Title: Hourglass
Author: Cassandra Hunter
Category: Power Rangers (SPD)
Disclaimer: I own very little in the story.
Plot: SPD: Five rangers spend Chistmas together.
Notes: This has to be the longest thing I have ever wrote. In one chapter anyways.Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! Reviews are loved and appreciated.
-
As I fall through the hourglass, time passes me by. I stand motionless as though I do not walk in this world while the sand changes everything around me. But when the floods roll back and trees fill the desert, I find that I was never alone but surrounded by those who truly care.
- Unknown
Christmas cheer had invaded the Ranger Academy.
The compound was mostly empty during that day and time, down to a skeleton crew of personal or students without families or others who don't celebrate Christmas in the first place.
There were a couple of nurses left in the infirmary. Kat had left, as had Boom and many others, a call away from the academy should Grum realize that night was a night of emptiness for the complex.
Jack Landers checked his watch with a look of disdain and boredom slipping on to his face.
Fifteen minutes till midnight.
Kat's personal lab was empty, her door shut tightly. A few Christmas ornaments had been tacked up by the doorjamb in an effort to bring some cheer to the plain gray military-ish door. At fifteen minutes to midnight they were losing the battle. Kat was visiting friends this Yuletide.
Jack wondered back into the common room that he shared with the other rangers and looked at the door leading into Sky and Bridge's room. Few decorations to speak of festooned the door, no one in residence at the moment, but someone, probably Bridge, had taped a small red and green bow to the door. Jack was willing to bet that he did it after Sky had left to visit his family, but maybe not. It was just the sort of thing Sky would leave 'unnoticed' because he didn't really mind its presence even though he would never say so.
He kept his eyes moving. Even Sydney and Z's room was completely empty that night. While Z didn't have any family left she would speak of, she had been invited to spend the Christmas holiday with Syd's family. Jack had been invited as well, but had turned down the offer.
Stopping at the door to his private room, Jack let his thoughts deepen. He didn't have any plans for Christmas. After hearing everyone in the compound talk excitedly about who they were going to see and where they were going to go he had thought up a false story about some long-forgotten friends of his inviting him to visit, but he wasn't sure anyone had bought it.
Ten minutes to midnight.
At the current moment, Jack wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to avoid the loneliness he was suddenly feeling or wallow in it.
He had tried to avoid staying in his room or even the common room, and training was off the list because the idea of working on Christmas was too taboo to contemplate, even if he was currently contemplating it. But when the only thing on the television was 'It's a Wonderful Life' and the muted music that was drifting in from the busy happy groups of people singing carols outside, all he could think about was one foster home Christmas after another. He had finally given up and went walking. His heart ached since he could no longer remember any of the Christmas's with his parents, only the long succession of pathetic or nonexistent trees, no presents, and classroom post-season chatter that always excluded him was what remained of his Christmas memories.
Jack sat idly on the sofa with his hands resting on his thighs, regarding the newest addition to the five rangers common room. The seven foot Blue Spruce had been decorated with both white and colored lights set to random, slow, fade-and-glow, with shiny white and gold garlands, glass balls of different colors, and random ornaments that a few of the others had brought in. The Christmas tree was beautiful. It was supposed to be making him feel better.
It was failing.
Last year Jack had pretty much tried to ignore it. Unfortunately the Christmas cheer going around had been too much for him, and he'd spent most of the holiday in a abandoned warehouse. It had almost been enough for him to take up on of his foster fathers way of avoiding things. By trying to find happiness at the bottom of a bottle.
Almost.
According to Z and the others, this year was supposed to be different. Okay, so the last several months had been more than a little weird, what with the Grum's alien hostilities and all. Bridge said that Jack was damn well going to have a nice, normal, merry Christmas if it killed him; thus Syd had surprised him with the blinking cheerful tree in their common room. It was nice, but something was missing. Maybe and angel for the top, or candy canes. Or maybe he needed that Christmas disc that Syd had and let the music get him into the holiday spirit.
Maybe he should just go to bed.
Jack got up and unplugged the light cord from the socket, plunging the room into a almost complete darkness and leaving the tree nothing more than a looming shadow, misplaced and cold. He shuttered slightly as he realized that he felt much the same way.
He turned to a table and went about getting himself a mug of coffee from the food processor, trying to avoid the Christmasy stuff Sydney had added to it the past week, more because his hands felt empty than any actual need for it. Jack knew he wasn't about to sleep tonight, because he didn't want to. Because sleep led to dreams and dreaming was not on his agenda.
Leaning back in his chair, Jack studied the ceiling. Very plain, very boring. Jack got the sudden wild urge to paint the ceiling a kaleidoscope of five very different bright colors, just because there was no one there and he wouldn't get caught. The thought of the look on Sky's face was enough to send a grin temporarily on to his face.
Five minutes to midnight.
The phone rang, pulling Jack from his semi-depressing thoughts.
Jack glared at it for a moment. He wasn't really sure whether to feel relief that someone had thought of him at five minutes to Christmas, or annoyance at having his really good sulk interrupted. Giving up, Jack answered the phone.
"Hello?"
There was a pause.
"Jack?" It was Sky's voice.
Jack blinked, surprised at who was calling. "No, Sky, this is Grum."
"Jack." Sky's voice took on a tinge of annoyance. "Do you know what day it is?"
"I think it's Saturday." Jack replied with amusement.
"Knock it off, Landers. You know what I mean."
"I'll take Christmas Eve for a hundred, Sky." He tried to joke it off, being annoying enough that Sky would give up and leave him alone. Jack was currently wishing that he hadn't answered the phone.
Sky saw right though him, of course. "Jack, why are you at still at the academy? I thought you were..." Sky trailed off, not quite remembering where Jack had told everyone he was going. However, he did know that Jack wasn't supposed to still be at the academy.
"I'm not at the academy. I'm having the calls forwarded." Jack answered, hating the lie. The last thing he wanted was for Sky to feel guilty on Christmas. "Why did you call?"
"Oh, I, um, no reason..." Sky stammered. Jack's eyebrows furrowed in concern. He had never known Sky to stammer.
"How's your family? You mother okay?"
"Oh, yeah, they're fine. It's really nice here. You'd probably like it here." Sky's voice suddenly sounded oddly muffled, like he was having trouble swallowing.
"Sky, you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I've just got a little bit of a cold." Jack frowned, recognizing the right-out lie. The next words went a wave of shock right through him. "Hey, Jack, you want to come up here? I could come down there and get you."
Jack took a moment to shake the shock out of his system. "No, that's okay, Sky." Another lie formed on his tongue. "I'm having a nice time here." Jack paused. "I've got to go. Merry Christmas." Jack hung up before Sky had the chance to ask where exactly 'here' was.
Why not go? He wondered, and it didn't take long for his mind to present its reasons. It's where Sky was surrounded by his family. Where the house was filled with baby pictures and kindergarten artwork stored carefully away until his mother felt the need for Sky to be embarrassed. No, that would not be a good place. Why didn't he go with Syd, then? That answer was as obvious as it was familiar. Sydney had that same kind of family as Sky. Bridge was had sisters coming into town and it seemed as though one Bridge was more than enough. And Z had memories to replace.
Did he have any memories to replace?
Sure. Probably more than most people. But the ache he had of those memories were almost as good as not having to rely on them at all. The soreness that was currently in his heart when he wasn't able to recall his mother's face for his father's laughter was almost as good as the writhing embarrassment of first grade school pictures and childhood letters to Santa. Jack had never believed in Santa Claus.
The phone rang once again, and Jack finally relented and answered it. It was probably Sky again, stubborn as per usual.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Jack! Merry Christmas!"
"Hey Z! You're a few minutes early, I think." But his watch said otherwise when he looked at it. Five minutes after midnight. It had been Christmas for five minutes and he had never noticed it. A nagging thought occurred to him. "Have you spoken to Sky recently?"
Her puzzlement was genuine. "No, but I did talk to Bridge a couple of hours ago. He wanted me to tell you Merry Christmas from him." There was a muted voice from Z's end of the phone. "Syd says Merry Christmas as well."
Jack's head pounded. "Thanks, Z."
"Jack, are you okay? You sound kind of muffled."
"I'm fine. Just a little bit of a cold." Jack inwardly cringed. He was not going to cry on Christmas. "How's Syd's brother?"
"Oh, he's fine. It's been kinda fun being here for Christmas, actually."
Jack said his goodbyes and hung up, letting Z and Syd get their sleep. How they knew to call his private phone at five minutes past midnight on Christmas day was past him. He felt his chest suddenly get tight.
He leaned back in his chair once again, propping his feet up on the table's gray top. His coffee was stone cold by his feet.
Sky, full of precision and stubbornness.
Z, straightforward and sarcastic.
Sydney, playful and loving, with a stubborn streak a mile wide.
Bridge, quirky and full of trust.
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night..."
-
Schuyler 'Sky' Tate pulled the soft cotton blanket around him, trying to get warm. He tucked his stockinged feet underneath him ans wondered why the fire in the fireplace couldn't seem to has away the cold... not even with the a wool sweater, jeans, wool socks, an extra blanket, and hot cocoa with extra marshmallows as backups.
Nestled into the corner of the sofa, he readied himself for the 'It's a Wonderful Life' marathon that his mother had him watching with her. In addition to his covers and the hot cocoa, a plate of cookies from his Aunt Meredith was nearby, along with his mother's box of tissues, just in case.
A blinking, six foot, artificial pine, caught his attention. Blue lights, silver ribbon, a smattering of glass ornaments, and his mother's angel tree topper gave off a peaceful glow. All in all, it looked pretty good, even though he hadn't felt like joining in on decorating it. Christmas had lost its shine the past couple of years. The only reason he had helped with the one at the academy was because Syd forced him.
The movie was only fifteen minutes old, and already Sky's eyes were watery. Seeking a distraction, he poked at the blob of half-melted marshmallow in his mug. He blinked back his tears and watched as his mother set her mug on the side table beside her and plucked another tissue from the box.
He should have gotten a ticket to the Bahamas or Jamaica. He'd probably still have been depressed, but at least he'd have been warm and would have had a tan to show for it.
Gathering up the blanket, he wandered over to the picture window, ringed with multicolored chasing lights. Sky looked out into the twilight. Light clouds filtered the starlight and provided a few snowflakes. He rested his head against the window frame.
"I miss you, Dad."
It was a revelation that made no sense. His dad had never been a warm and fuzzy type when he was growing up, but he knew that his father had loved him in his own way. And when Sky had lost him, he realized how much he loved his father back. The tears traced lines down his face and he no longer even tried to stop them. After a few minutes, he wiped the tears on his sleeve.
Sky frowned and tried to self-examine himself. A self-sufficient, educated, respected member of the S.P.D. Power Rangers and yet here he was, on Christmas Eve, allowing himself to feel miserable. He had a purpose in life... a life he wouldn't have had at all if it weren't for his father and the Academy. He was alive and active, and happy to have that purpose.
Feeling irritated and useless, Sky shrugged off the blanket and tossed it on the sofa, then dumped his leftover hot chocolate (now cold) down the sink. Then he shoved his feet into his boots, grabbed his jacket and keys, and left, his mother already fast asleep on the couch.
-
Bridge whistled 'Hark! The Herold Angels Sing' as he rearranged the mountain of boxes for the fifth time. He checked the clock on the mantle for the tenth time in the last hour. He felt like he was six once again.
In just over an hour, his sister and her kids would be landing at New Tech International Airport, returning from his visits with the in-laws. For the first time in years, they's all be together for Christmas. It had been too long since his mother's house was filled with more than the sound of rustling dusty fabric and ancient creaking floor boards.
Cancer took his mother not too long after she'd bought the house. It was supposed to be for her retirement. After she died, he couldn't see any reason to stay here. His sisters were both living their own lives, working, marrying and having families after finishing college. All that was left was just himself and his place at SPD. It filled his days, and though he cared deeply for his friends, it wasn't the same as having blood family around you.
Between starting jobs, getting married, and having children, it had been nearly impossible to get everyone together for Christmas. Bridge also thought it was a little difficult for his sisters to be in the house without their mother. But fate had been kind, in some respects. Jessica, her husband Richard, and her kids, Kyle and David, had come to New Tech a few years ago. Trisha, her husband Simon, and her three, Alex, Sarah, and Jamie, had arranged schedules to first visit Simon's family in Chicago, then to come to New Tech.
Bridge stepped back to admire the scene. It was movie perfect: stockings hung from the mantle, scarlet (fake) poinsettias brightened cornered, and colorfully wrapped packages hugged the base of a six-foot tall spruce that had taken him a couple of hours to decorate with tiny white lights, gold and silver ornaments, and wide golden wired ribbon. Syd had told him the ribbon would be less work and mess than beads or tinsel. She'd been right.
Syd reminded him of his sisters. Lots of spunk.
Bridge looked at the eight by ten portraits on the mantle that he had pulled out of storage. Eight faces beamed at him: his sisters, their husbands, and three nephews and two nieces.
The youngest, David, was almost three. David's father, Richard, was tall and wiry. He like to run marathons. Banking on the idea that the boy would take after his grandfather (Bridge's father, who played college football), Bridge had gotten him a regulation football and a kid-sized uniform... never mind that Jessica was a baseball fan. He expected to get an earful when David opened the box, but all would be forgiven within minutes.
He looked at the clock and wished he hadn't. Only five minutes had gone by.
Pacing over to the window, Bridge noticed a few flakes of snow drifting down in the deepening twilight. He hoped for a few inched of snow during Christmas break so Alex and Kyle could try out their sleds. The two cousins were just week apart in age. Now six, they were best friends, too.
Bridge opened the front door an stepped out onto th porch, breathing in the clean, sharp air of the night. Up an down the street, chimneys puffed and houses were glowing with lights. The Ellens had outlined their entire Victorian home with multicolor lights. It was a wonder old Eric hadn't fallen off the roof an killed himself.
'It's a tradition!' He had bellowed from the roof, after Bridge had asked him from the safety of the sidewalk if he was nuts.
It was a perfect Christmas Eve. He whistled 'The Carol of the Bells' as he came back inside to get some coffee. Sky had always told him that the stuff would kill him one day, but Bridge just ignored it.
Sky had always been a rock. He'd seen Sky get angry, he'd seen him moody, and mostly he'd seen him seemingly emotionless... but he'd never known Sky to be sad. Of course, none of them were in the habit of freely showing their emotions... except possibly Syd.
Running out of tunes to whistle, Bridge turned on the radio, set it to a local station that was playing holiday music commercial free through the 26th. Johnny Mathis crooned 'The Christmas Song.'
The house smelled of nutmeg, pine, chocolate, and coffee. His family should be there any minute.
The phone range and visions of the alarms at SPD going off went through his head.
"Hello?"
"Bridge? It... it's Trisha..."
"Hey! Where are you? At the airport?"
"No..." He could hear the tears in her voice.
"Trisha, what's wrong?"
"We're stuck in Chicago."
Disappointment welled in his chest. "What happened?"
"There's a huge blizzard. It seemed to be okay until a couple of hours ago. Then it came up out of nowhere and now there are 50 miles an hour winds and zero visibility. Bridge, it's going to be at least two days before we can get there."
"Are Jessica, Richard, Kyle, and David there, too?"
"No. They were forced to land in Cleveland."
Not only were they not here, they weren't even together for Christmas.
"How are the kids taking it? How's Jamie?"
"She's asleep right now. She's going to be terribly disappointed. All she's talked about for a week was spending Christmas with Uncle Bridge." He could hear his sister's voice cracking with tears.
Clearing his throat, Bridge said. "Don't worry, Trish, it'll be okay."
"I know. Bridge, I'm so sorry..."
"Trish, it's okay. As much as we'd like to, we can't control the weather. Do you have a hotel yet?"
"The airline's working on it. As soon as we do, I'll call you."
"Okay, Trish. I'll see you soon."
"Love you, Bridge. Merry Christmas."
"I love you, too."
Bridge hung up the phone. He tried to decide what to do next, and to come to grips with the fact that, just like the last few years, he'd be alone for Christmas. It was one thing to know they had no plans to come, or couldn't come because of scheduling. But to know they were coming, and not have it happen...
He turned out the light in the kitchen, extinguished the fire, and flipped the switch that turned out the tree. Darkness filled the room.
A familiar song drifted over the radio.
"I'll be home for Christmas... You can count on me..."
-
In her sleep, Elizabeth 'Z' Delgado tossed and turned as a familiar nightmare invaded her mind.
Around her the air was loud with shots, in several places around her there was horrible shrieks of pain and suffering, the pounding of feet... the air was burning, smoke choking her, her throat was constricting... she wasn't able to see, struggling to move, barely able to coughing... heat heavy in the air, more running, horrific screaming... no where to move... no where left to go... give up...
"Run, Z! Go!" Her father beside her mother... who was dead... he was pointing, and ordering, pushing her foreword, gasping, thrusting her into action, moaning, terrified, tripping over a body...
Her brother, still alive, barely, moaning, letting out a cry, "Z, get out of here!" Her father urged her once again, not leaving her brother, one last moan, dead, beside her sister, dead, deformed, almost unrecognizable, runs, blinded by the smoke, out of the building, through the bleak of the night, hurrying, toppling... hitting a wall, looking back, a blast of heat hitting her, the building was gone, her father, her mother, her big brother, her little sister, her home, her life, her family, demolished, exterminated...
Z shot up in the bed, her nightclothes soaked through with sweat, her heartbeat rapid.
So real... It had been so real...
She hadn't had that nightmare in months. It hadn't been that bad in longer than that.
It could have been the stress finally getting to her. Maybe it could have been the sudden turmoil, the total change in circumstances. As a matter of fact, it was the former that was most likely. Though it wasn't complete obvious, she felt disturbed, change always left her feeling like that. All disturbed and unstable. She hadn't ever been very good at that.
Well, she could cope, she had to cope. And know with those dreams back, it was just a starter that told her that all was not good. Grum, Morgana, the attacks, all the new circumstances... added with her ability not to get through an sleep through the night, she knew that she knew she was going to end up breaking down from exhaustion.
Okay, she really need some space.
Immediately, Z found a blanket that was stilling on the chest at the end of the bed and wrapped it around her, feeling a little safer inside it's contents. For a few moments she sat in the middle of the bed, wondering where exactly she could go and how to get there without waking anyone.
The nightmare still haunted her mind, making her both edgy and somewhat fearful. It wasn't a state she wanted to be in for long, and neither was it one she would let Syd or anyone else to see her in.
Decision made, Z left the guest bedroom, and moved both quickly and quietly down the hallway her bare feet making very little noise on the carpeted floor. Under some of the more normal of circumstances, she would normally have made her way to the training room, putting in some late night training with the hopes the she would eventually exhaust herself enough that she would fall into a dreamless sleep.
Silently, she slipped out of the house, making sure the sliding door didn't make a sound as it closed. Forgoing any seats or benches, Z sat the blanket on the ground and took a seat on the grass, looking at the stairs. She barely glanced sideways as the door opened once more.
"What're you doing out here?" Sydney Drew looked at her friend, her pink sleep-wear rumpled.
Z eyed her friend suspiciously. "What are you?"
"I asked you first." Syd retorted, folding her arms.
"I asked you second." Z didn't feel especially willing to answer the blonde, not with the truth anyways. Syd was fun, nice, somewhat bouncy, intelligent (or else she couldn't have gotten that far at the academy), and had a love of style and fashion that charmed Z. But her habit of not wanting anyone to see her weaknesses was a hard one to break, and she wanted her secrets. Needed them, in fact. Her past was her past and only hers, and it was going to stay there, permanently.
If Syd knew about of her nightmares, then she'd want to tell the others, and Z knew that she would end up telling them and going through every single violent detail of the death of her family and childhood. It was a major thing to tell Syd, one that would take a large amount of trust. Z was coming to enjoy Syd's friendship, the time the two was spending together was becoming more and more... educational, and the ease that Syd could make friends. But it wasn't the sort of friendship that was deep enough for that conversation yet.
Z figured that it might eventually grow. Well, it kinda had to. Both she and Jack were tied to Syd and the other rangers for the inevitable future, and she needed to have friends. At least that's what Jack was always telling her.
She wasn't going to take that leap into a deeper comradery than was there already. Z knew that nothing was ever going to be permanent. That she could never rely on anyone to be around very long. That she should never need too. She could more than take care of herself. As she knew, things changed, futures crashed, the present even had its moments of being blurry at times... the one thing that she knew that she had for sure was the past, and that couldn't be changed.
Syd watched as Z took a moment to decide on an answer. She thought that she saw some sort of internal conflict happening, as if she was fighting over what answer was going to be told. Then Z's mouth snapped shut, and it became apparent that Syd wasn't getting an answer.
"It's ok. You don't have to tell me." Sydney stretched her arms and took a spot beside Z on the blanket, mentally trying to count all the stars, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to.
Z chewed on her bottom lip and looked at Syd in surprise. "I sort of came out to look at the stars." Z told her. There was a slight pause as Z contemplated what else to say. "You know what? I'm not from the city originally. I spent most of my early childhood growing up in the deserts of New Mexico, in Roswell specifically. My parents used to take me and my brother and sister out there to look at the stars. They were a lot brighter out there, without all the city lights." Z gave Syd a slight grin and then replaced it with a curious look. "Have you lived here your whole life?"
There was a long pause at this revelation, then slowly Syd nodded.
"For instance, you can barely see it, but up there right below Pegasus, that's the big square sort of shape, you can still see it pretty well, there's the constellation Pisces. From the Zodiac, you know? I think it's supposed to be a fish of something, but it's always just looked like a crooked line to me. Anyways, in the deserts of New Mexico you're so far away from everything that you can see more stars than you ever thought possible. It's great. Makes you fill kind of small, you know?" Z shifted, using her arms as a pillow against the cold ground.
Syd frowned, not really knowing what to say. For once.
"It's a good night for stargazing." Z commented. "Jack likes stargazing too, but he doesn't come out as much. I think the whole leadership thing is getting to him. So much responsibility." She shook her head, thoughts running amuck. "Before I came here, me and my family would take a blanket out and lie on it on the car and just watch the stars go by. It was great. There were so many stars you almost wondered it the sky was solid." She glanced over at her friend. The Syd's eyes were closed, and there was a tiny smile on her face. "When I was little I used to wonder if the sky would get too heavy for all the stars to stay in place. I used to imaging what would happen if they all fell to the ground. Jack once told me that he used to as well."
Sydney look at the yellow ranger, finally knowing what to say. "You know, they have all sorts of stories that explain the different constellations. I don't really know any of them, but it's a neat idea, isn't it? Just sort of sit back and stare at the sky, and when you think you see a shape, give it a name and a reason for being there. When we were little, me and my brother used to come out here and play connect the dots with the stars. Then, when we'd finish a picture, we'd make up a story." There was a comfortable pause.
"Cassiopeia." Z said suddenly.
Syd gave her a surprised look. "What about it?"
Z pointed up at the constellation overhead. "Cassiopeia. She was queen of Ethiopia, married Cepheus and mother to Andromeda."
"Andromeda like the Andromeda galaxy?"
Sending Syd a grateful look, Z relaxed a fraction. "Yes."
"What happened to her?"
"Cassiopeia boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids and so Poseidon sent floods and sea monsters to kill the people." Z continued, trying to remember all of the story.
"Nereids?" Syd sent her a questioning look.
"Sea nymphs." Z replied.
"So al the people were killed?"
"Oh, no. Cepheus tied Andromeda to a rock as a sacrifice and Perseus happened to come by and he saved her and killed the sea monster."
"And they all lived happily ever after." Syd finished, shivering slightly.
Z grinned. "Yeah. Men are so easy." She snickered
"That's pretty neat stuff." Sydney grinned back.
"You like hearing the stories?" Z asked.
Sydney smiled reassuringly and put her arm around Z's shoulders. Z tensed a little but didn't pull away. "Yeah, it's interesting." She gave Z a curious look. "Why did you get so interested in the stars anyways."
Z's smile faltered a little as she picked up the questioning look. "My parents told me."
"Do all the constellations have stories?"
Z shrugged a little. "I think so."
Syd nodded. "So what is the real reason you came out." When Z didn't answer Syd frowned and silently wondered if Z would ever tell her.
"It was a dream that drove me out here." Z gave the truth, hoping it would just end there.
No such luck.
"What?" Syd looked at her friend.
Z was looking toward the stars, running her finger distractedly through out her hair. Syd could definitively say that she had never seen the usually composed yellow ranger like this before.
"What kind?" Syd asked, yawning
"A nightmare... Only realer... More clear..." Z trailed off, a sick feeling stirring in the pit of her stomach. No way. She was not going to get sick.
"Man, that's bad." Sydney didn't asked anymore questions, just leaving it there when she saw the look on her friends face. A thoughtful look covered Sydney's face, making Z nervous. "Well, you told me why your awake, so I will tell you why I am. It's Christmas. I can never sleep on Christmas." An embarrassed blush covered her cheeks. "I've circled the house about four times already."
Z blinked as Syd stood up and pulled her to her feet.
"Come on. I know where we can go." Syd grinned again as Z let herself be pulled away from the house.
-
It was about one in the morning. Everyone had been long gone and a few skeleton crew was on their way. Jack was sitting in the mess hall, managing to dig up something to eat other than the overly dry turkey than had been left over from dinnertime.
He was pushing the mashed potatoes around on his plate when Bridge Carson walked in, his nose literally buried in a book. Jack admired the instinctive way that the guy avoided the chairs and other obstacles in his path with out ever looking up. He walked down the processor, placing his tray in there with one hand and barely managed to mumble a 'Marry Christmas' in response to the one cafeteria's nocturnal worker's obnoxious greeting. Deeply engrossed in whatever it was, he slid into a chair at a table on the other side of the room.
Jack noticed how Bridge's shoulders were pulled in tightly under a bent neck, a frown of concentration on his face as he read and managed to spear carrots at the same time.
Bridge was almost stubbornly unaware of the way the room around him was void. He had seemed to know no fear or self-doubt, whether he was facing down a multitude of Krybots or explaining how his mind worked. He stood up straight, shoulders broad, and walked forward casually as though he did that kind of thing every day.
Jack knew that some of the obvious confidence was a defense mechanism and that in fact the green ranger saw and understood a lot more than he let on. He had seen and understood Jack in spite of his carefully maintained shield of aloofness.
That same almost arrogant self-assuredness was still sometimes visible, especially during briefings and interactions with strangers on missions, but in his daily life Bridge had withdrawn into himself to an alarming degree. Jack watched the absorbed man chew on the end of his plastic fork. His cold, half-eaten meal was pushed to one side, and he still hadn't looked up once.
Jack felt a tightness in his chest as a full realization of the fact that Bridge was not supposed to be here, but at his parents house.
He stood and deposited his tray in the collection area, then strolled over to the table. Pulling out at chair he turned it around to straddle it. "Hey, Bridge."
Bridge glanced up briefly. "Hi, Jack."
Jack reached out, slid is broad palm onto the open pages of the book, pushed it down onto the table, and closed the cover. Now Bridge looked directly at him, eyes wide and a little annoyed. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"
"I could ask you the same question."
"I thought you left to see some friends." Bridge replied.
Jack looked sheepish. "I lied. I didn't want anyone feeling sorry for me, and honestly, I wasn't sure how I wanted to spend my time off. I thought I wanted to be by myself..." He watched as Bridge took a bite of the cold carrots and then pushed them away in disgust. "I'm pretty sure I was wrong."
Bridge looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll be right back." He stood up and headed for the food processor once again.
-
Syd walked in with Z through the cafeteria doors.
"Syd, you could have warned me." Z continued, pulling the robe much tighter around her. "We could have been seen." She looked at the night ware that both of them were wearing.
Sydney shook her head. "There's no one here. See..." She turned to find two lone figures at one of the tables, talking.
"Jack! Bridge!"
Both of their heads popped up from the mugs of whatever they were drinking at the sound of their names.
"Hey, Z. Hey, Syd." Bridge smiled as Jack just gave a small mumble of hello.
Z frowned. "What are you two doing here? I thought both of you were gone for the holidays." Her frown deepened as she spoke directly to Jack. "I just talk to you like an hour ago."
"Yeah, well I was here the whole time." Was Jack's simple reply.
Bridge gave them a slight grin. "Plans got changed."
"Whatcha guys drinkin'?" Syd asked.
"Peppermint tea."
"Sounds festive. Mind if we join you?"
Bridge looked at his friends. "Sure, why not?"
Syd left to get two more cups of tea from the processor, leaving Z to take a seat beside Jack. She returned and placed a mug in front of Z, taking a seat beside Bridge.
Z sniffed the hot drink. It wasn't an unpleasant smell... rather invigorating. She pulled at the handle, contemplating on whether to actually try it. Since the others really seemed to enjoy it, out of respect for them, she tried it. The taste of the peppermint was smoothing and uplifting at the same time. The hot tea warmed her as she drank.
"This is good." Z couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.
The others smiled.
"I think so, too." Jack replied. He was surprised to be finding their company nice during this particular holiday and not intrusive at all.
"Is there room for one more?" A new voice asked.
Sky stood in the entry.
"Sky!" Bridge exclaimed. "What are you..."
Sky just shrugged. "I came here for a distraction. I figured if I wasn't alone, I wouldn't think about it so much." He sat down on the other side of Jack and took a look at the book that Bridge had been reading. Sky gave Syd a questioning look as she got up and headed for the processor one more time.
"Sky?" It was Z's voice.
"Yes..." Sky trailed off, glancing up from the book to find Z giving him a strange look. He looked wide-awake and alert as usual. Sky had the kind of sleeping patterns that made Kat get all pensive.
"You're disturbingly perky for one in the morning."
Sky looked at her. "Perky?" He said with all the supreme disdain that a blue ranger could manage to accumulate at one AM.
Z grinned, smelling the potent peppermint as she took a sip of her drink. "Cheerful. Chipper. Bright. Intelligent. Not sleep deprived. Certainly not... perky."
Sky was cut off by a mug being placed in front of him. Giving Syd a thanks, he took a sip, not even asking what is was, just figuring it was coffee. He was immediately proven wrong. Moments later, he found himself being pounded on the back by Jack and being handed a napkin by Bridge. "Thanks." He muttered as he wiped his mouth. "What's this?" Sky demanded as he looked at the brown concoction in his mug.
"Peppermint tea." Syd replied cheekily, once she realized that Sky was alright. "I thought you might want some." She defended herself as Sky gave her a look.
"Is it working?" Z asked Sky.
"Is what working?" Sky took a smell of the drink and then a tentative sip.
Z blinked. "A distraction. Is it working?"
"You planned that!" Sky accused of her.
Z shook her head. "I planned you nearly choking to death on tea? No, that was just an amusing bonus." She rolled her eyes. "Is it working?"
Sky looked at her for a moment before answering. "You know what?" He took another sip. "I think it is."
"You know what?" Z asked them. "I think that we are sincerely pathetic."
"Excuse me?" Syd returned.
Z drained the rest of her drink. "Think about, It is Christmas Eve and where are we? At work."
There was a quiet moment where her words soaked in.
"She's right." Jack replied, tracing the edge of his cup with a finger. "I know why I'm here. But why are you guys?"
Sending Jack a smile tinged with embarrassment, Z was the one who answered. "I missed you." She replied, with an uncharacteristic emotion and turned to Syd. "No offense, Syd, but spending Christmas with your isn't the same."
Syd gave a nod of understanding. "Well, I'm here cause Z was sulking."
"I was not!"
"Were too."
"I am not going to have this argument with you again."
"Fine. Give up."
"Okay, you two, stop it." Sky cut in.
Sydney grinned as Z took that moment to make a sarcastic crack to which Sky quickly replied with a comment about her current apparel. "You know what?" She lifted her glass. "I'd like to propose a toast."
The look that Sky gave her was one of disdain. "A toast? Are you joking?"
"Yes, a toast." Syd rolled her eyes. "Here's to the future. May it be bright and full of hope." She lifted her glass once again.
"Wow, that was cliché." Z informed her with a laugh.
"You think you can do better?"
"Maybe."
"Then you try."
"Okay." Z lifted her glass to join Syd's and bit her bottom lip in thought. "To the past. May it stay in where it belongs. In the past."
Syd smiled slightly at the ironic phrase. "Your turn Sky."
"Turns? I didn't know that we were taking turns."
"Just go."
"Fine." Sky frowned for a moment before adding his glass to the other two's. "To the dead. May they rest in peace and never be forgotten."
There was a moment of silence.
"Well," Bridge broke the slightly depressing silence that had taken over. "Here's to the living. May they live their lives to the fullest." He added the glass to the others.
They turned and looked at Jack.
"Fine." Jack traced his finger over the rim of his cup. Finally, he leaned forward and placed his cup with his friend's. "Here... is to friends. Because without them where would we be?"
Syd grinned hugely. "And here's to Christmas. Because it is such a magical time of year. And it's what brought us all together this Eve."
"Here, here!" Bridge laughed. "To Christmas!"
"To Christmas!"
There was a clank of glasses as Judy Garland filtered over the comm system.
"Through the years we all will be together... if the fates allow...and have yourself a merry little Christmas now."