rest of the trip."
Tommy groaned, shaking his head.
"Please tell me no one else saw me," he said.
"Only Carter and Eric," Andros said.
"Oh, good," Tommy said, starting to pace. "Only the investigators."
"TJ told them you were sleepwalking," said Andros, trying to reassure Tommy.
Pausing, Tommy stared at them for a moment and then threw his hands up in the air.
"Great," he muttered. "Wait until Jason gets a hold of that one."
He sighed, leaning back against the bed.
"Anyways, you guys get out of here," Tommy said. "I'm going to shower before breakfast."
Andros and TJ headed out, leaving Tommy leaning against the bed.