Sky crossed his arms over his chest, finally resigning himself to the fact that he had to work with Meredith. He had to shake his head at the irony of it all. Not that long ago the only person he would work with was Meredith. The golden haired twenty year-old approached Sky hesitantly, mirroring his guarded stance. "We should probably check on the progress of the dimension closing device," Meredith suggested with a shrug despite her knowledge that Harps wasn't done with it yet. He was still working on it when she had been down in the lab only fifteen minutes ago. Sky nodded in his standard stoic way. "And we should probably talk. You know, clear the air so we don't get each other killed out there? Just in case," Meredith added, turning and leading the way out of the command center. Sky was caught off guard by her directness and picked up his pace to catch up with her in the hallway.
"Let's go to my quarters," Sky suggested, wanting some privacy for the inevitably uncomfortable and more than likely emotional conversation.
Meredith didn't respond, but simply walked beside the red ranger the same way they had countless times a lifetime ago. So many memories lived in these walls for her, but those of her last months her couldn't be laid to rest. A few lower ranking cadets skittered out of their way and Meredith couldn't fight the nostalgia of it anymore. The reason her and Sky had come to this. "Please tell me you're joking," Meredith implored, sitting up straighter in her bed. Charlie sat down at the foot of her bed with her 'I feel sorry for you' face on. Quite frankly Meredith had been seeing way too much of that face the past three weeks.
"I'm not. He really is on a leave of absence Mere," Charlie shrugged. "He told Commander it what because he needed to help his Uncle Wes out with the business while his Grandma was in the hospital," she explained exactly what Harps had told her.
The blonde leaned back against her pillows and rolled her eyes, "Give me a break, I can smell the bull shit all the way from here."
Charlie scowled at the brashness of her blue teammate's response. "His Grandma Jean is healthier than Sky is…and he hates dealing with the business. Wes tried to get him to come to some meetings and get involved last summer and he absolutely hated it," Meredith explained further.
Charlie sighed heavily and broke eye contact, trying to decide exactly what she should say next. "I've heard some other things from Dozer…but you're under strict no stress orders. It's been less than a month since you got hurt."
"I'm fine Charlie…I've been relieved of bed rest and I'm in physical therapy now. I can handle it. Besides, it's more stressful not knowing what's going on with Sky. I mean, this is the longest we've ever gone without seeing or talking to each other since we've met," Meredith tried to argue reasonably. She made sure not to come off too angry or hurt by Sky's blatant and continuing absence in her time of need, unable to seem any more vulnerable than she already was. If she had to take one more look of pity from anyone she felt like she would explode.
Charlie paused in a moment of decision, knowing she shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. Sighing, she turned even more toward Meredith. "According to Dozer Sky is going after the Hathor of this dimension. He saw some highly classified files that Sky had taken and Dozer thinks he's gone complete vigilante on the guy." Meredith simply stared at Charlie in shock, instantly feeling guilty for Sky's over the edge vendetta behavior. "We don't know anything for sure. Sky's morpher has been off the grid for awhile, but Harps can't get in there to check without alerting the commander to his possible activities. If it's true we all know he's gone too far, but I don't want to get him suspended or court marshaled. He really is a good person and he doesn't deserve that no matter what the rule book says," Charlie affirmed.
"I think that's the first time you've ever stuck up for him," Meredith noted quietly.
Charlie shrugged, trying to hide a proud smile. "It's no secret Sky and I haven't always seen eye to eye," she confessed.
"And not just because you're almost a foot shorter," Meredith tried to lighten the mood.
"Yeah well…we have to look out for our own you know? Besides, with you temporarily out of commission someone's gotta watch his back."
The two girls shared a knowing look. "Thank you."
"Got anything yet Harps?" Meredith asked, speaking into her morpher quietly as she sat on the edge of her bed almost a week later.
"One second…wait I got it," Andrew whispered back, constantly checking over his shoulder and around the command center to make sure no one was around. "He's at the corner of Pearl Street and Division…it looks like he's been there awhile."
"Thanks Harps, you're the best," Meredith thanked excitedly. She immediately began putting on her shoes, getting up and grabbing her jacket as she prepared to leave. A few minutes later and there came a knock at the door. Meredith gave the audio command to unlock the doors, thankful that Charlie had night patrol and wasn't being bothered by all of the late night activity. The doors opened revealing an agitated yellow ranger.
"Look Mere, I got you the information and now you know that Sky is fine and here. But I will not let you go out there," Harps tried to stand up to the girl. It wasn't in his nature to interfere but it was his friend's safety at stake.
"I appreciate your concern but I'll be fine. Two weeks off of bed rest and I couldn't be better," Meredith tried to convince the red head, flexing her arm for over the top emphasis.
"Then either I'm coming with you or I will wake up Dozer and nobody wants that," Harps stood firm.
The blonde thought for a second before relenting, "Fine, go get your coat and let's go. I'll wait here."
Harps smiled, feeling victorious. "I'll be right back." As soon as her yellow teammate left Meredith grabbed a sheet of scrap paper and scribbled a note, setting it on her desk before leaving her room. She walked as silently and quickly as she could, avoiding the hallways she knew Harps would take. When she finally hit the exit she picked up the pace, getting to the parking lot and into her civilian car heading in Sky's direction.
Harps jogged back to Charlie and Meredith's room, shoving his free arm into his jacket. The door opened but inside it was dark. Harps frowned slightly in confusion, moving further into the room and noticing a bright yellow note addressed to him. He picked it up, reading in disbelief. "So trusting , I love it Harps…never change. But if you follow me I will kick your ass (injuries and all). Love, Mere." Harps didn't know whether to laugh or be really pissed off that she would do something so reckless. He folded the note and slipped it into his jacket pocket, considering ignoring her threat. He could wake Dozer and go after her anyway but he reconsidered. 'She's just going to talk to Sky after all,' he thought rationally. 'And it's almost 1AM, Dozer would kill me if I woke him up.'
Once secure within the S.P.D. regulation walls of Sky's room he began to pace in a small circle, looking for a way to begin. "You won't find them," Meredith finally broke the silence.
Sky stopped mid step and looked precariously at her. "Find what?"
"The right words. Some magical combination of nouns and verbs that makes everything okay. I've had this conversation in my head at least a thousand times and I'm pretty sure they just don't exist," she confided with a snort. She crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed, stretching her legs out in front of her in an effort to release some of the tension in her body. She wanted to be logical about this, to not let her emotions get the best of her and play the role of the strong red ranger. But that wasn't her. She couldn't be a robot of efficiency and quite frankly it didn't seem to be working all that well for Sky.
"You're right. But for what it's worth I'm sorry," he stated simply, at a loss for anything else to say at to remedy the damage he had done in one night so long ago.
The dark street corner was in the rough end of town, the only activity a few customers stumbling out of 'The Crypt' bar and other equally shady characters ambling about. Meredith tried to square her shoulders and avoid eye contact as her steps echoed on the damp pavement. With the safety of her morpher concealed on her hip she entered the bar, trying to scope out the room through the smoky haze. She squeezed to the side against a wall to let a few guys past her, trying not to shrink under their scrutiny. One whistled but she ignored it, moving further into the room and trying to spot Sky. 'You guys must be pretty desperate,' she thought to herself when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a small mirror hanging on the wall. Her golden hair was down and tucked behind her ears, her complexion dull from lack of activity. There were lingering bruises across her cheek as well as traces of dark circles underneath her eyes, and believe it or not this was an improvement. Apparently throwing your body in front of tons of concussive and incendiary force took quite a toll on your body.
A cowboy wannabe ordering drinks at the bar moved, going back to his game of pool and revealing a lonesome figure hunched over his drink. Meredith's heart rate quickened as she walked toward the end of the bar. He clearly wasn't too aware of his surroundings and didn't even notice as she approached. He was wearing an army green t-shirt, a black jacket and black pants, looking weathered and brooding. Meredith's eyes narrowed when she noticed what looked like bloodstains on his shirt, and not human blood. She pulled the stool next to his a bit closer, the movement catching his eye. He turned his head slightly, ready to verbally accost whomever was trying to disturb him. His eyes widened slightly in recognition and his whole body tensed. "Long time no see soldier," Meredith greeted. She pulled herself up to sit on the stool, cringing slightly at her still tender ribs.
Sky noticed her physical discomfort and his mind started to swim. Everything that he had been wrestling with the last month combined with the alcohol was not helping him deal with seeing Meredith for the first time since 'the accident'. "What the hell are you doing here Ols?" he asked, taking another sip of his whisky in an effort to numb himself further.
Meredith scoffed in disbelief at his cold greeting. "I wanted to talk to you and waiting for you to come see me clearly hasn't been working…"
"You shouldn't be out this late. Especially here…you should be back at the base resting," he scolded.
The blonde shook her head. "Right, I should be home resting while you're out at all hours drinking and hunting down an alternate version of the mutant who hurt me, completely unauthorized mind you. When exactly were you planning on seeing me? When you came back to base with Hathor's head on a platter? Though from the mess on your clothes it doesn't look like there's even that much left of him," she observed, trying to make eye contact. At the very least illicit some response she could recognize.
Sky downed the rest of his drink as he looked forward, down, anywhere but Meredith's eyes. "I've been tracking him for the better part of the month. I planned on bringing him in…but things just got out of hand," he explained stoically.
"Out of hand? He's dead Sky…that is so beyond out of hand," Meredith exclaimed, drawing the attention of the bar tender and a few other patrons nearby. She ignored their looks and tried to regain her composure.
"I don't need this from you of all people," he warned, almost scaring Meredith.
"Can we just go somewhere and talk? About everything?" she asked, almost pleading. She touched his arm and Sky flinched under her touch, pulling away.
"No, I can't even look at you without feeling guilty. I let you in and all it's done is turn me into this," he slurred angrily, motioning to the blood on his clothes. She was his best friend, his most trusted confidant, and the girl he had fallen for. She had gotten hurt because of his carelessness and he could never forgive himself. He hadn't visited her because he couldn't take looking at her when she seemed so weak and broken. He felt a complete lack of control and so many emotions that overwhelmed him. It was like losing his father all over again and he couldn't deal with it, that's why he had gone after Hathor.
Meredith retracted, getting up from her seat and stepping back in an effort to distance herself from him. How could he say such a horribly hurtful thing when all she did was protect him. He was the person she cared most for and he had truly abandoned her. "Why…why would you ever say that?"
Sky turned and finally looked at Meredith for the first time. The hurt he saw in her eyes was all consuming. He knew then and there that he could never take it back and make it right. He had finally alienated the only person who could truly care about him. But isn't that what he wanted? To never be affected by someone else so deeply, to keep him from feeling this kind of pain ever again? There was a part of him that resented her and he hated himself for that. "Ols…" he started, not quite sure what to say.
She simply shook her head as she backed away, turning around and moving toward the door. An imposing drunk with a beer in one hand and a pool cue in the other moved into her way. "Leaving so soon?" he slurred while leering at her.
"Move," she stated forcefully, her voice beginning to give way to her emotions.
"Hey now…we're all having a good time," he began trying to cajole her with his sleezy charm.
Sky stood from his stool, unsure of what was happening when Meredith elbowed the stranger in the stomach. He dropped the contents of both hands, grabbing his stomach in pain as he groaned loudly. She stepped beyond him but he grabbed her wrist anyway. Without hesitation she twisted from his grasp and backhanded him across the face with a closed fist. He dropped to his knees and Meredith walked away without looking back.
Sky sat back down in his stool, wanting to scream or cry but unable to do so. Flagging down the bartender he did the only thing he could do and ordered another drink.
Meredith almost laughed, nodding and looking out the window as she tried to keep her now wet eyes from being seen. Sky sat down in his desk chair and released a deep breath. "You're sorry. I jumped in front of a freakin' fireball for you and you're 'sorry' that you didn't come see me? You're sorry that you blamed me for you killing Hathor? You're sorry that you hated me for meaning so much to you? You abandoned me when I needed you the most. I was scared and hurting and I felt so alone without you there. But hey, as long as you're sorry," Meredith finished bitterly, waving her hands in exasperation as she spoke.
"You think it was that simple for me?" Sky questioned, the anger in his voice poorly masked. "It was like when I lost my father all over again. I felt a complete lack of control and so much anger. I was mad at myself for letting you save me like that, I was mad at Hathor for being evil, and I was mad at the world for letting another bad thing happen to someone I cared about. Just when I thought I could let myself care about you as more than a friend and teammate you got hurt, and it was my fault. I couldn't look at you bruised and broken without feeling complete and utter guilt," Sky exploded, finally releasing the emotions he had been wrestling with for so long.
Meredith wiped at her eyes, trying to stop from crying. "I didn't need you to fix the world Sky, I just wanted you to hold my hand."
"I couldn't," Sky replied simply, his head now in his hands. Meredith looked out the window once again as she tried to wrangle in her emotions, a few minutes of silence passing between the two. "And when I finally came to my senses and realized what I had done…to Hathor…to you…"
"You mean when you finally sobered up," Meredith sneered.
Sky acknowledged the truth of her statement with unobjective silence, continuing with his explanation anyway. "When I realized everything and began figuring it all out I came to try and find you but you had already left. You took the red ranger position on the Fire-squad without even telling me, without saying goodbye or trying to make things right between us. I may have been a coward but you did your fair share of running too. And that's when I realized you had given up on me." The last confession had hurt Sky the most and enraged him equally, feeling just as betrayed as he was sure Meredith had.
"It's not like I left the same night Sky, it wasn't a whim decision that I made. It was another month before I left…but I'll admit, it was the easy way out. I couldn't breath here anymore. Every inch of this place only served to remind me of you, and when I thought of you all I could hear were those heartbreaking words you said to me in the bar that night. I had to get away from it all and be someone else for awhile, I didn't want to be the girl that caused you so much pain anymore." Meredith crossed her arms over her chest defensively, not having been this vulnerable since she was hurt nine months ago. It was uncomfortable at best as she tried to shield her tears from Sky.
Sky's own eyes were wet and his face was flushed from all of the emotional upheaval. "I wish I could go back and get over my issues enough to be there for you and treat you like you deserved. You have always been supportive of me and it was the least I could have done for you…especially after you sacrificed yourself like that for me," he said earnestly, his elbows on his knees as he dropped his head slightly.
She considered his honest words, what she thought was her hardened heart now reaching out to him after all this time. "But I'm not sorry about what I did. It was the only way to get the 'other' Sky home and I couldn't bear to just stand by and watch you get hurt. Despite everything that's happened I'd do it again if it meant saving you from the pain," she confessed, trying to make eye contact with Sky. He refused to lift his head and meet her eyes, too ashamed of his own actions and the person he became because of shutting her out for so long.
Before Sky had a chance to reply the beep of Meredith's morpher disturbed the thick tension in the room and jolted both rangers back to reality and the situation at hand. She took the morpher from her hip and activated the com link. "Oliver…go ahead."
"Mere, I'm just putting the finishing touches on the dimension modifying device right now. You can come to the lab and pick it up," the red headed scientist informed her.
"Thanks Harps, we'll be down in a minute," she said before closing the morpher and placing it back on her hip. "I guess we should go," Meredith said, standing and trying to pull herself together.
Sky stood as well and once again put up his stoic façade. "Right…"