Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Dissension within the Ranks

Chapter 21

Later that day, Sky went to the infirmary to see how Jack was doing. When he got there, he saw Syd seated in a chair next to Jack. Syd had been rooted at that exact spot ever since they had returned to the Academy.

"Hey," Sky said standing in the doorway to the infirmary.

Syd didn't even look at Sky, nor did she even acknowledge that he even said anything to her. She remained rooted to that spot staring at the unconscious Jack.

"Why did he have to go and take the hit for me Sky?" Syd asked.

Sky was surprised when Syd asked him that question. He was surprised she even talked at all. Sky had never seen Syd so distraught before. Usually, Syd is the happy, cheerful, bubbly member of the group. Sky hated not seeing her like that.

"He did it because he loves you Syd. Jack wanted to make sure that you were safe. If roles were reversed, I would have done the exact same thing," Sky answered.

Syd was torn between Jack and Sky. It was Sky that she loved, but Jack loved her. Jack was the father of the child that she was carrying.

"Why do you and Jack feel a need to protect me though? I'm not some damsel in distress. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself thank you very much," Syd commented.

Sky knew that was certainly true. Syd had managed to prove everyone wrong. Everyone's first impression was that Syd was a rich, spoiled brat who refused to get her hands dirty and who wouldn't last a week at S.P.D. However, Syd had proved them all wrong because she had done better than a week. She's been at S.P.D. for a couple of years now.

"We know that Syd. We don't feel a need to protect you because we feel that you are weak. It's just what people do when they love each other. They make sure that the one they love is safe," Sky replied.

Syd was shocked how Sky kept saying that Jack loved her. That's not what she wanted to hear from Sky. Syd wanted Sky to say that he loves her not that Jack loves her. Sky has known about her feelings toward him for quite some time now, but Sky has yet to come out and say that he loves Syd too.

"Quit saying that Jack loves me Sky! Jack doesn't love me! If he does, it's not for the right reasons! If he does in fact love me, it's only because he feels he has to since he's the father of my child! Do I need to remind you that he raped me Sky?" Syd yelled.

Sky was slightly taken aback that Syd was yelling at him. He and Syd were good friends, and Syd rarely ever has yelled at Sky before. Syd has gotten mad at Sky on numerous occasions, but hardly ever has she yelled at him, at least not like this.

"What do you want me to say then Syd? Ignore Jack for the rest of your life? Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible. Jack's not a bad guy Syd. So he made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. It's a part of being human," Sky said.

Syd couldn't believe that Sky was defending Jack. She thought Sky was on her side. Syd knew that Sky was one of the most objective people she knew, even if that makes him seem cold and heartless, and that's all Sky was doing here was being objective.

"You call raping someone a mistake? How is it a mistake? You don't just accidentally rape someone Sky! When you rape someone, you intend on raping them, so there is nothing accidental about it!" Syd retorted.

Sky knew that raping someone wasn't a mistake. That's not what he meant when he had said that Jack made a mistake. He meant that Jack's thinking that raping someone would get that someone interested in him was a mistake.

"I know you are thinking of having an abortion Syd. I know you well enough that nobody has to tell me in order for me to know. Don't have an abortion Syd. You'll regret it later in life. You may not love Jack right now, but give him a chance. I know you love me and all, but you can't have me. I'm leaving tomorrow, and I will never be able to return to Earth again. Besides, you deserve someone better than me Syd," Sky said.

If Syd didn't know any better, she would say that Sky spoke passionately about the issue of abortion as though he had some experience with it. She wondered what that was all about. Syd hated the fact that Sky had just given up and accepted the fact that he was leaving tomorrow. The Sky she knew, the Sky she loved would fight to the end and never give up.

"Don't give up Sky. Cruger said he is going to fight to have you keep your job. All of us will. There's nobody I'd rather be with than you Sky. Don't you dare put yourself down by saying that I deserve better," Syd replied.

The fact of the matter was Sky was scared to commit to a relationship. He's only been in one relationship before, and it was a serious one. That ended in disaster and ever since then, Sky has been afraid to get involved with someone again.

"Syd, there's something you don't know about me. There's something I've never told anyone before. I have an ex-wife. We were married at 16 years of age and were divorced at 17 years of age. We eloped and got married. We were young and looking back, it was probably a mistake. I mean I'm not going to lie. I did love her, but obviously she didn't love me. After about three months of marriage, she started to grow apart from me and wanted a divorce. I was determined to stay true to my wedding vows, so I refused to allow a divorce to happen. That's when she tried everything in her power to get me to divorce her. She had become pregnant, and I was the father. She ended up having an abortion without even discussing it with me in an attempt to get me to divorce her. She brought dates over to our apartment and dated them right in front of me. I still wouldn't divorce her no matter how badly she was hurting me. Then, after six months of marriage, she just took off and left me. She didn't tell me where she was going. She didn't leave me an address, a phone number, a letter saying where she went, anything. Three months later, I received divorce papers in the mail. I finally gave in when I received the divorce papers because I couldn't take her hurting me anymore," Sky said.

Syd was overwhelmed with all that Sky had just told her. She had no idea that Sky had been through all of that. That explained everything. It explained why Sky felt so passionately about her not getting an abortion. It would explain why Sky was so hesitant to get into a romantic relationship. She felt extremely sorry for what Sky had been through, and if she ever got her hands on the woman responsible for hurting Sky, Syd would kill her. Syd noticed the tears streaming down Sky's cheek after he told his story.

"I am so sorry Sky. I had no idea. Is that why you are afraid to get into a relationship with me? I won't take off and leave you Sky. I would never do that to you. I'm really sorry for the loss of your unborn child," Syd said as she got up out of her chair and went over and hugged and consoled Sky.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the common room, Z was a wreck. She and Jack were really close and Jack was lying in the infirmary unconscious. His condition hadn't improved any since they had returned to the Academy. Jack was like a brother to Z, and Z was so afraid of losing him. Bridge hugged her as she sobbed.

"There, there. It's going to be ok Z. Jack will pull through. He's a fighter. You'll see," Bridge said.

Z desperately wanted to believe what Bridge was saying was true, but she still had her doubts. Cruger had been shot before by Giganis' sniper while Cruger was unmorphed (before Cruger became the Shadow Ranger), and he barely pulled through. Jack wasn't Cruger though. Jack was human.

"I don't know what I would do if anything were to happen to him Bridge. He's our squad leader. He can't leave us. Who would lead the team? It wouldn't feel right if someone else were to lead the team," Z said.

Bridge agreed with what Z had said. It wouldn't feel the same with someone else leading the team. Bridge wondered who would lead the team anyways. Next in the pecking order would be second in command. That was Sky, but Sky was supposed to be escorted from Earth by Birdy tomorrow. If second in command wasn't an option, who would lead the team? As far as Bridge knew, nobody was third in command because such a thing didn't exist. Would he be the leader? He couldn't picture himself leading the team. Bridge saw himself more as a follower than a leader.

"I don't know Z; Try not to think like that ok? I know it's hard, but try not to assume the worst-case scenario," Bridge answered.

Under normal circumstances, Z would be weirded out by Bridge hugging her and for that matter being so close to her, but these weren't normal circumstances, so Z didn't mind. She had no romantic feelings toward Bridge whatsoever. A thought just crossed her mind. Bridge didn't have romantic feelings for her did he? His hugging is just to console her isn't it? Z pulled herself from Bridge's embrace and got up out of the couch.

"I'm going to see if there's been any improvement in Jack's condition," Z said before leaving the common room.

Bridge remained seated on the couch after Z had left wondering if he had done something wrong.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back in the infirmary, Syd was still comforting Sky. All of her guilt for Jack being in the infirmary seemed to wash away once Sky had told her his story. The only thing she felt now was sorry for Sky and angry at his ex-wife.

"Syd, I'm not the kind of guy to step on other people's toes. If Jack is interested in you, which I think he is, then I don't want to do anything to interfere with that," Sky said.

Syd was tired of explaining to Sky that she doesn't love Jack. In her mind, the only person that holds the key to her heart is Sky.

"Sky, we've been through this already. Jack cares about me for all the wrong reasons. He only feels like he has to care about me because he's the father of my child. Now stop bringing up things to keep us apart," Syd said sounding slightly irritated.

Sky couldn't believe that Syd thought he was bringing up things just to get out of a relationship with her. He wasn't doing that. He was simply telling the truth.

"Am I interrupting something?" Z asked appearing behind Sky in the doorway.

Sky and Syd separated at the sound of Z's voice for they had still been in each other's embrace.

"No you're not interrupting anything Z. If you came to check on Jack, he still hasn't improved yet," Sky said in a perfectly neutral tone.

Z glared at Syd. Z didn't like it the least bit that her and Sky had been hugging. Syd wasn't the only ones who had feelings for Sky. Z was there for Syd in her time of crisis, and she repays her by making a move on Sky.

"Oh really? Then why were you two hugging?" Z asked while still fixating her glare on Syd.

Sky detected the tension in the room between Z and Syd. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Once again, Sky was in the middle of it.

"Okay enough. Now's not the time to be fighting you two," Sky said.

Syd was glad that Sky had shared his past with her and not Z. Although she did wonder why he shared it with her when he had previously never told anyone before.

"If you two don't mind, I'd like to sit with Jack alone for a bit," Z said.

Sky and Syd left the room and Z took a seat next to Jack.

TBC

A/N: sky's girl forever, BrandonB, princess moon shadow, sye04, Crimson Mystery, redandblack 4eva, and DisneyHeart thank you for reviewing Chapter 20. I am seriously conflicted though right now in that I don't know who I'm going to have end up with whom. One of you wants Jack and Syd to end up together. Another of you wants Sky and Syd to end up together. The rest of you I'm not sure because you haven't explicitly said. I mean don't get me wrong. I still have a pretty good idea of what I want to happen with this story, but it's just that the couple(s) haven't been factored into that yet. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope you continue to stick with me for those who have been. If you want to let me know what you think, do so in a review. No flames allowed please.