Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own anything you recognize.

KINGS AND VAGABONDS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Nine: Hidden Pride IV

"Sky got a care package!"

Z looked up mildly from where she had been trying to read a book. The lounge was deserted except for her and Sky. The Blue Ranger was playing a rather complex version of solitaire and didn't look surprised that Bridge had his mail. Bridge came into the lounge, carrying the medium sized box, looking like he got mail rather than Sky.

"Don't you live, like, three minutes from here?" Z asked Sky.

He shrugged. "My dad still sends stuff every so often."

"Especially when he doesn't get to come home." Bridge flopped down onto the couch next to Z, still holding the box. "Can I open it?" he asked, giving Sky a pleading, puppy dog look that either made people cave to him or annoyed them.

"Sure," Sky shrugged, still engaged with the card game. "It's probably food."

Bridge got a grin on his face like a little kid at Christmas. He tried to tug at the tape sealing the box with his gloved hands, but had no success. Z rolled her eyes and took the box from him, using her key card to slice through the packing. She then ripped the flaps of the box open, since the remaining tape would break under the strain. There were two books on the top of the box – Bridge took those out and tossed them to Sky. The rest of the box was, indeed, food. There was a bag of cookies that looked like they were homemade, along with some crackers, some kind of salsa and white-chocolate fudge. Bridge took the salsa and crackers out as well and handed them to Sky.

"Do you eat that salsa on those crackers?" Z asked.

Sky shrugged. "Sure. It's good."

He obviously had odd eating habits that he didn't share. Bridge had pulled the cookies out of the box, leaving the fudge. He opened the bag of cookies. "Want some?" he asked her.

Bridge set the box on the floor next to the couch. Z noticed that there was more stuff at the bottom of the box, but it was meant for Sky rather than the group. The Blue Ranger tugged the box over to himself and sorted through the contents.

"Sure," Z said absently to Bridge, taking one of the large chocolate-chip cookies.

Sky pulled a DVD out of the box. He looked at it and frowned. He held it up to Bridge. "You know something about this?"

Bridge grabbed the DVD. "He sent it!"

Z glanced over at the movie. It was one of the Star Wars movies – when she and Jack had lived on the streets, they used to frequent a half-way house that played nothing but those movies and she had come to love them. "That's a good one," she commented.

Bridge gave her an appraising look, his blue eyes warm. "Want to watch it with me some time?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied, smiling.

"It's a date."

Z paused for a minute, wondering if Bridge was being facetious or if he meant it. The serious look in his eyes showed that he was serious. Her smile grew wider and goofier. It would be the first date she had that didn't end in something physical. It was Bridge – and if his idea of a date was watching movies, then that was fine with her.

Syd waltzed into the lounge, wearing something that was certainly not her uniform or anything Z could think someone would be wearing around here. Bridge froze with the cookie in his mouth. "Did I miss the memo about the new uniforms?" he asked through a mouthful of cookie, almost spraying Z with his chewed cookie.

"No," Syd said, looking disgusted at Bridge's lack of table manners. "It's my birthday."

"Nobody told me," Sky muttered from where he was back to studying the cards.

"Well," Syd said, fluffing her hair. "Tomorrow is officially my birthday, but my parents just insist on throwing me this huge party – at the best restaurant, limos, a huge party." She shrugged. "You know – blah, blah, blah. It's no big deal."

"I guess our invitations got lost in the mail," Sky continued muttering.

"Your care package didn't!" Bridge added enthusiastically.

"Don't be silly," Syd said, obviously disconcerted by Sky's muttering. "I would have invited you, but I know you guys have to work."

It made Z wonder if Paris knew that Syd was being treated to all these things on her birthday by their adopted parents – parents that Paris hated. The sisters were close, there was no denying it, but it wasn't comforting to know that there were major secrets.

The alarm started blaring. Syd rolled her eyes, looking disgruntled. Bridge shoved the rest of his cookie into his mouth. Z looked at her cookie for a minute, then decided to eat it on the way to the command center. The four of them headed down the hall in silence and entered the command center together. Conner was waiting for them there. Z hurriedly shoved the rest of the cookie into her mouth, ignoring Conner's curious stare at her chipmunk cheeks.

Cruger and Kat started explaining about a satellite prison on KO 35 that had been destroyed and then a suspect that had escaped. He might be coming to Earth because he had worked with someone on Earth. It was the usual. Cruger was telling them about how they were going to need someone to do surveillance on the doctor the suspect might be trying to find.

"Cadet Tate," Cruger addressed Sky. "You and one other will go on the stakeout."

Bridge nudged Sky. He slapped his hand away. "No problem, sir," he said. "Syd and I will do it."

"What?" Syd sputtered.

"You do have the most surveillance training," Conner agreed, backing Sky.

"But I'll miss my birthday dinner," she whined.

"You said it wasn't a big deal," Sky replied in a neutral tone of voice.

"I lied!" she wailed.

Z fought the urge to snicker. Cruger dismissed them. Syd went storming out of the command center to go change clothes. Z and Bridge caught up to Sky. "That was kind of harsh," Bridge told him.

Sky shrugged. "She needs to be taken down a notch."

"I hear that," Z commiserated. "You guys should be glad you don't room with her."

The Blue Ranger shrugged again. "I'll see you guys later. I have to go get ready." Meaning he had to go get civilian clothes, since stakeouts did tend to be in civilian clothing to reduce attention to them.

He was down the hall before Z realized something. "You own something other than your uniform?" she called after him.

He responded with a pithy phrase that was blunt, but to the point.

"This is so unfair," Syd whined as she dragged one of the equipment cases into the warehouse where the surveillance would be taking place. She wiped her hands and looked around at the dirty room they were going to have to spend today and probably her birthday in. Sky looked completely nonchalant, adjusting the binoculars to the apartment across the street where the doctor they were watching lived.

"Get over yourself," he muttered.

"Excuse me!" she snapped, whirling to face him. It was then that she took in exactly what he was wearing. Oh, she had known that he was wearing civilian clothing, but, since she had been fuming the entire trip over here, she hadn't taken it in. He was wearing loose khaki cargo pants with a blue plaid shirt that had short-sleeves and was button-up. A necklace made of a black leather cord was around his neck and he had on a digital watch. Sky didn't wear clothes like that – he looked like a model for Old Navy.

"You'll have a birthday next year."

"That's not the point!" she cried, stamping her foot. "Everything was planned for this year and you knew that, but you had to ruin it anyways!"

He lowered the binoculars. His blue eyes had hardened into chips of ice. "And how would your sister feel if she knew about this elaborate party?"

Syd opened her mouth, no reply coming. He might as well have hit her – that was how much those words hurt. Paris didn't know about the party – hadn't known about the party the previous year. She had wanted the wealth and prestige, but, with Paris an officer and not around as often, it was easy to convince herself that her parents did care about her and wanted to give her something special, not buying her off. Paris… she wouldn't understand.

"You don't know anything about it," she hissed.

"Don't I? My father has never had to buy me off."

"I hate you," she spat, knowing that she sounded childish, but not knowing what else to say to him. He was right – damn him. He was Sky and he was so gorgeous, more so than a man had a right to be and he… he could read her too well. Paris would say she had been bought off and, although she wouldn't abandon her, it would drive a wedge between them. She turned away from him, tears stinging her eyes. Today was ruined – in more ways than one.

She felt him come up behind her, his hands lightly on her shoulders. "Sydney," he whispered. "You have to find who you are – and I know that you aren't the spoiled rich brat that you pretend to be."

"My entire life I've been what people wanted me to be," she whispered.

"Then stop."

Syd turned around to face him. He dropped his hands to his sides. "That's easy for you to say." She paused. "No one told you be authoritarian."

Sky looked thoughtful. "Believe it or not, I did that to myself."

She shook her head. "I don't know what to think."

He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "We've got a lot of time here while we're just watching this woman."

She watched as he walked back to the window, picking up the binoculars once more. There was a softer side to Sky – Bridge had always known that it existed. At least he wasn't throwing up force fields anymore to get people to leave him alone. She sank down onto the couch, feeling confused. If today hadn't already been ruined, things had just gotten more and more complicated. Perhaps it was better if she missed her party…

"Are we ready for the party?"

Sky looked up as Paris walked into he and Bridge's room. She always seemed to be wearing black when she wasn't wearing her uniform – he hadn't seen her in anything other than her uniform or black. When the stakeout had ended and Sinuku, their suspect, had been brought to justice, he had run into Paris and broached the idea of throwing a belated surprise party for Syd. She had been enthusiastic, but obviously hadn't been aware of the luxurious party that their adopted parents had been prepared to throw for her younger sister.

And today was no exception to the black rule – she had on a black tank top and black skirt that swirled around her calves. Paris was pretty in a sophisticated way. Syd was just all-around pretty, with the wavy hair, big blue eyes and smile – she wasn't intimidating like her older sister was.

"Almost," Bridge answered. He was sitting on his bed, trying to tie the green tie he had chosen to wear to the party. Paris took one look at him, rolled her eyes and went over to him, tying the tie in record time. "Thanks," he said, picking up the brightly wrapped presents that were sitting on his bed.

"You don't look ready," she told Sky.

He frowned and glanced at his uniform. Syd had seen him in civilian clothes and he didn't see the need to wear something else to the party. Besides, what if something happened and they had to go into action. "What's wrong with my uniform?" he asked warily.

"You cannot wear your uniform to Syd's party," she said. "You've got to own something other than your uniform. God, I'm starting to think you sleep in your uniform."

"He doesn't," Bridge said.

"Well, that's good to know," Paris muttered, going over to his dresser and opening the drawers. She pulled out a pair of faded jeans and threw them on his bed. "Does he own a wife beater?" she asked Bridge.

"Top drawer," Sky muttered, beating Bridge to the answer.

Paris pulled out a wife beater, before moving to his closet. "What do you know," she said to herself. She flung out a pair of brown leather sandals he had forgotten he had and a brown leather belt. She pulled a dusty blue dress shirt off of a hanger and tossed that on the pile on the bed. "Get dressed," she told him.

Sky fought the urge to grumble at her as he gathered up the clothes and went into the small bathroom to change. He could hear muffled voices as Bridge and Paris were talking about something related to the surprise party. That didn't surprise him, because Bridge got along with just about everyone. He quickly changed into the clothes that Paris had thrown at him and came out of the bathroom.

"You look human," Syd's sister said with a smile.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed his necklace off his nightstand, pulling it on and adjusting the cord. It was the only such thing he owned – Taylor, his dad's girlfriend, had gotten it for him for Christmas one year in an attempt to lighten him up. The only thing that necklace did was make his choice of clothing more relaxed.

"Let's go," Paris said. "Z said that Syd should be going through the park in a little while and we still need to set things up."

This party had to be the best birthday of her life. Syd smiled to herself, standing near the table that held the cake and all the other refreshments. It was clear that Paris had let Bridge help with the refreshments, because there had been one paltry veggie tray and heaps of cookies, fudge, candy and all kinds of other sugar-dense items. It was common knowledge – to the B-Squad at least – that Bridge had a sweet tooth. Sky had brought his own chips and salsa and – though seeming like he didn't want to share – proved to be generous with his food.

"He almost wore his uniform."

Syd turned at the sound of Paris' voice. Her sister came up next to her, looking elegant in the simple black outfit. She had always fought against the frills and frippery that their adopted mother had wanted them to wear. Syd looked down at her own frilly top, one she actually really liked. Oh well – she wasn't Paris.

She followed Paris' gaze to Sky. He was sitting at one end of the table with Bridge and Z and she couldn't know if he was annoyed or amused. Again, his choice of clothing had amazed her. It was hard to imagine Sky in anything other than his uniform, but here he was.

"Did he?" she asked with a grin.

"Yeah – but like I was going to let him wear his uniform to a party."

Syd laughed. "It would be just like him."

Paris smiled, but her gaze was on the half-eaten cake in front of her. Someone had already taken the corner pieces – but Syd had gotten one for herself so she didn't mind. "Sky said you had other plans for your birthday."

There was a veiled accusation behind those words. Sky wouldn't have told Paris the entire story, but enough that she would be suspicious. "I did," she agreed. "Mom and Dad wanted to take me out to dinner."

Her sister's blue eyes clouded, but the storm passed as quickly as it came. "Since when have they wanted anything to do with us?"

"They were just being nice," Syd said softly.

Paris shrugged. "I guess it's about time. I haven't talked to them in close to two years, so I wouldn't know if they had a change of heart."

Syd didn't reply, but she knew that Paris didn't believe a word that she had just spoken. For her entire life, she had been fighting against everything – their parents, SPD, Cruger, Kat and any other authority figure that she came in contact with. Now that she thought about it, Syd wasn't sure that Paris knew what she was fighting against, she just flailed out at anything that tried to have power over her. Perhaps it was just in her nature to fight – maybe that was why their adopted parents had wanted all of them to attend the SPD Academy. Then again, Paris had used their own weapon against them, cutting off her contact with them once she became a student at SPD.

She wanted to tell Paris that their adopted parents would care about her, if she just extended a friendly greeting. She wanted Paris to stop fighting. But none of that would happen. She wasn't Paris and she wasn't what her parents wanted her to be. She wasn't what anyone wanted her to be, although she had tried. Sky had said that she needed to be herself and not what everyone else wanted. It had been so long – did she even know herself?

"I think your man's coming this way," Paris said in an undertone.

Syd looked down the table – Sky was making his way towards them. "He's not my boyfriend," she said with a scowl. "He's Sky."

"I wouldn't be too sure."

"Paris!"

Sky came up to them, casually getting himself another cup of punch. Paris had that mischievous look in her eyes that meant she was about to completely and totally embarrass Syd. "So," she said to Sky. "Can you write me a poem in trochaic trimeter?"

"Par—is!" Syd wailed. She had done this to the last boyfriend that Syd had and had scared the guy away because he had thought she was talking about weapons in code and not poetry!

Sky's expression didn't change. "Why?"

Paris opened her mouth to speak, but Syd clamped a hand over it. "No reason," Syd said for her, nudging Paris in the side.

He narrowed his eyes at them. "Can I write it in tetrameter? It will be easier."

"Sure," Paris said, shrugging Syd away from her. "Just make sure you mark your substitutions." She paused. "No more than one substitution per line."

"How many lines?"

"Minimum of fifteen."

"I assume I'm doing this so I can date Syd in the future."

This was beyond embarrassing. Syd let out a frustrated shriek. Only Paris would ask Sky about something ridiculous like meter in poetry. She was just amazed that he knew what in the world she was talking about. Paris had strange facts like that hidden up in her head that she let out when it was to her best advantage.

Then it dawned on her – Sky wanted to date her. Hold the phone… but he was already moving back down the table towards Bridge and Z. She whirled to the side to face Paris.

"I cannot believe you did that!" she hissed.

Paris just smiled. "I want to see what he writes."

"You think this is funny!"

"Hey, if he's willing to write poetry for you, then he's a keeper."

Syd groaned. "It's in troches!" She had picked up enough of the meter stuff – it had been a hobby of Paris' – to know a few words that fell in that category. On her own, she couldn't hear stuff like that and had to use a dictionary. Luckily enough, she only had one English teacher who made her learn it. "It'll be about chickens and robots eating pickles!"

"Just because those are the only troches you know, doesn't mean that he won't come up with some more creative troches."

The Pink Ranger just shook her head, deciding that the meter discussion was going too far for comfort. She glanced down the table. Sky met her gaze and a smile floated over his face. There was so much to Sky that no one saw – the fact that he viewed Bridge as his brother was one of those things. In fact, he cared about all of them in his own strange way.

A slight breeze blew over the park, ruffling the paper plates and empty cups. Syd shivered despite herself. Paris always talked about their real parents and how they cared about them, would accept their powers. It made her wonder – had the adoption really been mutual? What could have caused their parents to give them up or not fight to get them back?

Shaking her head, she went back to the party. It was her birthday after all.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Elements of this come from Stakeout. Jepoliant also told me to give a quick note on trochaic trimeter - it's a metrical foot in poetry that is two syllables, the first is stressed and the second is unstressed. Trimeter means there are three of these feet per line (and so on ad nauseam.) It's not really vitally important to the overall story, so if you're confused, it doesn't matter and don't worry about it. Oh - thanks to Jepoliant for beta reading and to all my readers and reviewers. You guys rock! For the first time in a while, I shall do reviewer responses:) And everyone gets a smiley:

Crimson Mystery - Thanks:)

Feline-Feral - Glad you liked the ending. Thanks:)

fenestrae - I believe that Trent's power was chameleon. He could blend into the background or something along those lines. It was never as clear as the others' powers. Although schizophrenia would have been an odd power... lol. :)

Fudge-Monkey99 - Thanks:)

Funky In Fishnet - Thanks! As for everything else, only time will tell. :)

garnetred - Your question will be answered soon, very soon! Glad you like it:)

Giannola - Jack isn't going to come back in this piece. He's in jail with whatever sentence his crimes warranted. Sorry about that. I'm glad you like the piece though. :)

Jenna Summers - Thanks! All of the things you mentioned will come up later, so have no fear:)

Juzblue - Thanks:)

kris - I'm not opposed to writing slash, it's just not a part of this piece. :) And this is where I make my departure from the cannon and go completely AU with things. Glad you're reading and enjoying!

Rob - The explanations are coming in the near future. I promise:) Thanks for the compliments though!

Slshadowfox - Glad you figured out what was going on. I glossed over Sam just because it didn't lend itself to molding and character development quite like the episodes that surrounded it. As for the pairings, you shall see what develops. :)

the real vampire - Actually, I believe that Cruger revealed to the others that Conner was a ranger in chapter 5 (Coming Together). Sky also refers to him as a 'has-been' ranger a few times. However, how many outside the others who knew from DT and others outside the B-Squad, Kat and Cruger is debatable. Glad you like it:)

Weesta - Thanks for your kind words! I'm flattered:) As for the ending, only time will tell. :)