Title: Let Her Cry

Disclaimer: Power Rangers SPD and its characters belong to Disney and all those folks.

Summary: Takes place after "Missing". While everyone in the base sleeps, Bridge finds Z in the rec room.

Rating: PG

Note: I kinda got the idea for this from the episode (duh). But a specific scene, in my eyes, screamed Bridge/Z ness. It's the scene where the rangers ask Piggy questions. Z just looked the most disheveled/haggard and desperate out of the bunch. Like, Sky looked pretty solemn, Syd was worried but other than that pretty hard to read, but Z was like so worried that it was having an effect on her appearance and she just got in Piggy's face demanding answers, lol. So, from that scene, was planted the Bridge/Z ness seed that grew into this story you see right now. Enjoy.

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Bridge stared at the dark ceiling of the room he shared with Sky. He was lying on his back in bed, one arm bent under his head and the other at his side bent at the elbow with his hand resting on his stomach. It was late, very late. Normally, he would've been sound asleep hours ago, but not tonight. He sighed as he turned on his side, thinking that perhaps a change in position would help him fall into slumber land, which obviously had embraced his roommate a while ago. Bridge turned his head and stared enviously at Sky who was snoring lightly on the other side of the room. Lucky so and so, he thought to himself. He gave a frustrated sigh as he tossed and turned some more. He fluffed his pillow, bunched it up under his head, did all he could think of, but nothing worked. Guess the Sandman isn't coming by tonight. He thought. Well, if I'm up, I might as well do some reading or something. Since these possible activities would require a bit of light and Bridge wasn't about to disturb Sky, Bridge swung his legs over the side of his bed, stood up and tip-toed to the door, careful not to make much noise. He carefully left the room, letting the door slide shut behind him. Bridge blinked a few times to get used to the darkness of the corridors. Yes, it had been dark in his room, but there was a window in there, so you had the moonlight peaking in to give the room some light. The corridors had no windows, so Bridge was now standing in total darkness. Within a few minutes, his eyes adjusted a bit. Bridge yawned a bit as he patted down the corridor. He found it a little eerie—The SPD base and its corridors was usually a buzzing place with cadets walking up and down the place either going to training or taking care of things, depending on what their level was. And now, it was so quiet, a pin drop in China could easily be heard. Bridge was able to navigate himself in the darkness and soon found the door to the rec room. He pressed the button to open the door and stepped into the room. He reached for the light switch on the wall. He felt along the wall for a bit before he felt the switch under his hand. He flipped it on. He heard a gasp, which caused him to jump a bit as he spun around. He was surprised to see Z sitting on one of the couches, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Z?" He asked. Z lowered her head onto her knees. Bridge figured it was because the sudden light stung her eyes. "Sorry." He said. He found the round knob on the other side of the wall and turned it a bit, which made the lights a little dimmer. "I didn't think anyone was in here." He said. "Why are you sitting here…….alone, in the dark, anyway?" He asked. Z didn't respond. Bridge's brow furrowed in confusion. "Z?" He asked. He walked across the room to where she sat and sat next to her. "You okay?" He asked. Z gave an awkward nod against her knees. "……..Well, when someone answers the question like that, then it's obvious they're not okay." He said, half jokingly.

"Bridge, I'm fine." She said, her voice slightly muffled. But even though that, he could hear the hoarseness that was clearly associated with a long time spent crying, which was a sound that did not sit well with Bridge. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Z," he asked, worry etching in his voice. "What's wrong?" He asked. She didn't answer. He shifted closer to her and gently pulled her up so he could see her face. Her face was blotchy, her cheeks had tears running down them, and her eyes were shining with tears that had yet to roll down her face. This was a completely new sight to Bridge. He had only known Z for not even a year, and in that time, he had never seen her shed a tear. And now, seeing her like this, unsettled him more then he could ever explain. Z took in a short breath as she closed her eyes and more tears rolled down. "What is it?" He asked. "Z, please, tell me what's wrong." He pleaded. He cupped one hand against one of her cheeks and wiped at the tears with his thumb.

"You were missing." She whispered. "And…..And we didn't know where you were and he………he kept saying how you were running out of time." She babbled, choking on her words a few times. Bridge wasn't clear on why she was upset.

"Yeah, but everything's okay now." He said. He put his other hand on her other cheek, so he was now holding her face in his hand. "Z, I'm fine. Jack found me in time and we were able to take care of Bork, everything's fine." He said. Z shut her mouth as sobs tried to break free but she kept them at bay. Bridge sighed. He pulled her close into a hug, crushing her against him. Her face was smushed against his chest, the crown of her head just below his chin. She brought her hand up to her face and covered her mouth to muffle her sobs. Bridge lowered his mouth to her ear. "It's okay." He whispered in her ear. "Let it out." He encouraged. Z placed her hand on his chest, her fingers curling into her palm. He lifted his face up, placing his chin on the crown of her head lightly. "Let it out." He said again, a little louder. He figured that no matter how much he assured her that he was all right, it wouldn't do any good. The most he could do right now is let her cry. He heard her breath hitch as a sob leaked out. Bridge tightened his hold on her and raised one his hands up to cradle her face against his chest as the other slowly rubbed circles on her back. He smoothed her hair back and held her as more sobs broke free. He didn't bother using the clichéd terms like 'shh,' or anything of the like. He realized that crying was what she needed right now. Z's body trembled as sobs escaped one after the other. The two of them sat like that for a while until her sobs became few and far between, and then they stopped all together. Bridge held her still, wanting to be sure that she had let out all the emotion she needed to expel. Z sniffled a bit.

"Thank you." She said in a small meek voice, something that was also brand new to Bridge. Bridge looked down at her. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and there were the tear tracks on her cheeks. Bridge gave her a warm smile before lowering his head and shifting her bangs aside with his nose and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"No problem." He said against her skin. Z smiled. She sat up a bit and looked down, seeing a wet spot on his shirt from her tears. She placed her hand on it and frowned.

"Sorry." She said. Bridge chuckled.

"It's all right." He said. He reached over to the table by the couch and picked up the small box of tissues. He pulled out a few tissues and handed them to her. Z gave him a smile of gratitude as she wiped away the remnants of her tears from her cheeks. She sighed. "You okay now?" He asked. Z nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She said. She bit her lip and lowered her eyes. "Don't tell anyone I was crying, please?" She asked. Bridge hooked a finger under her chin and made her look up at him.

"Hey, I'll take it to my grave." He said.

"Thanks." She said. The two of them sat back on the couch, looking ahead of them. "So, what are you doing here at this time of night?" She asked. Bridge shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep, and hearing Sky snoring away was getting to me." He said which caused Z to laugh a bit.

"Sky snores? Hmm, I've got to remember to tell that to Syd." Z said.

"Just a little." Bridge said. He blinked and looked at her. "Wait, what's that about Syd?" He asked. Z gave him a 'what do you think?' look. Bridge's eyes widened. "Syd likes Sky?" He asked. "Since when?" Z shrugged.

"My guess is for a while, before Jack and I came along." She said. Bridge frowned.

"But we're best friends, she never told me." He said.

"Don't get offended. I mean, sometimes there are certain things a girl can only tell another girl." She said. "It's nothing against you; it's just a girl thing." Bridge nodded.

"I guess I understand." He said. He gave her a slow smile. "So, is there anything you've confided in her in these moments of 'girl talk'?" He asked. Z smirked.

"If you ever find Syd crying in a dark room, feel free to ask her." She teased. Bridge laughed.

"I'll remember that." He said. He became serious and looked at her. "So, you're okay?" He asked, referring to the crying. Z nodded.

"Yeah, I guess………..Today just affected me, and I……..just……."

"Needed a release." Bridge said. Z nodded again. Bridge reached over and took her hand. "Hey, whenever you need a release, I'm here for you." He said. Z gave him an odd look, which made him recount what he just said. "…..I mean………an emotional release……..If you're upset……." He said, his cheeks getting red. Z laughed.

"Got it, thanks." She said. Neither really made a move to pull their hands back and they just sat there in silence until Z cleared her throat. "I guess I'm going to go off to bed." She said, pulling her hand away. "You staying here?" She asked.

"For a little while, maybe, do some reading or something." He said. Z nodded and stood up. She paused and turned to him.

"Just……Do me a favor?" She asked.

"Sure." He said. Z stepped in front of him and leaned over, practically towering over him. She took his face in her hands and tilted it up. She then lowered her face and captured his lips in a soft kiss. Bridge was too shocked to respond so he just sat there. After a short while, she released his lips.

"Don't you ever, ever, ever, get yourself captured again, got it?" She breathed against his lips. Bridge gulped and simply nodded in her hands. "Good." She said. She let him go and stood up. Bridge cleared his throat nervously.

"Uh….What…….What was that?" He asked. Z shrugged.

"You were captured today, thought you deserved something for your hellish time." She said.

"Oh." He said.

"Goodnight." She said as she turned and headed for the door.

"You know," he said, making her stop and turn back to him. "I did almost get squished to death by the walls closing in on me." He said. "That…….Uh…….That was pretty hellish too." Z quirked an eyebrow at him. She cast her eyes to the side and bit the corner of her bottom lip, as if considering this for a moment.

"True." She finally said. She walked back over to him. This time, Bridge had some of his wits about him and didn't let her have the upper hand. Once she was within reach, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down so that she was sitting on his lap. There they were, him sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and her sitting/lying across his legs, looking up at him. He held her around the waist and kept her there. Z smiled and put her arms around his neck, sitting up a bit as the two met for another, much longer and deeper kiss.

"You know," he said between kisses. "If this is how things are when I do get captured, I should do it more often."

"Shut up, Bridge." Z said as she pulled him in for a kiss that there was no escaping from. Bridge was very, very glad he had bit hit with a case of insomnia that night.

THE END