Megan peeked into Sky's room and found him fast asleep. She had been more than a little surprised when just an hour or so ago Kat had shown up with Sky. When she had asked Sky what he was doing home so early, or even more, why Kat was with him, he had said nothing and headed straight for his room, shutting the door behind him. All Kat had told her was to keep an eye on him and to make sure he didn't go anywhere. By the way she had seen Sky walking and holding his hand to his chest, she could only assume that he had somehow injured himself and was in pain.

It seemed to her lately that Sky was working too hard, much harder than he had in the past, almost like he had something to prove. But to whom? He had already made Lieutenant and was a Red Ranger, leader of the A squad. He had lived up to his father's legacy, what else was there? She wanted to call her dad and tell him what was going on, but she knew that if she did she wouldn't hear the end of it from Sky. He wasn't the type who was too keen on those heart to heart talks, and didn't really like anyone getting into his business, whether someone needed to or not. You wouldn't know it by watching him sleep, he looked so peaceful lying there, and not a man who was on a reckless path. Megan smiled faintly as she closed the door.

She was headed to the couch to watch some TV when she heard the faint sound of an alarm going off. She followed the sound that led her straight into Chase's room. It was his clock alarm going off. "And I thought he had the brains to turn this thing off in the morning." She flipped it off, but as she was headed out of the room she accidentally bumped into his table, knocking down a few of his folders.

"Great!" she muttered, as she bent down to pick them up and stack them back together. She was getting ready to set the last one on top, when a few sheets dropped out. They didn't look much of anything, half burnt, and what where there was nearly impossible to ready. What possible reason would he have for keeping this? she wondered; it didn't even seem worth saving. That's when she noticed another sheet of paper lying on the floor that was handwritten and mostly was scratched out pieces and fragments of words. She looked from the sheet to the burnt pieces of paper. "He's trying to figure out what this says…."

Commander Cruger was in the Command Center going over today's reports, when Commander Mike Corbett appeared on the screen. "Commander Cruger, do you read?"

Cruger set the reports aside and typed a few keys on the keyboard to bring up the connection. "Yes, I read you, loud and clear. How are you?" It had been a while since he had last heard from Mike Corbett; the last time he had spoken to him was regarding Chase's transfer to the Earth base.

"I am good sir, thank you." Over the years Mike had grown a great amount of respect for Cruger, that seemed to be the only thing other than his family that kept him going with leading his base on Mirinoi. "I just wanted to inform you that Mirinoi is back in active Ranger status, both A and B have been filled. I will be transmitting their files to you later in the week."

"That is good to hear." exclaimed Cruger. He had known it was very difficult for Mike after the horrible incident, so many deaths and the loss of his only daughter, it couldn't have been easy. He knew first hand what the man had been going through, but on a much greater level. "Your son, did you select him…"

"Yes. He's the B Squad Red Ranger." It had been a very hard decision for him to make; Mikey was the only child he had left, his only son. His first motive as a father was to protect his son, keep him out of harm's way, but he knew he couldn't hold him back. Mikey would only come to resent him if he did, as hard as it was he needed to let his son go and be the man he knew he could become. "…..He earned it."

"I'm sure he did." Cruger knew it couldn't be easy for Mike to allow the last of his heirs to become a Ranger, one of the most dangerous positions in their league, especially after losing Callie. "He'll make a fine addition."

"Yeah." Mike smiled faintly. "He learned from the best." He gulped in softly, clearing his throat. "It was Chase who worked with him."

"Chase?" Cruger asked. "As in Lt. Chase Ryder?"

"Yeah." Mike nodded his head. "Before Chase left for Earth, he worked with Mikey, night and day." He recalled even when the kids were younger, back when Chase and Callie had been first dating, how good Chase was with Mikey and even his two nephews; he would always make sure to include them. And he always treated Callie with great respect and kindness. Mike could still remember the day when Chase came into his office and ask for his blessing to ask Callie to marry him. That had been why it was so hard for him to let Chase go. "…..How is Chase?"

"He is doing well here; he's sharing an apartment with Sky Tate, Commander Wesley Collins' son."

"Good. I'm glad he's making friends. He deserves it….." And he really meant it, though he was very hurt by Chase's leaving. He would never wish him any harm or ill feelings, only the best. Deep down he knew that Chase needed to be able to move on with his life.

"Would you like me to give him a message?"

Mike thought about it for a moment, there were so many things he wanted to say to the young man, but he knew he needed to give it time; Chase's leaving did have a lot to do with him. "Just that we miss him and that I hope he finds what he's looking for."

"I will be sure to pass that along to him, when I see him."

"Thank you, sir. I'll talk to you later, Corbett out."

Kat Manx entered into the Command Center just as Cruger ended the connection with Mirinoi. "Was that Commander Corbett?" she asked.

"Yes." Cruger turned to face her. "He was contacting me, letting me know that he selected the two Ranger teams."

"That's good news."

"Yes, it is." He searched her eyes, as if waiting for her to say something, but when she said nothing and went about her work, going towards one of the computer consuls, he approached her. "I walked in on one of Chase and Sky's classes today with the cadets." Kat didn't answer, just went on with her work, she had known it would be very difficult to keep anything from him regarding anyone in the Academy, especially when they were his Rangers. "I was surprised to find Bridge teaching the class today, in Sky's place."

"Really?" she answered. "How was he doing?"

"Fine." Cruger walked to Kat's other side, when she avoided his gaze. He was a dog on a mission and he wasn't going to let her go that easily. "And when I asked why Sky wasn't teaching the class, nor was anywhere in the Academy, Bridge just said that Sky wasn't feeling well and had to cancel." He stuck his nose in closer to Kat's face. "Care to add to that, Dr. Manx?"

"Bridge was correct, Sky wasn't feeling well." She faced him. "So I sent him home. As one of the head doctors of this establishment I have the authority to do that and do not need to run it by you," she exclaimed sharply; she was in no way intimated by the big blue dog and would not let him intimidate her.

"Perhaps." Cruger put his arms behind his back. "But it is my business when one of my top officers disobeys my orders." He had a fairly good idea to the reason behind Sky's absents

"And I am sure Lt. Tate is well aware of that, Commander."

"Yes." Cruger started towards the exit of the Command Center, but before he exited out the sliding doors he turned to face Kat once more. "Oh and Kat, be sure that you tell Lt. Tate after your appointment with him, to come and see me."

"Of course, sir."

Megan was sitting in the living room with the file that Chase had been working on open in her lap, when Sky walked out of his room and headed towards the fridge, walking a little stiffly, still clutching at his ribs. He wasn't about to complain about the pain, he was far too stubborn and knew he wouldn't get any sympathy from anyone, not that he was looking for it. He pulled out a bottle of water and headed towards the couch.

"What you working on?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Nothing…." She quickly closed the folder and got up, knowing that if Sky caught her looking though Chase's things, she'd be in deep trouble and he might tell her parents she had been misbehaving or something. On the other hand, she could threaten to tell her parents what he has been up to, but decided to just leave things be.

"Whatever." Sky reached for the remote, hoping to find something good on TV. He hated just sitting around and doing nothing, but Kat had made it perfectly clear that he had to take it easy for the rest of the day. She wouldn't even let him drive his bike back to the apartment, and while he could go against her direct orders, he was sure enough she would know one way or another if he went against her orders. "Great, nothing but a bunch of crap on!" He tossed the remote onto the table.

"Somebody got off the wrong side of the bed," muttered Megan as she returned back from her bedroom.

Sky just gave her a dirty look filled with annoyance. This was another reason he hated being laid up for the day. Not only did he just have to sit on his butt, he had to do it while Megan was staying at the apartment and put up with her smart-aleck remarks. "Don't you have some homework to do?" He crossed his arms against his chest, being sure not to put any pressure on it.

"I finished it yesterday, genius." Megan crossed her arms against her chest, she might be only fourteen and have to listen to him, but sometimes Sky did go over the line and she wasn't the type that was afraid to stand up to him. "But you really wouldn't know that, seeing as you're hardly ever around anymore. Otherwise you would know I always have my homework done by Friday, so I have both Saturday and Sunday free to do what I want." she stomped off into the kitchen when the phone began to ring. "I'll get it…."

Sky just shook his head and grabbed the newspaper that was lying on the coffee table and began to read it, hoping to get a few minutes of peace, although that wouldn't last for long. "Oh hey, Syd….." Megan said in a brightened tone that made Sky just tense up in his seat on the couch. He watched as Megan walked around, keeping her eyes locked on him, giving one of her devious looks. "Yeah. I'm doing great, yep all my studies are done for the week. Ah….huh…..Yeah…..Oh, Sky…."

The Red Ranger's eyes widened as he began shaking his head no and waving his hands, not saying a word, knowing if Syd heard his voice then she definitely would know he was there. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Syd and explain why he was home. He knew she would rush over here and give him an ear full.

Megan just shook her head and walked around the couch. Though she could tell Syd that Sky was sitting in the very room she was walking around in she wouldn't sink that low with Sky. She was mischievous, but she wasn't a jerk. "No. He and Chase are still at the Academy, but when they get in I'll be sure to tell Sky to give you a call. Yeah….No problem….Talk to you later. Bye…" She hung up the phone.

"Thanks…." Sky muttered, under his breath knowing full well she could have outed him to Sydney.

"Yeah. No problem…" sighed Megan, as she went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Sky sighed heavily. Was Megan right, had he really not been around lately? Syd seemed to believe that was the case, that he had been working far too much and not spending any time with her at all. And now Megan seemed to be asking for the same thing, some attention that he hadn't given in a while. …. But then again, didn't they know how important this was to him? What his goals meant, what he wanted to accomplish right now? It wasn't like he had flown the coop, he was still around, just not as much as he used to be. But once he got to the point where he wanted to be, things would go back to normal; he would fix things between himself and Syd, and with Megan. …..But even as he thought that, he wondered, was that enough for them?

Not wanting to complicate it any more, Sky returned his concentration to the newspaper, hoping to clear his head and take his mind off of things.

Z was in the memorial room, held to honor the fallen Rangers and officers of SPD. She hadn't really ever spent much time in here before, having not known any of the fallen, those who bravely sacrificed their lives for others. Most of them from before she first came to SPD, she had never really heard of. Not even about Sky's father, only the few bits and pieces that he would say in front of the team, back in the early days. But now, being here over a year, she had come to know each and every one of them, learning their stories. But the one that struck her the most was the only one who was not dead.

Cliff Chan. Only a chosen few knew that he was still alive. She was one of them. It really hadn't occurred to her until then how attached she had become to him. She barely knew him, but there was just something about him that she felt drawn to. That had been why she had agreed to track him down for Cruger, to see what he had been up to. With her ability to replicate herself, and learning to be in more than one place at a time, she was the perfect candidate. But it hadn't taken Cliff the highly trained former A Squad Yellow Ranger to sense her presence and asked her to not follow him any longer.

She still recalled the sad look in his eyes, the pain, the guilt, the unworthiness, as if he no longer deserved anything from anyone. And when she touched him, the look in his eyes said it all, that it had been so long since he felt any kind of warmth and kindness. Love…. Love…. She didn't know why or even how, but she had developed strong feelings for someone who really was a stranger to her. Or was he a stranger? She might not have experienced everything he had, but she knew what it was like to feel a great loss. The memory of her parents' deaths still lay deep within her heart, and the painful memories of being rejected, never believing she would ever experience love or kindness again. At least, until the day she meant Jack, who took her under his wing and became her big brother. She learned to love again. Her smile faded as she stared at Cliff's photo, wondering if he would ever feel love again. He had rejected her touch after a few seconds, looking as though he could no longer be loved.

"You know him or something?" asked Chase, as he entered into the room.

"He saved my life ….and the Rangers." She turned to face him. "But no, I really didn't know him."

"Yeah." Chase nodded his head. "He was a good fighter."

"Did you know him?'

Chase was silent for a moment, careful how to choose his words. "Our paths crossed a few times." He looked at his watch. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you tomorrow, Z." He smiled as he bid her farewell and headed out, but not before he accidentally bumped into Bridge. "Oh, sorry about that, Bridge."

"It's not a problem." Bridge waved him off and then joined Z, wanting to ask her if she would join him for dinner before his night shift would start. "You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" he asked, picking up on a few of her thoughts.

"You're using your ability again, aren't you?" She turned to face him with a smile.

"Sorry. I can't always help it. It just comes to me."

"It's okay, sometimes it's kind of nice to have a friend to know what you're feeling."

Bridge smiled; he was grateful to find such nice and understanding friends who didn't get freaked out by his ability, especially when it was possible for him to pick up on their inner deepest thoughts. "….So I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me, before I start my shift."

"Sure. But weren't you here all day today, working with Chase and the cadets?" she asked, looking at him questioningly.

"I was covering for Sky," he answered, as they headed down the hall towards the café.

"Sky?" she exclaimed. "Our Sky, all work and no play Sky, didn't show up to work today?"

"He wasn't feeling too well…"

"But that's never stopped him before," recalling the several other times that Sky continued to work even though he might have been sick or a little banged up.

"Well, this time was different," answered Bridge all too quickly. "So how your and Syd's surveillance training with the cadets been going?" he asked, wanting to change the subject knowing he had already said too much already.

"Not so fast, Greenie." Z grabbed Bridge by the shoulder, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "You may be able to see other people's thoughts and what has and is going to happen, but you're still one hell of a bad liar." She looked him hard in the eyes, letting him know he wasn't going to get off that easy. "Did something happen to Sky today?"

Bridge was in a hard position. While Sky had made it clear not to tell Syd, he had never said anything about the others. But Bridge was pretty sure that even though his leader and best friend didn't say it, it meant the others as well. Struggle and desperation was written all over his face; while he wanted to tell her, he knew he should tell her, he didn't want to break that bond of trust with Sky. "….He's fine. That's all I can tell you."

"He did something stupid again, didn't he, in the simulator?" She was going to keep pressing him until she got a straight answer. "Syd told me about the bruise she saw on his shoulder. He got hurt again, didn't he? And made you promise not to tell the rest of us."

Bridge didn't answer, not that he needed to. Z could find the answer written all over his face. He was never one for keeping secrets or telling lies, never had been very good at it. He had always been an honest guy. Z just shook her head. "That asshole, when I get through with him he's going to need a doctor…"

"Just please don't tell Syd…" he pleaded with her.

"What?" Z exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing. "She's our friend Bridge, our teammate and most importantly my roommate. I can't keep something like this from her." She got right into Bridge's face. "She has a right to know if her jackass of a boyfriend is doing something so stupid that he could get himself killed."

"He made me promise not to tell her…."

"He didn't make me." She started down the hall, fully determined to march home and tell Syd.

"Z!" Bridge ran after her and grabbed her by the arm. "Just wait….a minute."

"No, Bridge." She yanked her arm right from him. "This has gone far enough…"

"Shouldn't we at least wait and see if Sky tells her on his own?"

"You really think he'd do that?" she snapped. She might not have known Sky as long as both Bridge and Syd did, but she knew him well enough to know that he keeps things to himself for the most part, who hates to admit when he's wrong. And this isn't the first time he has tried to keep things from Syd.

Bridge sighed heavily, knowing that Z was right and it was highly unlikely that Sky would open up to Syd about what happened today, but at the same time he held out hope that Sky would do the right thing. "….Maybe what happened taught him a lesson, maybe he won't do it anymore." He gulped in heavily. "And if he does it again. I'll tell Syd myself, okay?" He wasn't sure why, he knew that they should tell Syd, he wanted to tell her, but at the same time he still felt that need to protect Sky. He was the big brother he always wanted and there was nothing he would not do for him. And he felt just as strongly about Syd. Until Z and Jack showed up it had been just the three of them. The Musketeers, as he would call them.

Though Z didn't want to, she agreed. "Fine," she sighed, knowing the three had a history together, a history she hadn't been a part of, just as she and Jack had a history that they hadn't been a part of. It was the one thing that separated them and perhaps, that had been one of the reasons why they had had so much trouble last year.

"Hey." Chase opened the door to Sky's room and found him lying on his bed reading a book. "Brought your bike home." He tossed Sky the keys.

"Thanks." Sky set his keys on his nightstand. "How'd the class go?"

"Fine. Bridge enlightened the class with his thinking tactics."

"Great." Sky rolled his eyes. "Just what we need, Bridge wanna-bes." He marked the page in his book. "One Bridge is enough."

"You feeling better?"

"I'm feeling just fine."

"Right." Chase nodded his head and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Though he didn't know the exact details, he was no fool. He knew Sky had gotten hurt in the simulator, but he would never straight out ask him about it, knowing that it would just turn into an argument. Today Sky had gotten his pride hurt, but he had a feeling it would take a lot more than that to get Sky to snap out of whatever he was going through.

He shook his head and went to join Megan on the couch. "So what's on?"

"Nothing much, just watching some old reruns." She seemed distracted, as if she had something else on her mind. She turned to Chase, taking a deep breath. "Don't get mad, okay…"

"Okay…." he answered, not too sure where this was going, until he saw her pull one of his folders from under the couch. "Where'd you get that?"

"…I found it by accident. Your alarm was going off in your room, and I accidentally knocked the folders over. I started picking them up when I noticed that you were trying to figure out what one of them said." She started rambling on. "I know it was wrong and I probably should have just left it alone, but I thought I could help." She pulled out the sheet she had been working on, with two words on it. "I was only able to figure out these two words, all the rest of it was messed up."

Chase looked at her, slowly taking the sheet from her. The two words read, Rose White. "Rose White….."

"I think it's a name." She looked into his eyes, trying to see his reaction of whether he was mad at her or not. "Do you know her?"

"No." He licked his lips. "I don't think so, anyway…."

"What do you mean?" she asked him, a little confused. Either he knew her or he didn't.

"It's kind of complicated…."

"I'm a complicated girl." She grinned. "Try me."

Chase thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps another time." He got up and took the folder from her lap. "Thank you for your help though. I really appreciate it." He smiled faintly and gently squeezed her shoulder, before he headed off to his bedroom closing the door behind him.

Sky lay on his bed reading his book and listening to his music with his headphones, just wanting to block everything else out. He didn't even hear Chase calling his name. His door swung open. "Hey Sky…"

The Red Ranger looked up from his night reading and removed his headphones from his ears. "What is it?"

"Your girl's on the phone." Chase tossed him the phone.

"Thanks," muttered Sky as he caught the phone, giving Chase somewhat of an annoyed look, as though he really wasn't in the mood to talk to Sydney right now. He put the phone up to his ear, getting ready to answer, when he saw Chase still standing in front of his door. He gave him a sort of nod, telling his roommate to leave, so he could have some privacy. Taking the hint, Chase left and let Sky be. "Hey Syd…"

"Hey sweetie… Did Megan forget to give you my message that I called earlier today?"

"Ah, no." Sky set his book off to the side. "I just got caught up with work."

"Oh…. Did your workout session with Chase and the cadets go well?"

"Yeah. We had a great session today. Lots of improvement."

Outside of Sky's room, Chase had stood by and heard every word that Sky spoke to Syd. He just shook his head disappointedly and walked away.

"That's great…. I miss you."

"Me too…" Sky ran his hand through his hair. "Hey, I got to go. I have to get up early tomorrow, but I'll see you tomorrow at the Academy. We can do lunch if you want."

"Yeah. That sounds great…. I love you."

"….Okay. I'll see yah, then. Night." He turned off the phone and set it onto his nightstand next to a picture of him and Syd that was taken shortly after they had hooked up, the day after to be exact. Syd had decided to take him out to the beach; the two had spent the whole day there together. He took the picture, staring at it longingly as he recalled how they got to that moment when he had felt his whole world fall apart and she somehow found a way to pick up the pieces.

"How long has it been since you were last here?" she asked, as she watched him walk around in his childhood bedroom that appeared to have been untouched for years. Everything was so neat and clean, the bed was made, nothing lay on the floor, books were in their place on a self and she noticed a few martial arts trophys on another shelf.

"Not since I was fourteen…" Sky cleared his throat, feeling strange to be back in his old childhood room. His old house, a place he had not been in since the day he left for the Academy. No one really had stepped foot in his bedroom for a little over six years. Not even Eric or his family had stayed in it, no one had. Other then made a cleaning service who help maintain things in case anyone ever did decide to come back.

There were several posters on the wall, of old bands that no longer made any albums, and a few sport ones. You definitely could tell that it had been a teenager's room. It opened a whole new windows into who Sky was. Syd walked around, until she came to a few photos sitting off to the side. There weren't many, one was of Sky and an older man. "Is this your grandpa?"

"Yeah…." He walked up behind her. It had been a long time since he had thought of the man who had practically raised him for seven years. He remembered him being a strong willed man who was always very determined. His grandfather always made sure that he had the best martial arts instructors, so that when he would enroll into the academy he would have an edge over the other cadets.

"Were you two close?" She turned to face Sky. For as long as she had known him he never really talked a great deal about what his life had been like before he joined the Academy or even how it was those first few years before she had enrolled back when he had been paired with Dru. In fact most at the academy had no clue that Schuyler Tate was heir to all of Bio-Lab one of the wealthiest and prominent company's of security and technology in the world. "I never really heard you talk about him." All she really knew of Alec Collins is what she had read in newspapers and books.

"We did okay…. It was hard for him after my dad died and then he got sick." It had been a difficult time, especially those last couple of years had been filled with doctors after doctors, who could never really find anything wrong with him. "...eventually his heart just gave out."

"I'm sorry." She gently squeezed his shoulder, looking into his eyes, seeing a very lost and lonely young man who had experienced so much loss growing up.

He forced a faint smile. "It's okay. Not your fault, besides I did just fine…No big deal," But even as he said it, being in this place, this room, he felt the shield he had built around himself all those years ago slowly break apart, and in this moment he started to feel very vulnerable, especially now, after learning everything….. It just became all too much for his strong will to handle.

"Sky? Are you okay?" asked Syd, fully concerned now, with her big bright blue caring eyes looking back at him, seeing something different about him. She could tell something was very wrong with him, she had noticed it the moment he had shown up at her parents', and now whatever is going on with Sky, is unfolding right before her very eyes.

"Everything's fine….I should get you back to your parents." He started to turn away and head out, but Syd grabbed a hold of his wrist, stopping him. He turned to face her, no longer able to hide the fact that being back here scared the hell out him.

"It's okay, Sky, I'm here for you…." Syd wrapped her arms around him, letting him know it was okay to be scared, that it was okay to cry, that there was nothing to be ashamed of.

It took several moments until he returned the embrace. Maybe it was because of a moment of weakness or he felt content in her arms. He slowly put his arms around her, holding her close to him taking in her scent. He had never noticed how comforting the scent of her hair felt. He felt at peace. It lasted for several moments until they slowly pulled away, but just enough so their faces locked on one another, staring at each other, close enough to feel the heat of each other's breath. And before either one of them knew it, they were drawn to each other, as their lips met in a soft gentle kiss. When Sky caught wind of what he was doing, he pulled away. "….I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…."

"No. It's okay…" she smiled back at him staring deeply into his eyes.

Sky didn't know what to think, just staring into Syd's beautiful blue shining eyes, he felt a sort of peace come over him. He felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. And that's when he kissed her again, but this time the kiss was full of passion. He ran his hands through her hair, as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. "…Oh Sky…." she moaned.

The stone cold young man did something that no one ever thought was possible, he just let loose, letting his emotions go, and everything else was forgotten. He was lost in this moment with Syd that grew deeper and deeper, until they came to a point that they couldn't turn back from. It had been a night full of passion, full of closeness; it had been the turning point when things had changed between him and Syd, when they went beyond their friendship to something so much more….

The memory faded away, as Sky placed his picture back onto the nightstand. The truth was, those pieces were still broken…