Author's note: Hey guys!
Rabid.squirrels.from.hell: Thanks for following me, and thanks for your comments. Enjoy.
Islandgurlie12: Fast enough for you?
Daydream1: Not finding anything out today...(whistles innocently) The answers will come. Promise.
And my anonymous reviewer: Thank you.
In which no one finds out anything, and there's a fight.
When Sky opened the door to his room Bridge was on the 'comm; he blanked the transmission as soon as he registered Sky.
"Who're you calling?" Sky asked curiously.
"No one. I need a few minutes."
"To talk to no one?"
Bridge laughed unconvincingly. "Did I say no one? I just meant no one you know. At least I don't think you know them. I suppose it's possible you may have met them, although it certainly hasn't happened while we've both been training and I don't ever remember meeting you before that, so I can't see when…"
"All right." Sky interrupted him. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes; Syd's got some old movie she wants us to see. Star Crossed Lovers, or something?"
"Ok." Bridge agreed, still smiling. Sky closed the door and Bridge turned back to the comm, opening the transmission again to reveal a man in his sixties. "Can't you call her back?" he said, not bothering to apologize.
"You know as well as I do, the only way to make her go away is listen to her. No one said you had to do anything about it. Just let her say her piece."
"You're not helping."
"I'm not trying to help." His voice softened. "You know she didn't mean it. Just let her talk to you."
"No." Bridge snarled, cutting the transmission and deactivating the screen.
Sky was lounging outside when Bridge opened the door, and he straightened automatically. "I checked with the doctor, and it's Ok for you to watch the movie in the rec room if you don't overdo it and promise to stop if you get a headache."
"Good. Thanks." Bridge attempted a smile, but it wasn't very successful.
"Bridge." Sky caught his arm, studying him intently. "You know we wanna help you, right?"
"I know." Bridge agreed. "But there's nothing to worry about."
"You gave yourself a concussion just from knowing Jack had talked to her. There's something to worry about."
"No. There's nothing."
"Bridge…"
"Sky. Let's see the movie."
"Jack, do you have any idea where to look?" Z asked.
"No." Jack said absently. "We're just looking."
"We could ask Piggy." she suggested.
"No. She's worried enough that she'll find us. We just need to be visible."
"Jack!"
Jack turned to see Z had stopped walking and was glaring at him. "What?"
Sighing, she caught back up to him. "What's got you so distracted?"
"Can't figure out how she knew my name, is all." He threw an arm around Z's shoulder, affecting a swagger. "Guess I'm just getting famous."
"Infamous, maybe." Z shrugged his arm off, gesturing past him. "And there she is."
Joanne was hurrying towards them, obviously rattled. "Jack…"
"Let me guess." he interrupted her. "You want to talk to Bridge."
"You were looking for me." she pointed out. "Will he see me?"
"He thinks it's important." Z said. "Why do you need to talk to him so bad?"
"I know something he needs to know."
"So tell us and we'll pass it on."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because if I tell you you'll assume I'm working for whatever the hell his name is who keeps attacking you, and I don't have time to talk myself out of your brig, so can you please just ask Bridge to meet me!"
"Well now I definitely think you're working for him." Jack drawled.
"Gruumm's an idiot. He's doomed to failure. Are you going to talk to Bridge or not?"
"Jack…" Z said warningly.
"Yeah." Jack agreed, easing back a step. Joanne rolled her eyes but stayed exactly where she was, holding her hands out away from her body.
"Look. I need to talk to Bridge. Can you please just get him on those neat little communicator thingies and ask him to come down here? Please?"
"What is it you're so afraid of?" Z asked suddenly.
"Bridge's death." Joanne said softly.
Bridge was thoroughly fed up at this point; he'd begged off the movie halfway through, so Syd and Sky had relocated to his room to play cards with him until he felt better. Every time he so much as moved, one or both asked if he was Ok, did he want anything, were they being too loud for him…
"Maybe we should call it a night." he suggested finally, dropping his cards and concentrating fiercely on not babbling.
"Do you feel Ok?" Syd asked predictably. "No headache or anything?"
"I'm tired, and it's more than six hours and they said I could sleep after six hours, if I didn't sleep for too long, and since you're both here you could wake me and then I wouldn't die or anything." He ran out of steam and stopped, staring at them.
"Well..." Syd glanced at Sky. "Sure, if you think…"
The sirens went off, and Bridge flinched. "Ow."
"SPD emergency. Rangers to the command center." Kat said over the intercomm.
"Sorry, Bridge." Syd said sympathetically. "Maybe later?"
"Sure." Bridge rolled off the bed, grimacing again. "Do they have to make those so loud?"
"They're sirens, Bridge." Sky reminded him, tossing him his jacket. "Come on."
"Where are Jack and Z?" Cruger asked when they reached the command center.
"They went into the city, sir." Syd said.
"With Cadet Carson injured?"
Bridge settled on the nearest seat. "I'm fine, sir."
"Of course you are." Cruger agreed neutrally.
Kat glanced up. "Sir, I have Jack and Z on comm."
"Good. There is an alien in the city. It seems to be targeting populated areas."
"We're on the way, sir." Sky said quickly. "Jack, we'll meet you there."
"Yeah." Jack agreed distractedly. "See you there."
Sky and Syd saluted Cruger; Bridge waved an approximation of the salute before following them out.
"You don't go anywhere." Jack warned Joanne. "We're coming back."
Joanne settled herself on a low wall nearby. "Bring Bridge with you next time."
Jack spared a second to glare at her before looking at Z. "Ready?"
"Ready."
"SPD! Emergency!"
Z thought she could do these battles in her sleep by now. Taunt, taunt, fight some Krybots, taunt, fight the alien, taunt, watch him grow or find a robot, be taunted, call the zords and blast him back into space. This one was no different and they handled it easily.
"You guys want to head back to headquarters?" Jack said. "Z and me got to finish something."
"Cruger'll want your report." Sky reminded him. "Why don't you just come back out?"
"It's important."
"So's your report."
"My report will…"
"She'll wait for you." Bridge interrupted.
"What?"
"Singer. She'll wait for you." Bridge left his zord, demorphing as he hit the ground, and the others followed.
"What are you talking about?" Jack demanded.
"You were talking to her, again. I still know, Jack, that's twice."
"We're worried about you." Z said softly.
"I keep telling you I'm fine!" He turned in a circle, glaring at Syd when she made to approach him. "Why don't you believe me?"
"Because you're not acting fine." Jack said firmly. "Now let us take you home, and we can talk about this once the doctors have cleared you, Ok?"
"I'm fine." Bridge repeated. "I just don't want to talk to Singer, is all."
"You don't have to." Syd pointed out.
"She's not going away!" Bridge backed up as Sky reached out to him. "She won't until I talk to her."
"Bridge…" Jack glanced helplessly at Z.
"My head hurts." Bridge murmured.
And then he fell.