The following morning, Sky and Z talked to Cruger about Dori and how the girl had no place to go. At first, the commander was put off at the idea that they were supposed to tend to every wayward young person they found, but, by the end of the day, Dori had a job sorting and delivering mail in the mail room and had a room in the F-Squad wing. As the days went by, Dori began observing the rangers and using that to get close to them. It was rather easy with the yellow ranger seeing as her friend was in a coma and she was very open to any female friend to fill the void caused by the absence of the pink ranger. Sky was a little harder, merely for the fact that he was always at Syd's side, so it was hard to get close to him. But even with that, Dori found a way to chat with him a few times. Jack, on the other hand, was one hard egg to crack. A few days after she'd begun working in the mailroom, Dori was going about the base, distributing mail when she walked into the common room. She saw Jack, Z and other cadets of various levels in there. Z saw her walk in and gave her a smile.
"Hey." Z said. Dori returned the smile before giving out the mail she had to the other cadets. She finally came over to Jack and Z, where she had magazines for both of them. She gave Z's hers, and then simply tossed Jack's onto his lap. Jack quickly caught it before it fell to the ground and glared at her.
"Thanks." He said through gritted teeth. Dori gave him a tight smile. Z rolled her eyes. She looked at Dori.
"Hey, some of the D cadets are playing movies in the lower deck common room, you want to go check them out?" Z asked. Dori shook her head.
"Can't, still on the clock." Dori said. Z cast a look at the mail still in her arms.
"Looks like you're almost done." She said, noting there was only one magazine in her arms. Dori looked down.
"Oh, right." Her eyes then fell to the address label and she bit her lip. "Oh..." Jack and Z both looked at her.
"What is it?" Z asked. Dori cast a look at her. In the few days she had known the girl, she had observed two things—Mentioning Syd and her condition, and the girl's eyes would get downcast and she'd frown. If someone by the name of Bridge, who Dori learned was the green ranger, was mentioned, Z would cry.
"It's nothing, just a computer magazine." Dori said. Z gave her a look. It was as if she knew.
"Oh." She said, her tone losing it's curious perk it had before. There was silence. "Could...Could I have it?" She asked. Dori bit her lip. It was against the rules to give mail out to anyone other than the owners or authorized personnel, and Z was neither. "I'm not supposed to...I mean, I should just put it in a box until he's back or..." Dori saw the sad and desperate look in Z's eyes. Dori sighed. "Or I could just say I left it on his bed." She said. Z slowly got up and took the magazine from her hands. Her fingers grazed over the address label as if the printing mesmerized her. She slowly walked out of the room.
"Thanks." Came a voice. Dori looked down to see Jack giving her a grateful look. Dori's brows furrowed. She wasn't used to being sincerely thanked...by anyone...at least not for the last five years. Dori nodded slightly.
"You're welcome." She commented slowly before turning away.
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Elsewhere, Sky was sitting beside Syd's bed, a place where he could be found a lot lately. He would sit there and talk to her, or just look at her. He had recently started reading to her, using some of the magazines that came for her in the mail. This was one of those occasions. There he was, sitting next to her, holding her hand, with a magazine open on his lap.
"It says here that flared jeans are coming back in style." He said, reading the magazine to her still form. He never knew she subscribed to so many magazines. He had seen a good portion of teen girl magazines, some celebrity news magazines, and some fashion magazines, which he really didn't mind reading to her, although he drew the line when he saw she had a copy of Cosmo. There just has to be a line, and he drew it there. However, curiosity got the best of him. He slowly pushed aside the magazines that lay on top of the one in question and picked it up.
"Are you good in bed?" He read the title carefully. "Turn to page 91 to find out." He continued before flipping the magazine open. He began to read the article. Too involved with the magazine, Sky didn't hear the doors swish open and someone enter the room. "I like it when my girlfriend digs her nails into my back." He read out loud. The person who'd entered the room peered over at Sky.
"Pardon me?" Came the voice. Sky shot straight out of his chair and bolted around, the magazine flying from his hands across the room. He looked up and saw Jack standing there just as the magazine landed on the floor and slid across the floor, stopping right by the red ranger's feet. "Bit of a kinky fetish, don't you think?" He asked with a smirk. Sky gave him a scowl. Jack laughed and bent down, picking up the magazine. "Oh man, a Cosmo? I've actually never seen one of these things up close." Sky rolled his eyes.
"Be my guest." He said, indicating Jack could indulge his curiosity. Jack chuckled and leaned against the wall, flipping open the magazine.
"Jackpot." He chuckled. "Top Ten Sexual Position for Maximized Pleasure." He read out loud. Sky gave him a look.
"Mind reading to yourself?" He asked.
"Sorry." Jack said. He continued to read, and dawned a pained expression. "Whoa...Is that even humanly possible?" He pondered aloud, tilting his head to try and comprehend the position illustrated on the magazine. "I mean...Sure, maybe if I was dating a gymnast, but..."
"JACK!" Came a voice. Causing him to jump and turn around. Sky looked up as well and they saw Kat standing there with a look that just told them she had come up behind Jack and seen what he was looking at. Jack's eyes went wide.
"Uh...No...It's not what you think..." Jack sputtered quickly. Kat quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head in a very feline manner as she crossed her arms.
"Oh really?" She asked.
"It's Sky's!" Jack said quickly. Kat gave Sky a look.
"No! It's not like that!" Sky said quickly. He went on to explain that he had collected an arm full of Syd's magazines, with permission to be in the room from Z of course, brought them into the infirmary and would read them to Syd. As he spoke, Kat's expression softened at how thoughtful he was in his actions and how it was a bit adorable that he was spending his time with her. By the end of his explanation was done, she had an expression that just screamed "awwwwwwwwwww".
"Well, that's very sweet of you, Sky." She said. She walked over to Jack and took the magazine from his hands. She flipped it shut. "Hmmm." She said as she saw that it was the latest issue. She looked up at Sky. "My issue hasn't gotten here yet, do you think Syd would mind if-"
"Go ahead." Sky said quickly, afraid that if he refused, this exchange would find its way to Cruger's ears. Kat smiled before leaving the room, reading the magazine. Jack and Sky watched her departing figure in shock and awe.
"Ever have one of those mental images that no shower no matter how long, will remove the dirty factor?" Jack asked at the thought of Dr. Kat Manx reading and taking into account the things in that magazine. Jack gave a slight shudder and turned back to Sky. He glanced at Syd. "Any change?" He asked. Sky sighed and shook his head. Jack went and sat at the other side of Syd.
"Like, I've been doing everything I can to keep from crawling in the corner and blubbering like a fool. I mean, I sit here and talk to her about us and Bridge back when we first started out here, you know, stupid stuff we do. I read to her, I..." He trailed off.
"What?" Jack asked.
"It's nothing." Sky said.
"Come on." Jack pleaded. Sky sighed.
"I've just been thinking about what I'll say to her when she wakes up." Sky finally revealed. Jack blinked.
"Really?" He asked. Sky nodded. They were silent for a moment. "Well?" Jack questioned. Sky looked at him.
"Well what?" He asked back.
"What are you thinking about saying to her." Stated, as if it was obvious. Sky frowned with reluctance. "Come on." Jack said.
"I really would-"
"Come on, don't be a wuss." Jack said. Sky glared.
"Fine." He said. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped, releasing the breath. "Can you, like, not look at me...?" He asked. Jack rolled his eyes and turned his back to Sky. He heard Sky take a deep breath. "Syd, I know that things have been weird between us for a while and I'm sure you've wondered what the hell's been going on in my head. Well, I thought you and Jack were together and that...got me really jealous and upset." Jack heard Sky take a deep breath. "And the reason why I was jealous and upset is because I'm in love with you." After that there was silence. "That's it." Sky said. Jack turned back to him.
"That's it?" He asked. "That's pathetic." Sky scowled.
"What do you mean, pathetic?" He asked.
"It's just so...like, to the point." Jack said. "Like, where's your emotion?"
"I figured that could be found in 'I'm in love with you'." Sky said. Jack gave him a look.
"Look, you love Syd, right?"
"Uh, duh." Sky said.
"Well, you've got to like show her that you love her."
"What, like poetry?" Sky asked, puzzled.
"Not necessarily poetry, but...well, okay there's poetry and there's what you just said, and what you should say is some where in between." Jack said, trying his best to explain. Sky looked down at Syd. He knew what Jack was trying to say, but he wasn't used to expressing feelings like that, even though they coursed through him every time he saw or even thought of Sydney Drew.
"I wouldn't know what to say." Sky replied honestly.
"Maybe this isn't something you're supposed to prepare well in advance. It's not a speech, man." Jack offered. "We're talking about professing your love to her, not debriefing cadets." Jack shrugged. "Just look at her and say whatever comes to you." Sky sighed as he let Jack's words sink in.
"I guess you're right." He said, although the idea of not having something prepared and just winging it did bring on some internal anxiety. He reached over and took Syd's and in his and ran his thumb along her palm.
Author Note: Hey guys, just so you know, this story is nominated for a Sky and Syd award for Best Romantic Moment and Best Tender Moment. The voting starts tomorrow and goes on till the 17th. So, here's the link to the site http/thesydandskyawards. case any of you want to vote for us or any of the other nominees.