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

BEHIND THE CLOUDS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Nineteen: Show Business III

His room was dark – had been dark when he got there after the Friday night run of the show, but he hadn't been inclined to do anything about it. He had dropped his bag next to his bed and changed into his pajamas, lying down and trying to sleep. That had been three hours ago. Distantly, he heard the male cadets arriving back from the cast party and talking in loud voices about how great it had been. He had managed to skip the party, ducking out and coming back here – and no one had stopped by to drag him out. Just as well… he wanted to be alone to sort through his thoughts.

He loved Syd – that much was a given. Doctor Oliver had assigned he and Syd to a minor jewel theft earlier that morning. The ride to the jewelry shop had been quiet, but, once there and after having questioned the proprietor, Syd had been fascinated by all the shiny, expensive things that lined the showcases. He hadn't been able to drag her away and ended up explaining about the different stones in the necklaces she had been gazing at. The ride back to the base had been spent conversing amiably, but nothing about them or their friends' relationships. He wasn't sure how they managed to talk about training, cadets, RA duties, assignments and the weather for half an hour, but they had.

It made him remember the whole base of their relationship – a common love for so many things. Both of them liked music – Syd sang, while he plowed away with the piano. They enjoyed dancing, star-gazing… He had a passion for reading and writing, the written word as it were, while Syd could relate to visual art, paintings and sculptures. They enjoyed sparring verbally over philosophers, politics, even novels, not to mention actual sparring. They had been catapulted into a physical relationship too early – neither of them had been ready for it, but they managed, coped and came out stronger from the experience.

The door chimes sounded. "Come in!" he called.

The doors opened to reveal Paris standing there with Peanuts. That stuffed animal had been returned to Syd less than a day after their break-up and he was puzzled as to why Paris would be dragging that thing into his room.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" she asked.

"I was trying to go to sleep," he replied, leaning over to turn on the lamp on his nightstand. Pale, yellow light illuminated the room.

"You're still awake," Paris commented, coming into the room and perching on the edge of his bed. The door slid shut behind her. She placed Peanuts on his chest – and he noticed the blue ribbon and note tied around the worn stuffed animal's neck. "Just bringing you the friendly neighborhood messenger – Peanuts."

In spite of himself, he smiled. The elephant smelled like Syd, faintly of her perfume and even more so like her soap and shampoo. Rose… that had been the scent she preferred and it appeared that she still liked it. He wrapped his arms around Peanuts, holding the elephant to his chest and he focused on Paris.

"So, how was my theatrical debut?"

Paris thought for a moment. "I thought you were going to pass out at first, but you did good." She paused. "And tonight went even better." She stood up. "I'll leave you to your mail. Everyone's back from the cast party, so Bridge should be here soon."

The doors hissed open and Paris disappeared, the doors closing behind her.

Sky glanced at the note tied to Peanuts' neck. He tugged the blue ribbon loose and pulled the paper free. It was a piece of notebook paper, folded. The outside simply said, 'Sky,' in black ink. The handwriting was Syd's. He unfolded the notebook paper and began to read.

I'm sorry for everything. I should have realized a long time ago that I love you and that you love me unconditionally. I've been ridiculous about this whole thing and I wish we could start over again. But I do hope that we can at least talk and try to repair some of the damage that has been done. Bridge and Z are spending the night at Bridge's house, so I'll be in my room all night tonight. I love you, Sky.

I'm sorry.

Tear-stains were frequent on the letter. If he knew her, she had probably planned on writing an eloquent, several page apology and plea, but this small, yet heartfelt, note was what she produced. He laughed, but that laugh turned into a strangled sob. He wasn't sure if he wanted to find her and kiss her senseless, indulging in make-up sex that would blow her mind or if he wanted to throttle her.

He sat up and reached over the side of his bed for some shoes, a violent shudder running through his body. Briefly, he curled his fingers towards his palm. His hands were freezing. He stood up, running a hand through his hair. What he wanted didn't matter anymore – he wanted to see if the trust that he and Syd used to share still existed.

Looking at his bed, he picked up Peanuts and headed out of the room.

The door chimes sounded. Syd started and then put her brush down. After the cast party, she had come back to the dorm, showered and the last half hour had been spent nervously brushing her hair. Not like there were any tangles left to get out… "Come in!" she called, instinctively knowing who it would be, while fervently hoping that it wasn't him.

The doors hissed open, proving her hunch to be correct. Sky stood there, wearing his pajamas and holding Peanuts loosely to his side. She took in his sleepwear – not that she didn't know what he slept in, but the nights they had spent together didn't often require him to have clothes at all. She almost smiled, remembering the hours spent in the faint afterglow, when they would playfully argue about ridiculous things and she could sometimes coax him into singing to her – that generally depended on how relaxed he was.

His blue plaid pajama pants were loose as was the long-sleeved blue shirt. He had put on some sneakers before leaving his room, probably since he was cold. She watched the way he curled his hands into fists, not because he was fighting, but because he was trying to get some warmth in his fingers.

He said nothing as he stepped over the threshold of the door. Syd stood up, her brush falling to the floor with a muted clank. Without thinking, she crossed the room to him as the doors hissed shut. He was always cold. Taking one of his hands, she pulled it against her wrist, inside the sleeves of her flannel pajamas. Closing her free hand over his, she rubbed slightly, glancing up to see the expression on his face. He was looking carefully blank, but, as the warmth seeped into his fingers, he began to relax.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I know."

"I was trying to understand why we didn't have a fairy tale relationship," she continued. "I realize now that I can't try to evaluate us on anyone's scale, but the one that we devised for ourselves."

"And?"

"We were both busy and should have tried to spend some evenings or nights together, but I jumped the gun and drew conclusions." She tugged on his hand, still trapped in her sleeve and over to the bed. She sat down, leaving a respectable distance between them.

"Do you love me?" he asked softly.

"I never stopped loving you."

"Then we can make this work – we both have to be committed. It's a two-way street."

She smiled. "No more doubting your love, your commitment," she paused. "I might be tempted to doubt your latest IQ test…"

That got him to laugh. He leaned forward, shifting so that he closed the space between them and pressed a feather-light kiss to her lips. She responded and the kiss became deeper, more passionate until she felt tingles run up and down her back. His hands were at her back, moving underneath her pajama top. She pressed herself closer to him, so that she was sitting in his lap. The kisses were unhurried, almost as if they were just enjoying each other after so long, but she knew that it was a prelude to so much more.

Hours later, she smiled at him as he tried to keep from dozing. Their clothes were abandoned on the floor and only a sheet from her bed covered them. At first, she had expected him to complain of being cold, but he didn't. She could feel his toes, entwined with her legs, and his fingers and he was warm. She snuggled into that warmth, pressing a kiss to his jaw as she buried her face in his chest.

"How do you feel about marriage?"

The question, and a coherent question at that, startled her. She lifted her head so that she could look at him. His face was serious. "Why?" she asked with a grin.

"Just asking." He was lying – she could tell. Sky had always been a bad liar, unable to keep a straight face, since he always looked a little shifty when he was telling white lies.

"Schuyler Alan Collins—" she started.

"Oh hell, I just blew my whole cover, didn't I?"

"Sky! What are you trying to get at here?"

"Would you marry me?"

Syd grinned. "What? Now?"

"No, not now. In a couple of years." He paused, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. All the untangling done earlier had been negated during their activities. "I would give you the ring but it's in a vault in Silver Hills."

She was so surprised she sat up, clutching the sheet around her chest and causing him to start. "You bought a ring?" she whispered.

"Yes," he said, reaching out a hand to cup her cheek. She leaned into that touch. "But if you'd rather I waited to formally ask with the whole romantic dinner and—"

Syd stopped him, placing a finger on his lips. "Of course I'll marry you," she whispered. "It doesn't matter if it's tomorrow or five years from now."

His smile was enough to light up the dark corners of the earth. She leaned down and captured his lips in a kiss as he pulled her down onto the bed. He was on top of her, his warm weight pressing her down into the mattress. He nuzzled her neck as he worked his way to her collarbone. She shivered in delight. "I love you, Sky."

"I love you, too – always."

Tommy glanced at his watch – he had called Sky and Bridge into his quarters for a meeting. It was Monday morning and five minutes past their appointment time and neither one of them seemed to be forthcoming. He smiled to himself. Last night had erupted into a spontaneous cast party in the lounge and he had actually been called down there to stop the noise. He didn't find a wild, drunken orgy, just a group of people still on an adrenaline high from their production's success. After chasing the rangers that were present to bed, the rest of the party dispersed rather quickly. That party explained the tardiness of Sky and Bridge.

The doors to his quarters hissed open and the offending duo tumbled through the door, both looking harassed and out of breath.

"Sorry, sir," Sky started. "I forgot to set my alarm."

"I didn't hear mine go off!" Bridge added.

"That's because your head was under your pillow."

"My ears were cold!"

"Can you two calm down and take a seat?" Tommy interrupted.

The pair obeyed, sitting down on the couch opposite from him. Obviously, Austin hadn't given them the slightest idea what this meeting was about, because both looked slightly puzzled, but intensely curious. Well, it was time for him to do what he should have done back when creating the new A and B squads. Past time…

"I've spoken with Lieutenant Grayson recently," he started. "He wants to continue as a ranger, but he feels that he is not the person to carry on with the Red Ranger's leadership responsibilities." Sky and Bridge exchanged a glance that clearly said, what's that got to do with us? Both were convinced, and rightly so, that until someone from the A-Squad moved on from SPD, they were stuck in their current positions.

"In light of that," Tommy continued. "Grayson will be taking on the responsibilities of the B-Squad Green Ranger. Collins, you're the new B-Squad Red and Corbett, you're the new B-Squad Blue."

Sky looked stunned and speechless, while Bridge appeared to be refraining from breaking into a victory dance right there on the spot. "B-Squad Red?" Sky asked softly, still appearing unbelieving.

"You heard me correctly." He paused and glanced at his watch. "You two and Austin are due in the lab in half an hour to get new uniforms and morphers." They stood up, saluting and heading for the door. "And guys?" They turned back around. "Make me proud."

"This is so crazy," Z said from the backseat of Sky's car. It was the weekend after the show and after the big promotions. She still couldn't believe all that happened in the space of a weekend and how anything here would be the same. "You and Bridge got promoted – and now Paris is taking off for New York in January."

"And someone will need to be promoted to the A-Squad to replace her," Bridge added.

"That's not until January," Sky said from the driver's seat, glancing in the rearview mirror at them. Z shook her head – Sky was still glowing about being given the position he had all but stopped hoping to get.

"And the rumor is that Trent's going to New York with her," Syd said with a grin. Her hand was on Sky's thigh and not helping their normally stoic friend's goofy grin.

"Make that two people going to A-Squad."

A comfortable silence descended over the car, the only sound being the radio playing softly in the background. The rules for Sky's car still applied and the main one was that he controlled the radio – not that Sky's tastes in music drove anyone to distraction, but if he had his damn Tchaikovsky mini-disc in, Z knew that she would have been doing some serious snoring in the backseat. How that didn't put Sky to sleep was beyond her.

She had to admit – she had inspired this particular road trip along with some past inspiration from the twins. Paris and Austin had said that they got their tattoos as a visual and permanent reminder that they would always be there for each other, no matter how much space separated them. Z had brought it up Sunday at the cast party as something that they might look into, just to always be connected. The four of them were close – closer than they would ever verbalize and getting tattoos seemed like a fitting idea. Other problems came up, but Sky eventually found a good place that would do it safely – and Bridge had been psyching himself up all week so that he could through with it.

However, Paris, amidst all her harassing Doctor Oliver about missing her when she was gone, had come up with what they should get. She found a Celtic-knot heart design on the tattoo place's website – they were pretty, delicate, but also showed the intricacies and difficulties of relationships. The boys had been really skeptical about getting something so… feminine, but Paris had blandly reminded them that they didn't have to get it someplace where people were going to see it. It had also been her suggestion to get them done in their original ranger color – the colors that all of them first bonded over.

Sky pulled the car into a free spot in downtown Newtech – one of the many areas that offered free parking and the four of them trooped down the sidewalk to the tattoo shop. The place was surprisingly light and clean – Z's only experience with tattoo shops had been the seedy ones in the bad parts of town.

The proprietor, Jessie, was waiting for them. No one else was in the shop.

"I'm Sky," their former Blue Ranger said. "We talked on the phone."

Jessie grinned. "We certainly did. These are your friends?"

Sky introduced them and made short work of telling Jessie what they wanted – the Celtic-knot hearts on their left hips. She nodded.

"Well, you guys are cops and obviously don't want tattoos where someone is bound to see them." She grinned. "Who's first?"

"Me!" Bridge volunteered, surprisingly everyone present. Z touched his arm.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he replied, a defiant look in his eyes. "If I wait, I'll just chicken out."

Jessie was looking a little amused at the entire proceedings. She led Bridge behind a curtain that was so people getting tattoos in potentially embarrassing places could have a little privacy. Z could see the terror in his eyes, but almost a strong determination to see this through. Sky gave her a pointed glance and she went with him.

Z watched as she swabbed the place where the tattoo was going to be a few times with alcohol and set out little cups of green dye, a couple packages of needles and the tattoo gun. Bridge swallowed visibly at the needles.

"This is a thermal transfer," Jessie said as she peeled off a bit a paper and placed it on the tattoo spot. "It transfers the design you picked."

"Cool," Z murmured, getting a scathing glare from Bridge. Jessie pulled off the paper and the result was a little like a purplish temporary tattoo.

"Ready?" Jessie asked Bridge as she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves.

Bridge looked so completely terrified that all he could manage was a nod. He took a deep breath and Z smiled at him, taking his hand. "It'll be all right," she whispered. Jessie smeared ointment on the transfer, then picked up the tattoo gun and started slowly drawing in the outline of Bridge's tattoo.

She would say one thing for her boyfriend – he didn't scream or pass out or do any of the things that he looked like he so desperately wanted to do. For the first few minutes, he looked like he was going to throw up, but, after that, he settled down and just looked like someone was force-feeding him a salad. (She made a mental note to get him something completely sugar-laden when they were all done here.) Silent tears ran down his cheeks, but he didn't make any noise – and eventually the tears stopped. Z ran her thumb over his cheek, wiping away the remnants of those tears.

Soon enough, Jessie was done and placed a bandage over the tattoo. Bridge got completely dressed and they went into the main area while Jessie got things ready for the next person. Sky and Syd had obviously been having an argument about who was going next.

Sky ended up going next – more so that Syd could watch and know that nothing dire was going to happen to her because of the non-medicinal needles. Her and Bridge settled themselves into the waiting area – and got to hear Syd squeal on several occasions, "That is so cool!"

Needless to say, Syd went after Sky.

Z didn't mind going last – Lord knows that she had a higher threshold for pain that the rest of her closest friends. Her tattoo ended up becoming almost orange, but there was enough yellow there that people would get the point. Jessie had also pointed out that, if she wore underwear like she had on, no one would be able to see the tattoo. No one would be able to see it unless she wanted them to – and there was only one person that Z could imagine she'd be showing that tattoo to…

They went back to the Academy and ended up holing up in her and Syd's room. Sky and Syd were curled up together on Syd's bed – lying on their right sides and Sky's arm was over Syd's stomach, holding her close. Z grinned to herself as she snuggled up with Bridge. She was glad that her two best friends had been able to repair their relationship – and she knew that Syd would definitely think twice before accusing Sky of something.

"Does yours hurt?" Sky suddenly asked.

"Yeah," Z replied. Bridge just groaned. "Does yours?"

"More than I thought it would."

"But it's a good hurt, though," Syd said softly.

"Very good," he agreed. Z lifted her head in time to see him press a kiss to her cheek.

"Do you remember that pact we made?" Bridge asked softly, pushing a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. Z smiled and kissed his jaw.

"Yeah," Syd ended up answering for everyone in the room.

"I know we're all going to be leaving SPD in the next year or so…" he trailed off, sounding a little uncertain of how to phrase what he wanted to say. "No matter how much distance separates us, we just have to remember that we love each other and that nothing – nothing – can take that away."

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Wow - finals week is quickly approaching. All that's left of this piece is the epilogue. Thanks for reading and reviewing and generally being awesome. This has been quite a ride... Cheers!