Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.
When the Grim Reaper Knocks
Chapter VI
"I'm kind of tired," Sky answered.
Cruger saw that statement certainly wasn't an exaggeration. Sky looked like a wreck. All that his body had been through must've taken quite a toll on Sky.
"Oh, come on Sky. There's a surprise waiting for you. If you don't feel well enough to walk, we'll wheel you down in a wheelchair," Cruger said.
Sky saw that Cruger wasn't about to take no for an answer. He decided to play along and go with Cruger to see what this so-called surprise is all about.
"Ok, fine. I'm not strong enough to walk though, so I'll take a wheelchair," Sky replied.
Cruger unplugged Sky from the various machines and helped him onto a wheelchair. He was so glad Sky decided to go along. Sure they could just reschedule the party until Sky feels better, but for some reason throwing him a birthday party at a later date just isn't the same.
"You know the other cadets will probably give you a hard time. The almighty blue ranger getting wheeled around in a wheelchair by his Commander," Cruger joked.
Sky didn't mind though. He was never one to really care what other people thought of him. Sky certainly wasn't going to change that now either.
"I don't care. If they want to give me a hard time, then I say let them. Let's just go and see what this surprise is. The sooner I do that, the sooner I can rest," Sky said.
Cruger wheeled Sky down to the recreation room. Along the way, Sky saw all the streamers, balloons, and Happy Birthday banners. He had a pretty good idea what this surprise was that Cruger wanted him to see. It's weird though. Usually people worry about others forgetting their birthday, but in this case, Sky was the one who forgot his own birthday. As the door to the recreation room slid open, Sky saw there were balloons, streamers and Happy Birthday banners adorning that room as well. He also saw all of the cadets and staff of the Academy.
"Surprise! Happy Birthday Sky!" they shouted in unison.
Sky was at a loss for words. He was extremely flattered that everyone at the Academy would go through such trouble for him. Sky didn't think people even cared about him because he was so militant and distant, but Sky thought it was foolish to ever doubt that people cared about him after seeing how they threw him this surprise birthday party.
"You did all this for me?" Sky asked out of disbelief.
Everyone laughed at Sky's question.
"Yeah. Last I checked, nobody else here has a birthday today," Z replied.
Sky noticed that someone was missing from the recreation room. He didn't see Kat anywhere.
6-6-6
In the S.P.D. lab, Kat had just finished running some tests on the blood samples she had collected from the other rangers. She had made some interesting discoveries. Kat was able to come to some conclusions concerning Sky's disease. She didn't know too much though admittedly because there is no written record of any disease resembling what Sky had. That wasn't too surprising though. There were lots of things that hadn't been named let alone discovered. However, just because something hadn't been discovered doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. All of the genes for the human genome had been sequenced, and the five core rangers appear to have genes that normal humans don't. Kat was willing to bet that the freak accident that altered their parent's DNA back in 2001 when they were developing the technology used to create their future children's morphers was responsible for that. She also discovered that the particular gene that was responsible for Sky's disease was found on the Y chromosome, so Syd and Z wouldn't be affected. For that matter, the gene responsible for Sky's illness isn't found in Jack or Bridge's DNA either or for that matter any human. That would certainly explain why Jack, Bridge, Z, and Syd weren't also ill. Still so much was unknown about Sky's disease. Kat had recorded copious notes about every aspect of Sky's disease, but that's all she had to go on. Sky's disease was virtually unknown, so Kat had no idea what to expect and when to expect it. She didn't even know if this disease was lethal or not, but she certainly hoped it wasn't for Sky's sake. Thinking of Sky reminded her that she was missing his birthday party. She had been so wrapped up in running tests on the rangers' blood samples that she completely forgot about it. Kat ran to the recreation room.
6-6-6
"Long time no see Sky," Sophie said while hugging Sky.
Sky was so happy to see Sophie. He hadn't seen her ever since she was stationed at the theta quadrant. Sky was honored that she would make the trip to Earth just for his birthday.
"It's so good to see you Sophie. It has been a long time since I saw you last," Sky said.
Bridge noticed the way Sophie was acting around Sky. Bridge was Sophie's best friend and Sky was Bridge's best friend. Even though Sky and Sophie started off on the wrong foot when they first met each other, Bridge saw how Sophie and Sky act nervous around each other once they were on the same page. Bridge couldn't quite put his finger on it though. He wasn't sure if it was love or not, but he knew something was going on between Sky and Sophie. Bridge wasn't the only one who noticed that either.
"Wow! Sophie and Sky are getting a little close there don't you think?" Syd asked.
Z looked shocked at what Syd was implying. Her lips formed into a smile.
"Someone sounds a little jealous," Z commented.
Syd looked at Z incredulously. She even put her hands on her hips for added emphasis.
"Jealous? Me? I am not jealous! I don't even like Sky!" Syd exclaimed soft enough so Sky and Sophie wouldn't hear her.
Jack, Bridge, and Z all rolled their eyes at Syd's last statement.
"Are you trying to convince us or yourself there Syd?" Jack asked.
Bridge and Z snickered at Jack's remark.
"Last I checked this was Sky's birthday not Pick on Pink Ranger Day!" Syd replied.
Bridge, Z, and Jack burst out laughing which garnered them confused looks from Sophie, Sky, and everyone else in the room. Kat came scrambling into the recreation room.
"Happy Birthday Sky!" Kat said while trying to catch her breath.
Sky, Cruger, and Sophie exchanged glances with one another trying to figure out why Kat was out of breath.
"Uh…thanks Kat," Sky responded.
Boom stepped on top of a table and cleared his throat.
"Right, so now that everyone is here, it's time for Sky to open his presents," Boom announced.
Cruger handed Sky his first present. It was wrapped in yellow wrapping paper. Sky knew for sure this was from Z. He opened it and found a dress shirt and a pair of dress slacks. A smile formed on Sky's face. He looked as though he was trying to hold back laughter.
"What might I ask is wrong with my S.P.D. uniform?" Sky asked.
That got a bunch of laughs from some of the cadets in the room. Even Z smiled a bit.
"Aside from the fact that you wear it 24/7, nothing. Besides this way, I know for a fact that you do own clothing that isn't your S.P.D. uniform," Z answered.
Jack was snickering at Z's explanation. Z noticed this and elbowed him in the ribs.
"Anyways, thank you Z," Sky said as Z came over and hugged him.
Syd bitterly watched as Z hugged Sky. First Sophie was coming onto him and now Z too. She didn't know why that was making her jealous, but the fact of the matter was that it did.
Cruger handed Sky his next present. This one was wrapped in red wrapping paper. Sky figured this was from Jack. He unwrapped the gift and saw a new S.P.D. Handbook. Jack saw the confused look on Sky's face.
"I figured you needed a new one considering how you read the one you have so much, that it is worn. You had to tape some pages back in because they fell out since you read it so much!" Jack commented.
Sky softly laughed.
"If you want me to stop reading it, you shouldn't have got me a new one. You should have just burned my old one or something," Sky said.
Jack liked the sound of that idea. Maybe he should take Sky up on his offer to burn his S.P.D. Handbook after all.
"Why do you read it so much anyways? You probably have it memorized by now. I mean you could probably recite it word for word," Jack said.
"At least I don't still read comic books like I'm some little kid," Sky replied.
"Oh! You got dissed!" Syd and Z said in unison.
If it was any other day besides Sky's birthday, Jack would've made Sky pay for saying that, but since it was in fact Sky's birthday, he decided he'd let Sky off the hook this time. Cruger handed Sky his next gift. It was wrapped in pink wrapping paper. Sky unwrapped the present to find an autographed copy of Syd's cd.
"You know normally I'd charge $14.99 for that, but since it's your birthday, you can have it free of charge. I even autographed it for you," Syd said.
Cruger handed Sky his last present. It was in green wrapping paper. Sky opened the wrapping paper and the gift inside made his eyes start to water. Inside the wrapping paper was a Tangarian coil.
"I know yours broke after Dru betrayed you, so I thought I'd get you a new one. That way you'd know that even though you may have lost one best friend, you still have another," Bridge said while rolling up his sleeve to show that he too was wearing one. Bridge went over and shook hands with Sky, but then Sky pulled him in for a hug.
"Thank you so much Bridge," Sky whispered in his ear.
The two best friends separated from their embrace as Bridge saw Sky wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. He knew Sky would like the present he got him, but he had no idea he would like it so much that he'd cry. He'd never seen Sky cry in all the years that he's known him. At least they were tears of happiness rather than tears of sorrow though.
To Be Continued…
A/N: I am extremely sorry it took me so long to update this. As I explained in my other fic, you can chalk up the reason as being schoolwork. I'm sure you know how that is. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I don't by any means intend on abandoning this story. On this story alone, I'm averaging 8 reviews per chapter which is honestly 8 reviews more on average than I expected, so thank you so much to all the people who've reviewed this fic. You guys are the best. For all of you who haven't reviewed my fic, but have read it, I'd love to know what you think so long as you don't flame me. I'll try to get the next update up soon, but it all depends on what my schoolwork permits. Well, that and whether or not I have writer's block.