Theme Challenge: Syd and Sky
Series presented by: BloomingViolets and Pink-Green-White-4ever
Challenge: Confidence – written by Pink-Green-White-4ever
Last Revised: October 2, 2005

Summary: After a minor accident involving Syd, Sky's confidence is shot.
Disclaimer: We don't own 'em, wish we did.
Ship: Syd/Sky

AN: Done in response to the Ars Amatoria's Ranger Romance Themes Challenge.

Set sometime after "SWAT" and makes references to BV's Why?

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Sky sat on the roof, feet dangling over the edge. He wasn't feeling particularly happy, even though the team had just beaten another of Grumm's monsters. His confidence had been shaken badly when the monster, holding tightly on to a certain struggling Pink Ranger, had moved her into the line of fire of Sky's Delta Enforcer the second the Blue Ranger had pulled the trigger. It had been agonizing for him to hear the other's scream Sydney's name, let alone hear Syd's screams as the blast ripped a hole in her right shoulder.

"Hey you," her soft voice called out to him. He tried to ignore her, not feeling like he deserved to be in her presence after what he'd done. "Sky."

She looked down at him, saw the tense set of his shoulders and sighed. Sydney new without a doubt he was beating himself up over what had happened. She also knew if she didn't snap him out of this funk, his confidence would falter in battle and someone could get hurt again, or worse, killed.

"Go away Syd."

"No," she defiantly told him, easing down onto the ground next to him. "Sky, don't do this. What happened out there this afternoon wasn't your fault."

"I shot you!" he argued, his precarious control over his emotions gone. It seemed to him, whenever a situation involved Sydney his level headed thinking went right out the window. "I hurt you, Syd. Me. I'm the one who pulled the damn trigger!"

"It was an accident," Sydney argued back, looking at him with an incredulous look. "Did you do it on purpose? No. I know better, you'd never hurt me on purpose. Remember, we've had this conversation before, after the incident with Wootox."

"I COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!"

"Sky!" Sydney threw her arms around him when the tears started slipping down his cheeks, careful not to jar her injured shoulder as she held onto him tightly.

His own arms tightened around her even when he thought he should be pushing her away. He sucked in deep breath after deep breath, trying to calm his nerves and his runaway emotions.

He'd been so worried he'd nearly lost his best friend. Contrary to popular belief, Sydney was more than teammate and best friend, she was his strength, his support, but more importantly she was his reason for getting up every morning; she was his heart and soul. When he'd given up the hope of being Red Ranger, his focus had shifted to Sydney, and making sure he did everything he could to make her happy, keep her healthy and alive. And today, he'd nearly killed his reason for living.

"Sky, listen to me," Syd whispered in his ear, lovingly. "We have dangerous jobs; getting hurt is all part of it. We live with the danger day after day. Getting killed was a possibility we all accepted when we started here."

"I can't lose you!" he cried into her neck.

"Oh Sky," Syd murmured, reaching her hand up to hold the back of his head. "Even if I die, I'll always be with you, even if you can't see me, hear me, or feel me. I'll always be with you."

"Sydney."

She pulled back slightly, a stern look on her face. "Promise me, you won't let one incident stop you from doing what you've been trained to do, what you've dreamed of doing since you were little."

"I promise."

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