Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Author's Note: I am still working on getting back to my rhythm; it's a lot harder than I anticipated. I am going to finish this story, the updates might be slower but it's only because I don't want to rush through and then make it not so good. Thank you for being patient.

Blame and Comfort

Z caught up with Sky just as he was about to disappear into his room, "Sky!"

He turned around daring her to say something. Z had come to a stop in front of him and raised an eyebrow to which he finally spoke, "What?" It was harsh, but Z wouldn't really expect much less.

"Look, I know how upsetting this must be for you."

"Really? You know?"

"Sky, he's my friend too. And this isn't your fault."

"We should have gotten there in time. I should have gotten to Bridge."

"How do you think I feel? I was the one that went over to that guy. If I had only done it just a few seconds before Bridge would be fine."

Sky really looked at Z, his face softening a little, "You're right. If you had gotten there a few seconds before he wouldn't have shot Bridge." Z's mouth fell open. She could scarcely believe what she had just heard. That sounded like the Sky she had first met when she first got here. But now…it was strange, and it hurt. She already felt horrible and now Sky was saying it was her fault. She continued looking at him as he spoke again, "However it's not your fault Z. You can't blame yourself."

He turned around and went into his room and sat on the bed. Z followed and the two were silent for a bit, "It makes sense to blame yourself you know? Any one of us could have done something a little bit different, but it still could have ended up causing the same thing."

Sky looked at Z and a small smile briefly appeared on his face, "You're right. We just have to wait…"

This shocked Z, usually he wouldn't be this…relaxed about it. No, relax wasn't the right word. But he would have kept going on about it. Done something other than just admit that; that showed that Sky was indeed a better man then when she had first met him. Z knew that Sky wasn't going to just stop beating himself up about the whole thing, he would just sit on it and then go back to it. She decided to just stay there next to him until he decided on another course of action, one that made his reaction more recognizable.

"Rebecca!"

Syd and her Mother looked up to see her Father rushing in through the doors. Rebecca stood up, "My darling."

The two embraced, "I thought I had lost you. I'm so glad you're alive and well."

Rebecca looked over at Syd, "I am, but…"

He looked over at Syd, "What is it?"

Syd took a deep breath, "Bridge was shot. With an old fashioned gun."

"An old fashioned gun? That's a bit odd isn't it?"

"It was one of Derek's hobbies."

"Derek?" He looked at Syd who in turned looked at her Mother, "What is it?"

"Come, I shall explain all that has happened."

Syd watched as her parents walked off in deep discussion. Once more she sat down.

This was what it must have been like for Bridge, for Z, for Sky, for her parents, for…for everyone. Her in there, them not knowing what was going to happen to her. She knew that she had almost not made it. It frightened her to no end knowing that it could happen to Bridge. He had been trapped, held captive. She didn't think that they had been tortured, but being held captive was surely enough? Why hadn't she thought about it before?

A sigh escaped her lips as she realized that she had forced herself into searching for them with all that she had in order to not deal with everything that had happened to her from her own kidnapping. Now all of her feelings, the fear, the hurt, the anger, the helplessness, the horror, all of it was coming back to the surface. Perhaps she hadn't settled it with the therapy that she had been engaged in.

Being by herself was not a good thing, and yet…she looked over at her parents who were still talking, she didn't want to interrupt them. And Z…Sky needed her right now. Bridge…she felt herself feeling sick again….what if he was gone? Already? Wouldn't they have told them? No. Yes. Yes, they would have.

But...she started drawing in deeper breaths, it was like she couldn't breathe. She remembered back to what her therapist had told her. She needed to focus. She could breath. She was safe. She took a deep breath in. She was safe. She was fine. Everything was good. She let her breath out. She took another one in. She was safe. She was fine. Everything was good. She let her breath out. She repeated the process until she could feel her breathing return to normal.

Once she was there she kept her eyes closed for a few more minutes before opening them. She was safe. She was fine. Everything was…not good. She knew that she needed a distraction. Something to keep her safe from…him. That horrible man who had tortured her. She hadn't thought about him in a while, and suddenly he was very real and very there. This was not good. Why the delayed reaction?

Distraction.

She needed distraction.

"Syd!"

She looked up in relief as Ally and Jack came in and went over to her. "Jack. Ally. You guys are here." She couldn't help but let a sigh of relief escape from her lips with her much needed distraction appearing.

"How is he?" Jack asked after he and Ally had shared hugs with the petite blonde.

"I don't know. So far nothing has been said."

"How's Z and Sky? Where are they?"

"Sky left. He's real upset about it. Z followed him."

Ally finally spoke up, "How are you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"I'll be fine. I'm sure."

"Let's sit down." Ally sat down on the couch followed by Syd and Jack.

"I guess we just have to wait?" Jack asked frowning.

"We can't do anything else."

Z and Sky had been sitting silently for about ten minutes before Sky stood and picked up a book and threw it against the wall.

"Sky."

"This shouldn't have happened. It is my fault. I am the leader. I should have made sure that this didn't happen."

"You know that you can't blame yourself, you just told me that."

"Still doesn't mean the responsible doesn't sit with me. I'm the leader; I should have prevented this from happening. Bridge could very well be dead because of me."

His voice had kept getting louder and louder causing Z to stand, "Right and that makes sense. I suppose this is Commander Cruger's fault then."

"What?"

"Well he is technically the leader of SPD right?"

"You're being ridiculous."

"Oh am I?"

"Yes. You can't put the blame on him. It's my team."

"Fine. You're right. It is your team and someone on your team got shot. Guess what? It wasn't your fault."

"And how do you figure that?"

"Sky we weren't on a mission when he got taken. We were at a friend's house. Then we went looking for him. Had you not been such a good team leader we wouldn't have found him at all and yes he would be dead. But we did. And we were able to bring him back here. And he could be just fine."

Sky's jaw clenched as he glared at Z but she remained steadfast and glared right back at him. Finally he exhaled slowly, "I guess we'll have to see." He quietly stated.

"Yes, I guess we'll have to."

He slowly sat down and after a minute Z sat next to him. He looked over at her, "Thanks." He said even softer than his previous statement and then turned back to his study of the wall opposite him.

Z nodded, "Or course." She didn't say anything else and realized that sitting and waiting was all they could do at that time.