The Rangers laughed at Bridge's offer of toast. For some strange reason it was Bridge's fallback food. "No Bridgey, no toast." answered Syd indulgently. "It's time for you to get to bed."

Syd jumped up from the floor, still holding Bridge's hand. She gave him a yank, but was not successful in moving him. He pulled his feet under him, and with Jack's assistance climbed to his feet. Running he free hand through his hair, Bridge contemplated the bed and made a face.

"What I'd really like to do is take a shower." he stated. Z nodded in understanding. Z could relate to wanting to shower and putting on a fresh pair of pajamas. For her, that was one of the best things about being a part of SPD; living on the streets didn't offer many places to bathe or stay clean. Being "forced" to shower at least once a day and being supplied with an endless wardrobe of clean clothes was almost enough of an incentive to stay at SPD forever. The sameness of the uniforms didn't bother Z one bit; they were comfortable and clean – she couldn't ask for more.

All of the Rangers were trained to maintain a high level of hygiene. A clean and presentable officer produced more confidence in the general population. Although Bridge had been sleeping for nearly a day, he was still in the same clothing he'd been in the night before. Bridge often appeared rumpled and disheveled on his down time, but he liked being clean just as much as the rest of them.

"Go ahead, Bridge." Z encouraged. "We'll just get things ready."

Bridge nodded in assent, not really paying attention to what Z was saying. He was already entranced by the idea of showering and had headed toward the tiny bathroom. Once he was in there with the door closed and the shower running, Z shared her concerns with the others.

"Guys, I'm worried that even though Bridge read the aura of what happened, that the bed might have picked up some of the energy. I don't think he should sleep there." She pointed to the bed.

"You think we should bring him back to our room?" asked Syd.

"Or come to mine?" asked Jack.

"No." Z shook her head. "I think it's important for Bridge to sleep in this room…just not on that bed." A smile slowly formed and a twinkle lit Z's eye. Jack knew that look; he smiled back. Syd saw the interplay between the two and smiled as well, though she did not know what her roommate had in mind.

"What's the plan, Z?" Jack asked.

"Follow me." she stated mischievously.

A short time later Bridge emerged from the bathroom freshly scrubbed and clad in clean pajamas. He tossed his used towel into the hamper – well, close to the hamper, and looked around. The sight of his room surprised him. Z and Syd were sitting on the neatly made bed; Dino the dinosaur was safely cradled in Syd's arms. Jack had taken up residence in the computer chair. The Rangers were wrapped in blankets of their own color. The blanket on Bridge's bed was blue. Pillows of every color were piled at the head of the bed, and when Bridge pulled down the sheets, he could see that the mattress sheet was red and the top sheet was yellow.

Bridge's delighted smile was enough for Z to know her plan had been totally successful. "What did you guys do?" he asked wonderingly.

"It was Z's idea!" Syd piped up.

Z smiled at Bridge. "I was worried that the bed things and mattress might have picked up too much negative energy for you to handle. So we changed things around a little bit."

"Everyone donated a pillow, and we didn't think that Sky would mind donating his blanket." continued Syd.

"How did you…?" Bridge asked shaking his head in disbelief.

Z looked pointedly at Jack who laid his hand on the desk and phased through.

Bridge laughed. "No way!"

Jack joined in the explanation. "Getting Sky's pillow and blanket was no problem…it was the mattress that was tricky."

"Mattress?" asked Bridge.

"Well, if the blankets and stuff were contaminated, it stands to reason that the mattress would be too. So we switched your mattress for an unused one down in an empty dorm room, and left your old one there." explained Z.

"I can't believe you guys did all this." Bridge's face was a picture of gratitude. Syd and Z exchanged a glance; both girls' eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"So!" Syd announced as she bounded off the bed. "Time for you to get some sleep!" Syd took a hold of Bridge's arm and led him over to the bed. Z had risen from the bed as well giving Bridge a chance to get the bed organized to his liking and settle down.

Bridge bent to move the pillows, then stood up suddenly and looked at the others. "You guys are staying, right?"

"We're not going anywhere, Bridge." Jack assured him.

"'kay." Bridge answered, relieved. He started randomly tossing pillows off of the pile. The unexpected missiles caught the others unaware. The yellow pillow caught Syd square in the face, and Jack and Z found themselves dodging all of the others.

"Hey, Bridge!" was Jack's annoyed cry.

"Oh…sorry." Bridge looked around apologetically. He held up Sky's blue covered pillow in explanation. "I only need one." It didn't surprise Z that Sky's pillow was the one Bridge decided to hold onto.

In short order the Rangers were ready to go to sleep. Bridge was settled under his borrowed sheets and blankets, after having kicked everything free from the neatly made bed. He was somewhat surprised when Syd joined him on the bed settling in a small space between him and the wall. She looked like she was an angel floating in a fluffy pink cloud surrounded by the voluminous comforter she'd brought down from her room. With no words she passed Dino back to Bridge.

Z settled on the foot of the bed, unknowingly taking up the position Sky had assumed the night before. It gave Bridge a strange feeling of déjà vu, but not in a bad way. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around the idea that his friends were so willing to help him; and he regretted the fact that he hadn't reached out to them before. Jack forgo the chair for the floor and made a makeshift bed of sorts with his red blanket.

Bridge wanted to thank them. He wanted to make sure they understood just how much what they had done meant to him. He didn't have the words to really express himself; but he had more than enough words to try. But somewhere between thinking and talking, surrounded by the comforting presence of his friends,he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Syd watched the whole thing happen; it made her smile. Then, confident that Bridge and Sky were okay she allowed her eyes to flutter shut and joined Bridge in sleep. Neither Jack nor Z slept immediately. Z was thrilled that the plan they'd executed to help Bridge was such a resounding success, but her mind was filled with thoughts of their missing teammate. She unconsciously fingered the blue blanked on the bed as her mind wandered.

Jack's mind was filled with concern – would having the four of them together prevent Bridge from having another nightmare; did one of them have to be awake to keep the dreams at bay; what would they do if the dreams came anyway? Jack hadn't been able to shake the visual of Sky in the throes of a seizure; he'd been helpless to stop it or make it better. Seeing the proud Blue Ranger laid so low and made so vulnerable filled Jack with a feeling he couldn't identify. Things were happening here that were totally beyond Jack's control and it made him uneasy. He couldn't protect Sky, but he was here now and helping Bridge was the order of the day. It wouldn't be the first sleepless night Jack had spent, and he remained awake, listening to the others breathe and waiting for something to happen.


TBC


Thank you so much to everyone who's supported this fic! The response has been amazing. I'm sorry the updates are few and far between, but I will try to keep it going. Thanks again to: skyblue266, Anastasia Athene, Funky in Fishnet, aquarius12285, Samurai-Nashie, cmr, garnetred, P-G-W-4Ever, wubaduba, insanechildefanfic.

One and Only Trey – Thank you SO MUCH for your enthusiastic response to the story! I hope it continues to live up to your expectations. :-)

Angelmouse5 – Can't you just see Syd as that "bully" who always gets what she wants, but nicely? I'm glad you liked Bridge's response to the situation – I want to make his emotions clear without making him a baby, you know?

MzDany – I'm glad you liked the team bonding. This chapter should be right up your alley! Keep those updates coming on "Secret Demons"!

Jill – I'm leaning toward Sky/Z and Syd and Bridge just being very tight friends. As I've been watching more episodes of SPD I'm seeing lots of Sky/Z hints (of course I want to see them). When they were playing Frisbee, Sky was totally flirting with Z keeping the Frisbee away from her; when they were SWAT training…who did Z respond to (very emotionally I might add) when calling for help? Sky. Hmmm…. I just love them as a pair and I'll be exploring more of that later.

TheDarkOne8703 – Welcome aboard! Thanks for your wonderful compliment!

Psycho Tangerine – I don't know if they'll outright explain the gloves…but his powers do seem to be increasing. I find that fascinating.

Side Note: Can I just say how much I loved SWAT part 2. The team bonding was awesome and the image of the five of them running into battle behind Sky's shield was fantastic!