Thursday

Once again Sydney woke up before the alarm clock. Instead of a half-hearted complaint, she went straight to pissed off. Cursing she threw her alarm clock and it's blaring numbers out the window. With a sigh she left the room and wished there was a hole she could climb into; because she knew there would be no hiding her emotions today. She was at the limits of her self-control and felt it slipping away and there was nothing she could do. She hated not being in control. Little did she know her day was about to get worse.

Since she had risen so early, she quickly ran out of things to do. She had already done her mandatory work out, followed by a quick trip to the shooting range, and had organized the game closet in the common room. She decided to take the walk to the post office, not expecting any mail, but trying to kill more time until breakfast. She didn't expect that the others would be up, never mind at the post office as well.

"What are you guys doing here?" She questioned surprised.

"I had to mail a letter." Z explained, "And then I ran into Bridge on the way." The yellow ranger answered.

"Cruger asked me to come check for any more RSVP's for the weekend." Jack replied.

"I think the question is what are you doing here? Shouldn't you still be sleeping?" Sky teased the pink ranger. Sydney was not known for being the first one up.

"Can't a girl check her mail without the third degree?" She remarked with an edge of anger that warned them to tread carefully as she opened her mailbox with unnecessary force.

To her surprise an envelope was waiting there. She almost never had mail except for the checks her dad sent every week. She had no contact with her mom's family since the divorce and no friends outside the academy to keep in contact with.

The others faded into the background as she curiously opened the envelope. Inside was a card, and on the front was written 'Happy Birthday'. With all the drama of the past week, she had forgotten her birthday was coming, And not just any birthday, her 18th birthday. Under normal circumstances she would have been excited, but with Parents weekend looming she kept the just realized information to herself.

'Who would be sending me a birthday card?' she wondered intrigued. As she opened it she saw the familiar script of her father and a smile came to her face. She hoped he wanted to reconcile. As she read it though, her smile faded as her blue eyes filled with tears.

When you receive this card you will be eighteen, the time in your life when you will become an adult and leave your childish ways behind. With this privilege comes responsibility. I am therefore no longer responsible for you or concerned with your decisions. This will be the last communication from me. Any attempts to contact me in the future will be rejected. Enclosed is the last check along with some birthday compensation. Best of luck in all your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Drew

'Sincerely. He probably sincerely meant everything he wrote.' Sydney decided sarcastically. 'Jonathan Drew. Not dad.' She reread to herself. He hadn't been a dad to her in many years, but to have it written so plainly and coldly sent Sydney over her breaking point.

Jack had observed the smile and was interested in finding out what had put it there. It seemed like more than a week had passed since she had last smiled. Before he could be nosy and ask her, he noticed the smile had been wiped away and replaced with tears that were threatening to turn into sobs.

Forcing herself out of her shock, Syd turned and ran out of the post office, not bothering to hide the tears that were coming in full force. She knew they had seen her, which is why she avoided anywhere public where they could find her.

"I'm going after her." Jack declared stubbornly. They had let Syd's behavior go the last few days, but this was too much. He couldn't stand to see her so upset. He took after the pink ranger, determined to find her before she could hide again.

As determined, as Jack was to find her, Sydney was just as determined not to be found. Jack would not give up though, using the tracking system on his morpher to trace her power signature. He was surprised to see the pink dot indicating she was in the garage, but headed there nonetheless.

He was as angry as he had ever been. Not so much at her, but at whatever was obviously disturbing her. He wasn't letting her go until he had some answers. His anger quickly calmed when he saw her hunched over in the driver seat of the jeep. "Syd?" he called gently, warning her so she wouldn't be frightened.

She didn't look at him, didn't acknowledge he was there. Nor she did the sobbing subside. Without a second thought, he climbed into the passenger side of the jeep and pulled the sobbing girl into his arms. They sat there for a few minutes, Jack waiting for her to calm down.

Before he could get an answer though, Kat's voice interrupted over the intercom. "B-Squad to the command center."

He wanted to swear at the bad timing. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked the girl who was entangled in his arms. "I can cover for you with Cruger if you want." He offered kindly.

"I'll be fine." Syd answered. "As always." She said softly as she grudgingly left Jack's arms and headed to the command center.

The two-minute walk gave Syd enough time to compose herself and wipe the tears out of her eyes, though there was no time to conceal her red puffy eyes, swollen from crying. Jack gave the others a regretful look behind Syd's back as hope faded from their eyes. But their determination grew to find out what was bothering Syd before the day was over.

"Where are we on preparations for Parent's weekend?" Commander Cruger asked to begin debriefing as the five rangers stood before him.

"Decorations are all set sir. They will be hung tomorrow after lunch in anticipation for the arrival of our guests." Elizabeth Delgado reported.

"Excellent. And the food?" He queried as he turned to the blue and green rangers.

"The advanced orders of food have arrived in the kitchen last night." Sky informed the Commander.

"The caterer will be here Saturday at 4 pm to set up for the big extravaganza." Bridge added. "Cocktails will be served at 6pm and dinner will begin promptly at 8pm."

"I am pleased with how smoothly everything is going." Cruger complimented the team, before turning to Sydney. " Cadet Drew, you have done an outstanding job with the hospitality assignment. I never knew you were so organized."

"Thank you sir." She replied subdued.

"However, I noticed there was no response from your family. Are they coming?" Doggie asked the pink ranger curiously.

Syd felt like she couldn't breathe as everyone stared at her waiting for her response. She wanted to lie desperately, but she knew she couldn't avoid the truth either. Eventually they would all find out that they weren't coming, that her whole family was a farce.

"No they're not." She whispered without looking up. Silence filled the command center. No one knew what to say. The others wanted to comfort her but they didn't know how.

"Please excuse me." She stated as the tears welled up in her blue eyes. Syd turned away from their watchful eyes and retreated to her room.

"It must have been hard for her knowing they weren't' coming and having to hear everyone else go on and on about their families." Z opined sadly.

"I wonder how long she's known?" Bridge asked.

"Maybe it was in the letter she got this morning. It really upset her terribly." Jack mentioned.

"Is there anything we can do?" Sky wondered of his teammates. He hated being so helpless. He always liked to fix things, and he had no idea of how to help his hurting teammate.

"You need to eat." Jack demanded as they barged into the girl's room, determined to bust Syd out of her solitude. She looked up at her teammates and Z was afraid she would refuse. Outnumbered Sydney nodded as Bridge and Sky each grabbed a hand and pulled her out of her cocoon.

Aware of her condition, they steered away from the public dining room for something more intimate. The formal ranger dining room, which was always available, they just chose not to isolate themselves from the rest of SPD. But Jack knew Syd would not be able to handle all the scrutiny so they found themselves being waited upon. Usually they would enjoy such service, but this time was out of necessity.

Sydney didn't know what she ordered, but it didn't matter. She wasn't hungry, though she ate some food to appease her teammates.

"I didn't know you liked spinach Syd." Bridge pointed to the green mash of vegetables on her plate that she was pushing around.

"Huh?" She started at his observation, as she struggled to rejoin the conversation around her, even as she knew they were about her.

"Spinach." Z repeated with a giggle. The pink ranger glanced down at her green covered plate. The disgusted look on her face as she realized what she had been eating made the others laugh. Syd pushed the plate away but it was replaced by a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (without the crust) offered to her by Sky.

"Thanks." She murmured as she gratefully bit into the sandwich and gobbled it up.

"I'm sorry your parents can't come this weekend Syd." Z offered in apology, hoping to get the pink ranger to open up.

"I'm not." Came the unexpected response. "It's not that they can't come, they just won't." She finished simply with no emotion. Seeing as they would get no more answers from her now, they allowed her to retreat once again.

The other rangers found themselves busily engaged in other activities all afternoon as the final preparations were being finished for the weekend.

"There's more to her story than she's saying." Bridge confided to Z as they supervised the cadets outside who were cleaning the lawn of SPD.

"You think?" The yellow ranger replied sarcastically.

"You think she's going to be okay?" Sky asked seriously as he helped Jack rearrange the weekend schedules.

"If she would open up and let us help her she will be." The red ranger admitted cautiously. "If she keeps it all to herself eventually she's going to explode." He warned Sky.

"I never knew there was something this serious in her past." Sky admitted regretfully.

"None of us did." Jack agreed. "Syd's much better at keeping secrets than we thought." He said ruefully.

Bridge left Z soon after their job was done, intent on confronting Sydney. If she refused to tell him the truth he was going to read her aura, regardless of the consequences. It hurt him so badly to see hurting so badly. He didn't have to look far to find the pink ranger.

Sydney was standing in the common room ignorant of the fact of what was about to happen. "Syd?" Bridge called as he entered the room. She turned to face her best friend and dreaded the question she knew he would ask.

"What's going on?" He asked her gently. "You can't keep it all inside you know. We all want to help you, please tell me what's bothering you." He pleaded with her to answer.

Syd attempted to regain control by putting up her stonewall. Unrepentant, Bridge moved to take off his glove without her noticing. Despite the fog she was in, Syd was not completely unaware.

"Thaddeus Bridge Carson!" shrieked the pink ranger. "If you take off the glove, you're going to eat it!" Sydney threatened and Jack thought her angry enough to do it. Her response confirmed their worst suspicions that there was more she was still hiding from them as the others braced for the necessary confrontation.

"Thaddeus?" Z chuckled even as Jack's hand closed over her mouth to keep her quiet. Not that Syd or Bridge would hear them over their shouting.

"I wouldn't have to if you'd just tell me what's wrong, Sydney Adrianna Drew!" He shouted back.

"Adrianna?" Sky repeated intrigued. He was desperate to recall all the stories his dad had told him about his teammates. There was the green ranger Sebastian, Markus Tate's closest ally; the quiet yet brilliant Lana Stone, the yellow ranger. Second in command Thomas Kirk, the legendary swordsmen and the beautiful and adventurous pink ranger Adrianna.

'It couldn't be coincidence that Syd's middle name was Adrianna could it? Those thoughts ran through his mind as he was determined to find the answer to that question. However the next argument between the current pink and green rangers made him stand stone still.

Bridge moved closer, oblivious to the fearful shaking of his teammate. He so wanted to shake her out of her depression so he grabbed her shoulders to force her to look at him.

Sydney pulled away with a quiet, "Don't hit me." Her eyes were wide in fright, her skin pale as she tried to compose herself. Her words echoed through the stillness as they stood there in complete shock.

Bridge was the first one to speak. "What?" he said in disbelief. The other rangers had heard her statement and entered the room for support.

"Sydney I never would…" Bridge offered, shaking himself at her stunning admission.

"I know you wouldn't." Syd stated rationally, trying to aleve his fears. "That's what my dad said too." Sydney admitted tearfully.

"He hit you?" Sky asked for clarification as he made his way to the distraught girl.

"Just once." Syd replied shyly. "The day I told him I was joining SPD." She finally broke down and confided in her teammates and friends. Sky controlled his anger for Syd's sake. 'How could anyone hit her?' He thought miserably. 'Especially her own father?'

"He didn't want you to join?" Z asked curiously. "It's not like you're were joining a cult." She said with sarcasm and skepticism.

"SPD was like a cult to him." Sydney disagreed mightily. "He was afraid I would be like my mom." Sydney revealed as Sky led her to a couch, afraid she might collapse any moment.

"Was she the original pink ranger?" Sky wondered. "I remember my dad talking about a ranger named Adrianna." He commented.

"I don't know." She acknowledged unhappily. "You probably know more about her than me." Syd said remorsefully.

"But she's your mom." Bridge protested.

"And she left when I was eight." Syd returned with a sigh. "Dad refused to talk about her. He resented her for all the time she spent at SPD."

"So she left?" Jack questioned his "little" sister.

"No. He made her leave. He told her not to come back after work, that we didn't need her." She repeated the words her dad had uttered to her mom years earlier.

"I'm so sorry Sydney." Jack offered as he embraced the girl he had come to accept as another adopted sister. She said nothing, just allowed him to hold her.

Sky regretted all those times he had gone on and on about his father, and Syd had never complained, always offering him a listening ear. He was just as determined to return the favor. He was stunned at how despite all the pain in her life she was as strong and amazing as she was.

"You must have your mom's genes." Sky whispered in her ear as he took his turn to hold her. "My dad thought so highly of your mom, and I think you're amazing too." She offered him a small smile of appreciation before Z jumped in to hug her roommate. Sydney maintained her composure through all of the hugging until she faced Bridge.

Syd buried her head in the green ranger's uniform as she started sobbing. He just held her tightly, relieved for her sake, that she wasn't keeping it in any longer. Though he knew now that it was all revealed she would have to deal with it. As her best friend, he risked their friendship and had pushed her beyond what she wanted to do, because he had known that she needed to explain everything. She could never forget what he did for her. "Thank you." She murmured gratefully.

"Thank you." He insisted, "for trusting us enough to tell us." He declared looking down into her blue eyes.