The first thing Bridge was aware of was the metallic aftertaste in his mouth. He swished his tongue around attempting to dislodge the taste, but he'd need something stronger than saliva to really make it go away. He sighed deeply – the taste was a bad sign. It meant that drugs were involved.

Bridge rolled over on the bed he was on until he was on his back, deliberately keeping his eyes shut tight. He was definitely in a bed, but he was pretty sure it wasn't his. He reached his right hand up to snake under the pillow in search of his dinosaur. No contact. Another bad sign.

What disturbed Bridge almost as much as knowing where he was, was not knowing how he'd gotten there. He took a centering breath, drew his left arm across his face to cover his eyes, and attempted to back track the events that brought him here.

I kind of remember Jack…but he wasn't a main part of it. Bridge allowed his mind to drift; snatches of conversations flitted through his mind, but most of it was medical jargon that he didn't understand anyway. He remembered people were extremely concerned and anxious – that was what had driven him in here.

Whatever had happened occurred before Jack had arrived. Instead of trying to remember specific events, Bridge concentrated on identifying feelings. He was surprised to realize that what he recalled most strongly was peace and gratitude. Bridge allowed himself to relax into those feelings – even with his mind in its fragmented state, the power of those emotions was still overwhelmingly strong.

That's all good stuff, so what went wrong?

It hit Bridge in a huge flash of insight. The image of the Blue Ranger hunkered on the edge of his bed rocking as he fought to maintain the shield he had created assaulted Bridge's vision. "Sky!" he shouted involuntarily. Bridge sat bolt upright on the bed. His eyes flew open expecting to see Sky sitting there. He could even feel a phantom hand on his ankle. The residual feelings of panic and fear overshadowed the positive feelings he had identified before.

But Sky wasn't there although Bridge felt like he should be. All Bridge saw when he opened his eyes was the padded wall across from the foot of the bed. Bridge hastily glanced away. Still sitting, Bridge pulled his legs up in front of him to sit cross-legged. He didn't lean against the wall - the padded wall.

Taking another deep breath didn't really calm Bridge. He hated this room. Oh, he understood the need for it. He even helped Kat design some features for it, including the muted green color scheme. Obviously the emergency protocols they had rehearsed had been drummed into his head so well that he managed to drag himself in here when he was semi-conscious. That didn't mean he had to like it. This very room was one of the reasons Bridge had avoided telling Kat about his nightmares in the first place.

Bridge shuddered at the thought of actually being in this room, the "Isolation Room". Kat could call it whatever she wanted, but the padded walls gave the room a whole other meaning: "Psycho Holding Cell". The rational part of Bridge's mind realized that it made sense to be prepared for the eventuality that he might need to be more physically isolated in order to regain his center. But the emotional part of him rebelled against the implications of the room. This kind of room was for crazy people…and he wasn't crazy.

A silent yet intense war raged in Bridge's mind. He had to get past his internal objections to the room before he would be able to move on and figure out what drove him in here. The rational side of him won – regardless of where he happened to be sitting, he needed to figure out what had happened and how he could fix it.

That having been decided, Bridge decided to employ one of the features he'd programmed into the room. In an attempt to make the room more tolerable, there was a voice activated sound system pre-programmed with a variety of musical selections. "Random." Bridge stated, and immediately music began to play. He tried not to dwell on the fact that the sound system had no physical representation in the room because in a worst case scenario they did not want Bridge to have access to anything he could use to potentially harm himself. Even the bed he was on and the chair in the corner were easily removable in the event the room had to be used as a true isolation chamber.

Bridge soothed himself with the knowledge that both the bed and chair were in place, and he wasn't wearing a straightjacket. He desperately wanted to check the door and ascertain for himself that it was not locked, but he couldn't tolerate the idea of walking on the padded floor. Not yet. The floor being padded freaked him out worst of all.

Bridge ruthlessly dragged his attention back to the task at hand. Okay…Sky. What the hell happened? Thinking of Sky immediately reconnected Bridge with the feeling of peace and gratitude. He did that for me. He GAVE that to me. Sky held everything away. And he almost killed himself in the process. Bridge could feel the echo of Sky's pain.

Now that Bridge had a hold of some of what happened, the rest of the scenario fell into place more easily. Bridge was certain Sky didn't anticipate what was going to happen; he was the kind of guy who had backup plans for his backup plans. Except when he acts on impulse…and we've seen him do that more than we realize. Bridge pondered. When does he act impulsive like that? The answer was immediately apparent; it was when his emotions got involved. Sky was not nearly the Vulcan he attempted to make himself out to be. The image of Sky with Spock ears made Bridge smile.

So why didn't he let go of the shield when he knew how much he was hurting himself? I don't think it was just to prove he could…

It was because he didn't want to let me down. Because he saw how relieved I was when I heard the quiet; because he wanted to help more than anything else.

Bridge was surprised to realize that he'd begun analyzing the encounter with Sky not just from his perspective, but from Sky's as well. He wasn't just guessing at what Sky was thinking, he knew it.

That's new.

Even as Bridge came to the realization, he understood what had happened. Sky had used the metaphor of building walls when he talked about his shield. But it was not simply a matter of building a wall between Bridge and the outside; it was that Sky brought Bridge inside his own walls, and pushed everything out from there. From inside Sky's own walls, Bridge had much deeper access to the Blue Ranger's psyche than either of them had counted on.

He knew he was working with a time limit, but even knowing that he stretched himself out further. He wanted to give me six hours of sleep, and THAT'S why the alarm on his watch went off! It scared the crap out of me and Jack! I can hear him thinking it now, "Gotta get to six o'clock. Bridge deserves a least that much. I just wish I could do more."

Bridge paused in his analysis for a moment, overwhelmed by the pure emotion. In spite of all of Sky's failings – and he could be an arrogant son-of-a-bitch without batting an eye – what it came down to was his desire to help. He'd gone above and beyond for Bridge, and once again Bridge was overcome with pure gratitude.

The song that was playing in the background changed without Bridge giving it much notice. He was too caught up in attempting to sort through his feelings as well as Sky's. But as he sorted through his reactions to the events of the day, the song started to filter through his head.

I'm on your side. when times get rough
And friends just can't be found,

That's what Sky did for me. I didn't think things could get any rougher. I was afraid I would lose my mind and be tossed in this room for real! I never thought I could count on Sky to step up the way he did, and I'm ashamed for ever thinking that way.

Thinking of Sky seemed to bring him closer to mind, and that's when Bridge realized that one of the reasons he still felt so connected to Sky, and almost felt like he was in the room, was because in some way he was. They were still connected in some way Bridge couldn't explain. And now that he was aware of their link, Bridge could feel the pain that Sky was still in.

Bridge closed his eyes and tried to isolate the cause of the pain. Part of him wanted to withdraw; he could recall all too clearly the pain Sky had been in when he released the shield, and he wasn't keen on feeling it again. But after all Sky had done, there was nothing Bridge wouldn't do to return the favor.

When you're down and out,
When you're on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.

Physically, Sky's body was still reacting to the abuse he had put it through. But Bridge knew on some level that the drugs Dr. Manx was undoubtedly pumping into him should be dealing with the purely physical pain. So there was some other cause for the hurt. What was it?

Bridge extended his senses toward the Blue Ranger, and it quickly became apparent what the trouble was. During the experiment, especially toward the end, Sky was painfully aware of what the results of his actions were likely to be. While he couldn't and wouldn't give up his attempt to help Bridge, Sky understood what was at stake for the larger team. When everything came crashing down on them, he was nearly crushed by his guilt and sense of failure. That was what he couldn't let go.

I'll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Bridge blinked, dropping his pursuit of Sky's thoughts. The lyrics of the song that was playing had finally permeated his brain. Sky was the one in darkness, trapped by his own guilt and despair. Now it was Bridge's turn to take up his load. Without a second thought, Bridge scrambled off the bed and headed for the door. The padded floor of the room didn't even give him pause. The door swung open easily at his command, and Bridge stepped out into the larger infirmary.


"If he wasn't a Ranger, he'd be dead."

Kat's succinct assessment hung in the air between her and Cruger. They were standing to the right of the bed where Sky lay motionless. An assortment of monitors and machinery whirred and beeped in the background. Small electrodes were attached to Sky's head to record brain activity, while heart and lung monitors assessed life support functions. Neither the seizure he'd had in Bridge's room nor the two subsequent ones in the infirmary resulted in respiratory arrest, but all the necessary equipment was standing by in case he stopped breathing.

Kat looked down at the data recorder in her hand and continued her report. "From what little Jack was able to tell us it seems that Sky was attempting to use his shield to protect Bridge from negative energy while he was sleeping. Bridge told Jack that he had been sleeping for hours, but we don't know how long Sky actually maintained the shield."

Kat looked up at Cruger. "Doggie," her voice was full of concern, "we have Sky on record being able to maintain a shield for four hours, but it put him out of commission for nearly a day. He's never attempted to create and hold this type of shield before, so we have no idea what kind of damage he may have done to himself. Even now his brain activity is like nothing we've ever seen; he is unresponsive as if he was in a coma, but his tests indicate activity in parts of the brain he's never accessed before."

Cruger nodded impassively, but the low growl in his throat indicated his worry. As he crossed his arms he turned to gaze upon the injured Ranger. "And Cadet Carson?"

"He's sleeping. We're monitoring his recovery, but keeping him in isolation. I'll be able to tell you more when he wakes and can give us more details."

"Understood. Keep me informed." With one last glance at the Blue Ranger, Cruger whirled and strode out of the infirmary. The on-duty staff scrambled to get out of the commander's way. Some of them shot him dirty looks, upset by his apparent lack distress. I guess they think he should stand around and will the Blue Ranger back to good health thought Kat.

Kat wasn't offended by Cruger's abrupt departure; in fact, she could tell better than anyone how deeply concerned he was feeling. The humans of SPD still had difficulty reading Cruger's body language, but she didn't. As a matter of survival, Kat had to be able to understand canine derived alien life forms, just as Cruger needed to understand the feline derived ones. Their partnership at SPD was an unusual one, but it worked; in large part due to the fact that they understood each other so well.

Kat watched Cruger's retreating back, but she could tell by the tight set of his shoulders and intensity of his gait how upset he was. She also understood better than anyone else at SPD the thoughts that had to be going through Cruger's head. In spite of his good intentions, Sky had created a series of events that could be devastating to Earth. At the moment, not one but two Rangers were indefinitely out of commission – and there was no telling how long they could keep that information from Grumm. With the A Squad missing in action, that left Earth only three active Rangers. Kat didn't envy Cruger's position – he had to think globally, whereas most of the people in the infirmary only saw Bridge and Sky.

Certainly the other Rangers were focused solely on their injured comrades. Jack in particular was affected by the events that had transpired. He'd been visibly shaken when he escorted Bridge down to the infirmary. Kat nearly had to peel him away from the Green Ranger's side. It just didn't get through to him that Bridge needed space and Jack's hovering was interfering with his ability to recover. It took a direct order from Cruger insisting on a report from Jack to drag him away. But in his stead came the Pink and Yellow Rangers.

Both of the girls understood more quickly than Jack that Bridge needed space. But that didn't prevent Syd from sneaking to his bedside to whisper something in his ear and place a gentle kiss on his head. For her part, Z seemed drawn to the Blue Ranger. She stood silently and stoically near the window of his room watching the medical staff attend to him. It was Z who comforted Syd when the second seizure sent Sky into convulsions. Syd was so disturbed that Z escorted her out, but eventually the Yellow Ranger found her way back to the infirmary. With all of the confusion and bustle, neither girl seemed to notice when Bridge disappeared.

Kat glanced about the infirmary. At this time of the night, there were not many extraneous personnel around. That was good because she wanted to check on Bridge and she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to him. They had decided very early on in training that Bridge would need a "safe" room to retreat to if things got too overwhelming for him. He was resistant to it all the way, but Kat overruled his every objection. The only concession she did make was that the room itself and the reasons for it were given to staff on a need to know basis. Most of the SPD at large didn't even know the room existed. Kat thought Bridge was overly sensitive to what others might think about his need to have isolation, but then, she didn't think like a human.

Kat was surprised to notice the door from the isolation room swing open. Even more surprising was Bridge's appearance. She was shocked that he was conscious, let alone upright. Not only was he up and about, it appeared that he was headed directly for her. She moved to intercept him.

"Bridge…" she tried to forestall any further movement.

Bridge ignored her; he was totally focused on Sky. He shook his head softly as he approached the bed. "What are you doing to yourself, man?" Bridge glanced around at all of the equipment attached to the Blue Ranger and shook his head again. He pulled the Velcro on his glove.

Kat tried to intervene again. "Bridge, stop! What are you doing? You're in no condition to use your powers now. Sky can't take anymore."

Bridge answered while he removed his gloves, but what he said didn't make sense to her. "He's not taking anything this time…I am. I'll take your part…" His voice drifted off with the melody of the song.

"Bridge, I order you to stop!" Kat was torn between trying to stop Bridge from getting to Sky, and gathering equipment to record what he was going to do.

"Kat," Bridge answered resolutely, looking at her directly for the first time since entering the room. "I am going to help him. Sky pushed himself beyond everything he knew to help me. And if I don't step in now, no one will be able to help him later." Bridge's expression was imploring yet resolved. "Do you understand?"

Kat nodded. She glanced at the screens monitoring Sky's condition. He had not improved in the nearly eighteen hours they'd been observing him, and nothing they had done had seemed to help. She was uncomfortable trusting her instincts, she preferred relying on data. But she did trust Bridge.

Kat nodded again with more conviction. "Go ahead. See what you can do."

Bridge smiled, satisfied. Turning back to the bed, Bridge held his gloveless hands over the motionless Blue Ranger. Bridge closed his eyes, and Kat could already see an expression of pain building on his face – she didn't know if the pain was his or Sky's.

Slowly Bridge allowed his hands to settle on Sky; one on his chest and the other on his head.

At first nothing happened. Then Kat noticed that Sky's expression had begun to echo Bridge's. Now they were both in pain. A beep caught Kat's attention – Sky's brainwaves had altered dramatically; it was as if Bridge was drawing him up to consciousness. She couldn't understand why he would do that if it resulted in so much pain for the two of them. It was too late for her to intervene; all she could do was watch.

Sky started to moan softly and toss his head under Bridge's touch. But the Green Ranger did not relent. He knew Sky could deal with the physical pain; it was the other pain he was after. Sky's eyes cracked open, and he immediately blinked against the light. Bridge moved closer to get his attention.

"Sky…listen to me."

"Bridge?"

"Yeah, listen…"

Sky didn't let him continue. He grabbed at the hand on his chest – not to push it away, but to make certain it was real. His eyes were wide now in spite of the glare from the light. He tried to sit up as he frantically repeated. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

It took a few moments for Bridge to convince Sky that he really was okay and that it wasn't a dream. Kat wondered if Bridge had given Sky a mental nudge to persuade him, because he seemed to relax all at once. Sky closed his eyes, but Bridge did not let him drift back to sleep – he wasn't finished.

"Sky, listen to me. I'm going to help you."

Sky's brow creased, but he didn't argue. "Let me take some of your load now….you don't have to carry it by yourself…" Bridge continued to talk in a slow, soothing voice. Kat wanted to know what was actually going on and cursed inwardly that there was no opportunity to hook Bridge up to a monitor before he'd begun. Whatever it was he was doing, it seemed to ease them both. The expressions of both Rangers relaxed, and Kat could see on the machine that Sky's brain functions had returned to almost normal levels.

A few more moments passed in silence, then Bridge removed his hands. Sky opened his eyes slowly. "How'd you…?"

Bridge shrugged, "No idea. But I owed you…I think I still do."

Sky shook his head in the negative, but Bridge didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he smiled brightly. "I'm going back to bed." He announced.

"Hey!" Sky called softly before Bridge could leave. He held out his hand to Bridge. Bridge didn't hesitate before offering his ungloved hand to Sky. "Thanks." Sky said solemnly. Bridge smiled again. Kat had the strong feeling that something much more than what was said had passed between them.

Bridge turned to leave again, and before he left the room, Sky was once again sound asleep. Kat was glad to note his sleep was natural. Bridge was humming as he pulled his gloves back on. She wasn't surprised to note Bridge heading to his own room in the dorm and not back to the isolation room. Grabbing a data pad, Kat hastily began to jot down everything she could remember about the interaction she had just witnessed. She'd get a full account from both Rangers before she was through. If they were going to start exploring new facets of their powers, she wanted to get as much data on record as possible.


TBC

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" lyrics by Simon and Garfunkel

Thanks as always to everyone to took the time to read and review! The response to Chapter 5 was particularly gratifying – I was hoping to surprise people and I guess I was successful:-)

Thanks to Evil Slash Piranha, Krys, AngelMouse5, MzDany, Funky in Fishnet, Slshadowfox, sye04, DV2, Serina Kat, Crimson Mystery, cmar, Anistasia Athene, Blooming Violets, stac, Ghostwriter, C.A. Elenath, Prinzessin, Anano Miss, Akume, NightMistCrystal.

Special Thanks to JEDI Sheng who was so inspired by the fic that when a plot bunny attacked her…she let it! In turn, her plot bunny inspired me, and that led to the inclusion of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in this chapter. (Is that not a perfect song for Bridge?)