Slip of the Tongue

It was a lazy afternoon, in general. Thrax hadn't shown any signs of attacking yet, and neither had anyone else. Most of Overdrive Rangers were gone now except for Mack, but Adam knew they'd be back. Once a Ranger after all, he reflected, glancing down at his bare wrist with a wry smile. He may not wear the old communicator anymore, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel its presence. And it definitely didn't mean there weren't other Rangers only a phone call away.

Some even less than that.

There were voices coming from the living room, where he'd left the others chatting as he stopped to help Andrew fix something. It sounded like Mack had finally gotten up the nerve to join them, which was a good sign. Brooding over being Powerless was normal, but never healthy. Adam wondered briefly which one of them had dragged him in there. Xander had the skills to talk him into it, but Tori and Kira were both pushy enough to physically drag him in. And Bridge may have just confused him into coming along.

He shook his head. Bridge was a strange kid. And something about him gave Adam the feeling that he was doing it on purpose. That there was something he wasn't telling them. It wasn't exactly that he didn't like Bridge, but knowing that one of his teammates was keeping secrets set him on edge. Too many years of knowing that secrets in a team only lead to trouble.

He frowned. Strange that Bridge didn't know that. He was a Red, after all. And very laidback for someone who should have been leading his team. He hadn't even blinked at deferring to Adam as their leader, citing that he had the most experience.

Huh.

"So what do you think?" he heard Tori ask down the hall.

"Nice," Kira returned.

"Very nice," Xander added. "Ow!"

"You look great, Tori," Mack promised, chuckling.

"Yeah, nice leaves," Bridge put in.

Adam froze.

"Excuse me?" Tori demanded, and through the angle of the doorway he could see her putting her hands on her hips as she glared.

Bridge held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "No, no, it's a compliment. Really," he promised. "You look good. Great, even. Spectacular."

"What in the world made you say something like that?" Mack asked, giving Bridge an odd look.

"Habit, I guess." Adam couldn't see Bridge's face from where he was, but the tone of his voice was sheepish. "It's just an old inside joke in my family. Something we say whenever someone asks how they look."

"Okay, I have got to hear the story behind this," Kira demanded.

Adam barely heard him. The world seemed to be closing in on him, and he leaned back against the wall for support. Inside joke? But that was ... How could Bridge possibly know ... ?

Distantly he heard Bridge sigh. "Well ... My dad was - " A pause. "Drugged once. Drunk. Kinda. He was really out of it. And he was ... in the infirmary, where they were trying figure out what was wrong with him. And he was sitting there while everyone was talking about how to fix him, and all of a sudden he looks at my aunt - well, she wasn't my aunt at the time, but she is now. Or, will be. But he looks at her and says 'Hey, nice leaves.'"

It was hard to breathe.

"My dad was - drugged once. Drunk. Kinda."

Turning into a plant.

"And he was ... in the infirmary - "

The Power Chamber.

"And all of a sudden he looks at my aunt - "

Kat. Rocky was looking at Kat.

"What did your aunt do?" Kira asked, sounding amused and exasperated at the same time.

Adam was still trying to breathe.

My dad ... My aunt ... Bridge is ... is ...

"Well, everyone just sort of turned to stare at him, and he said 'Your branches are really nice, too.' They never did figure out exactly what he meant," Bridge added thoughtfully.

"So your dad was hitting on his sister?" Mack looked confused.

"Huh? Oh! No, no no. My aunt isn't - um, we're not related. By blood, I mean. She's sort of an adoptive aunt? She's like a sister to my parents, but they were just friends then." Bridge paused again. "And she was dating my uncle at the time. My aunt - um, other aunt, said he and my dad were really mad at Dad when he said it, but since he wasn't exactly uh, coherent? They really couldn't be too mad at him."

And just like that, all the control Adam had managed to gain over himself was gone again.

Tori was giving Bridge an odd look. "Your dad was mad at himself?"

"Well, sure. But I actually meant Dad was mad at Dad. Not Dad mad at himself. Which he was, later."

"Just how many parents do you have, mate?" Xander asked, sounding like he was trying not to chuckle.

"Four?" Bridge offered. "My mom says I was a tribal baby."

"You know if any of us ever has kids, we're raising them all together, right?"

"How do you figure?"

"Well, we'll all have a part in their lives. They'll be our little tribal babies."

"You really think we'll be friends that long?"

"Are you kidding? We're gonna be friends forever."

And just like that, Adam's world clicked back into place.

"Four parents?" Mack was saying as Adam walked into the room. "Sounds like a nightmare. Every time you turn around, there's someone yelling or grounding you."

"Nah, it wasn't that bad," Bridge assured him, standing up to stretch. "It's kind of nice, really. Or it will be." Then he turned, catching sight of Adam, and froze. His eyes went almost comically wide.

Adam stared back at him.

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Adam took the time to catalogue the color of Bridge's skin, the slant of his eyes, the color of his hair. Now that he was looking for it, he could see bits of Rocky all over Bridge's face. He wondered what parts of Bridge came from Aisha. What parts came from him.

"I should - " Bridge gestured weakly behind him at nothing in particular, already starting to shift his weight uncomfortably. "I should, um - go. Somewhere ... not here. Uh ... yeah." He practically bolted for the door as everyone else stared after him.

Immediately seventeen years of experience helping Rocky wrangle his siblings - and later nieces and nephews - kicked in. "Freeze," Adam barked authoritively.

Bridge instantly stopped moving, one hand on the doorframe and his right foot hanging in mid-air.

Kira stepped closer, frowning at him. "Adam, what are you - "

He ignored her. There was only one thing in this room that mattered right now, and he had to make sure it didn't bolt out the door. "Bridge," he said, softer now.

Slowly, Bridge turned to look at him. There was fear in his eyes, even as he tried to offer a hesitant smile. "Y-yeah? Did you need something - um, Adam?"

Why hadn't he noticed how awkward it sounded when Bridge called him by name before? Why hadn't he noticed that Bridge rarely said his name to begin with?

Why hadn't he known the moment he saw him what was so obvious now?

Adam stepped towards him cautiously, holding out a hand in hopes the kid wouldn't make another run for it. "I think we need to talk, don't you?" he asked, keeping his voice soft and gentle.

Bridge swallowed. "I can't ... I can't um, tell you about the future," he pointed out.

"I don't want to know about the future," Adam corrected. "And I've already gotten Wes and Eric's 'corrupting the timeline' lecture. I just want to know about you."

There was an odd look on Bridge's face as he tilted his head in confusion. "Un - er, Eric has a corrupting the timeline lecture?"

"Bridge," Adam repeated quietly. This time, he smiled.

Another long pause, and at last Bridge offered a slow, shy smile back. "Okay, Dad," he said softly.

Adam ignored the gasps behind him, stepping closer and wrapping an arm around his son.

His son.

"Come on, kiddo," he murmured. "Let's find some place to talk."