Series presented by: BloomingViolets and Pink-Green-White-4ever
Challenge: Gift – written by BloomingViolets
Last Revised: October 22, 2005

Summary: "The only thing that was personal in your side of the room was that photo of your father. So I went shopping for a few things."
Disclaimer: We don't own 'em, wish we did.
Ship: Syd/Sky

xxx

"Sky?"

He glanced up from his novel, irritated that someone had interrupted him just when he was getting to the good part of his book. "What?"

His expression softened when he realized just who it was. Sydney stood in front of him, holding a large thin parcel to her chest. She also looked nervous. "What is it, Syd?" His voice was less harsh now.

"Are you really busy?"

Sky sighed. He really wanted to get back to his book, but his curiosity outweighed anything else at the moment. He wondered what Sydney wanted. "Not really," he replied, placing a bookmark between the pages of his book. He set the novel aside and looked up at Syd. "Was there something you needed?"

The Pink Ranger shook her head and took attentive step toward him and handed him the large parcel. "This is for you."

Sky took the parcel questioningly. "What is this for?"

Sydney just shook her head. "Open it and you'll find out!" She winked.

Slowly, he tore off the brown wrapping and discovered a scrapbook. He glanced at Syd briefly before opening it to the first page. His breath caught, and he looked up at Syd once more. "How…?" he asked weakly.

"I was in your room the other day, talking with Bridge and I realized how empty your side of the room was," she explained gently. "The only personal thing in your room was that photo of you and your father, so I went shopping for a few things."

The Blue Ranger stared. "You did what?" he asked numbly.

She tugged at his hand. "Come and see."

Sky allowed himself to be dragged to his room, the scrapbook still in his hand. He walked in cautiously, unsure of what he would find. He was afraid that he would find pink everywhere.

What he found pleasantly surprised him. Instead of the large amounts of pink he had been expecting, a nice normal looking room was found.

His pillows were now encased in light blue cases. On his nightstand saw a mini radio. There were various photographs displayed around his side of the room. But the thing that stuck out the most was a small bookshelf in the corner.

Sky placed the scrapbook that he was holding onto his bed and immediately headed over to the bookshelf. He bent down and quickly scanned the titles. There were mystery books, science fiction, and lots of suspense. Other books had facts, and there was even a brand new copy of the SPD handbook. He glanced up at Syd with wonder. "These are some of the books that I've been dying to read for awhile now. How did you know? I didn't tell anyone."

The pink ranger shrugged and smiled mysteriously. "I have my ways," she gave him an amused glance. "I know you better than you think Schuyler Tate."

Sky straightened and walked back over to where the pink ranger stood. "I don't know what to say, Syd. I don't understand why you did this, but thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied, giving him a hug. "Since when do friends need a reason to do something nice for one another? And besides, your side of the room was a bit depressing. Now it won't look so bare."

He turned back toward his bed, picking up the scrapbook before sitting on the comforter. Opening it to the first page, he just stopped and stared. Quickly, he flipped through the next few pages.

Photos of his childhood and of his family stared up at him. He stared down at the pictures in wonder. Memories of family picnics, trips to the local zoo, playing basketball with his father flashed through his mind. Sky looked up at Syd. "Where… where did you get these pictures?" Was it just his imagination, or did his voice sound just a little choked up?

"Your mother," she replied softly, moving to sit next to him on the bed. "I went to see her and had copies of these photographs made. Your mom is a very sweet woman."

His eyes glazed over and he swallowed a lump that had lodged in this throat. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," he said. "Thank you, Syd."

The pink ranger blushed, looking pleased. "It was no problem," she paused. "Like I said, friends don't need reasons to do nice things for one another."

Sky grinned and nodded.

There was a moment of silence as Sydney hesitated. Finally, she decided to ask Sky. "Will you tell me stories of your childhood? I heard some of them from your mom, but when I was sorting through the photos, there were ones that looked really interesting. I'd love to hear what happened."

"Sure," Sky nodded and handed the scrapbook to her. Sydney flipped through a few pages before pointing out a particular photo. "This one looks promising."

Sky looked at the photograph, before groaning slightly. A muddy, six-year-old Sky was posed, holding a rubber chicken in one hand and holding a rubber ducky in the other, grinning with triumph at the camera. "Okay, so it all started when my dad stole my chicken…"

xxx

The room was filled with Sydney's laughter as Sky told her story after story of his childhood. An hour passed and it was time for dinner. Sydney gave a disappointed sigh and stood up. "Guess I'll see you at dinner."

Sky nodded.

Sydney turned to leave, stopping just as she reached the threshold of the doors. She turned to face him. "Hey Sky, do you think you could tell me more stories of your childhood sometime?"

Sky paused, even though he already knew the answer. "Sure," he nodded. "As long as I get to hear some of your childhood stories too."

Sydney grinned and nodded. "It's a date, then. I'll see you at dinner!"

The doors closed behind the pink ranger as Sky continued flipping through the book. After the pictures of his family, came the photographs of his time at SPD. Thankfully, there were no photos of him and Dru. Pictures of himself, Syd, Bridge, Z and Jack flashed out at him. He grinned and touched the pages of his scrapbook lightly, thinking of all the effort Sydney must've put into it.

Sky snapped the scrapbook shut and headed over to his brand new bookshelf, carefully sliding the scrapbook in. His eye caught sight of a small shoe sized box at the bottom of the shelf. Curiosity filled him and he reached for it. Opening the box, he saw that Sydney had left him several empty picture frames for future use.

Sky grinned and pulled out one of the frames. He knew exactly which picture he wanted to display. Gingerly, he reached for the scrapbook again and flipped it open to the last page. Carefully, he removed the photo he wanted and stuck it into the frame.

He quickly cleaned up and placed the frame right in the middle of his nightstand, next to the photo of his father. The blue ranger's smile became wider, now he could look at the picture every night before he went to bed and see it every morning before he reported to duty. Giving it one last glance, Sky turned and left the room, suddenly looking forward to seeing Syd at dinner.

Bridge walked in a few minutes later to wash up for dinner and the framed photo was the first thing that caught his eye. The green ranger moved to Sky's side of the room and picked up the frame. What he saw made him smile.

The picture was of Sky and Syd, their arms wrapped tightly around each other and smiling brightly for the camera.

xxx