Album

A/N: Takes place anywhere in the series, slight continuation from my drabble "Youth"

They walked towards the house a feet of space in between them, close but not too close. Z looked around at the neighborhood that Bridge brought her to: clean, quiet, picturesque, a perfect example of suburbia. The house in front of them was large, not a mansion, but at least four bedrooms with a large yard surrounded by a red cedar fence. Z stood a little bit nervous as Bridge fumbled with the keys to the front door. All of this was so different from what she experienced during her own childhood on the streets but also vaguely familiar.

"How long have you lived here?" she asked as she watched him try another key in the top slot.

"Since I could remember, I was 15 when I went to SPD Academy." He successfully opened the door and yelled at the top of his lungs, "MOOOOOMMM! I'm home!"

Z cleaned out her ears as she watched a woman in her late forties walk down the stairs. It was easy to see where Bridge got his eyes and light brown hair from. Z stood awkwardly as she watched them hug. His mom looked over her tall son's shoulder at their guest. "And who is this?"

"Mom," he started, "This is Z, she's part of my squad and the yellow ranger. Z, this is my mom, Nancy Carson."

Z put out her hand, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Carson." To her surprise, Z found herself being pulled into a hug. "Call me, Nancy."

Nancy turned back to her son, "What brings you home? You should have told me so I could tell your dad to come home early from his trip."

Bridge smiled, "It's alright, I know he's busy with that technology survey on Mars. I just came by to pick up some parts for something I'm working on. I asked Z to tag along."

"I'm such a bad hostess, letting you stand around," Bridge's mom motioned to the flower print sofa in the living room, "Go have a seat, I'll make some snacks."

"Mom! You don't have too..."

"Shush, let me baby you a little bit." she walked into the kitchen leaving Z and Bridge alone. Bridge sat down on the sofa and relaxed and watched as Z took in her surroundings, looking at the décor and the pictures on the wall. There was a fireplace with a mantle covered with picture frames, Bridge's family smiled from different eras of their lives. Z took a seat on the sofa and noticed a well worn binder on the coffee table. She picked it up and looked a Bridge questioningly, "What's this?"

He smiled as he took the book from her hands, "This is our photo album, my mom loves taking pictures. This is the first of many albums. If you look at that bookcase over there, you'll see more." His arm pointed to a tall bookcase that reached almost to the ceiling, each shelf lined with binders of varying size and color. Bridge looked at the cover for a few moments before opening it.

"Awwww..." Z looked at the first picture, a chubby little baby who had to be Bridge, "Look at you!"

Bridge scratched the back of his head, his face a bit flushed, "Yeah, I guess I was a cute baby."

They only looked at a few more baby pictures when Bridge's mom, Nancy, came back into the room carrying a plate of snacks. She set them down on the coffee table and Z looked curiously at the food, "What's that?"

"Smoked salmon and dill cream on toast, try it dear." She handed Z a piece. Z took one bite and smiled, "That's very good. I can see where Bridge gets his food fetish from."

"Hey! It's not a food fetish, I just like toast...a little." He swatted at Z as she made multiple waggling motions.

Nancy laughed at their antics, "Bridge, why don't you go get those parts you needed and I'll keep Z company."

"Sure, mom. Are you going to be alright, Z?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Z watched as he ran up the stairs to his room. Nancy took one of the snacks and sat down next to Z. "Taking a look at the photos?"

"Yup, it's really interesting to see Bridge when he was younger."

"He's a photogenic kid, always happy to pose for his snap happy mom." She took a hold of the album and flipped randomly through the pages. She stopped at a photo of an adolescent Bridge standing at a podium in front of a large book and with a yarmulke on his head, "This is from his bar mitzvah, he had such a hard time with the Hebrew, he didn't know when to stop saying the words and would keep on babbling. Drove the rabbi nuts."

Nancy flipped through again settling on a picture of a slightly older Bridge in an SPD uniform. "This is the first day he entered the academy. We were so proud, and he was so nervous. He needed a little push but once he was there he never wanted to leave."

She turned back a couple of pages and pointed to a photo of a tall man with a big smile, his arm draped over a young boy holding a big fish. They were both dressed in tall rubber boots and had fishing poles. "That's Bridge's dad, David, he works a lot but he always finds the time to spend with his son."

Z smiled and thought of her own family that she had lost when she was younger. She missed her mom and dad so much but most of the time she could deal with it. She found her eyes starting to moisten at the sight of Bridge's happy family. Nancy flipped back towards the front of the book. "This is something I definitely want you to see."

Z looked at the photo that Nancy was pointing at and gasped. It was a picture of two little kids, Bridge at four years old dressed up in a purple vest and he had his face painted green, next to him was a dark haired girl dressed in a dark blue leotard and dark blue cloak. "That's not...it can't be..."

"That's right, it's you Z." Nancy turned to the now older girl, "I worked with your mother at SPD and sometimes we would meet up and talk while you guys played. Before your mother was gone, you and Bridge were very good friends.

"After the accident, we tried to keep track of you then one day you disappeared from the schools. I think both you and Bridge were too young to remember each other. I...well I don't know what to say... you've grown up into such a beautiful girl. You remind me so much of your mother."

Z stared at the picture, "I can't believe this."

"Here, just wait." Nancy turned the page and took out another picture, the same young girl in the arms of her father and her mother leaning against him. "You can have this."

"Thank you," Z stared and stared remembering the faces of her parents, it had been so long since she had seen them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She hugged Bridge's mother as Z continued to look at the picture.

"Hey? What's going on?" Bridge had come back with a pile of computer parts in his arms. He put down the parts on the floor and looked curiously at his mom and Z. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything is great Bridge," Z said as she wiped her eyes, "All done?"

"Yup, got all the parts I need."

"Bridgy?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Can you put away the dishes for me?"

"Sure." He took the plate and went into the kitchen. Z looked at his mom wondering why she sent her son out of the room.

"Z, you know, you have to be a little more aggressive."

"What?"

"Oh, forget it, you'll realize it later. Oh, to be young again. Bridge may be psychic, but he doesn't know everything."

"Whatever you say Mrs. Carson."

"Nancy, dear. We're practically family."

Bridge came back into the room and addressed Z, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Z stood up from the couch and helped Nancy up from her seat, "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, come back anytime. I haven't shown you the bath pictures yet!"

"Mom!" Bridge exclaimed.

"Just kidding. Come give your mother a hug." He enveloped her in his arms and gave her a kiss on the head, "Come home and visit me more often."

"Okay, Mom." He looked at Z again, "Let's go?"

They walked to the front door and before they left Z gave Mrs. Carson a quick hug. Z thanked her again and Z heard her whisper back, "Take care of him."

"I will."