AN: A bit more backstory, just to flesh them out and make them more 'real'

Chapter 14: Bonds Recalled

"Look, all I'm saying is you should just go once. Get a lay of the land, as it were."

Bri shook her head, a small smile playing about her lips. True to his words, Weihan had told her everything about the Ultra Cavern and what he had seen and heard there. He had even told her about the monitor bank that would, with her consent, see and track her no matter where she was. While she was leery of him accessing images of her on the toilet, showering, or with Josh, she knew that there was no way in Hell he would do it unless it was a dire emergency. He had even stated, with some great reluctance, that his internal guide had called her his would-be lover – which was either the greatest case of wishful thinking ever or something fated to happen. Well, whichever one it ended up being, it wasn't worth worrying about.

"I don't think it's for me," she chuckled. "After all, I haven't accepted the Crystal and, realistically, I doubt I ever will."

"Hey," he chuckled back, "never say never."

Turning the corner into the main entrance, she smiled again while thinking of the bond of friendship they had. No one else at the company had managed to make her feel at ease about everything, no one else had managed to make the job feel almost effortless, and no one else had made it this far without making a serious pass at her. Weihan, well, they had their moments of flirting, stolen glances, strange smiles, and shifting clothing, but it wasn't anything serious. On the other hand, given the events of the day before and how he had tackled her to the ground…no, nothing would ever come of it. Sneaking a glance at her older offsider, she suppressed a sad sigh. The debacle with AJ had seriously fucked with his head and changed him in subtle ways.

Her mind flashed to the first time she had seen him, picking AJ up for a romantic stroll along in the park. His face and expressions were so confident, so sure of himself that the woman in front of him was the answer to all life's problems. His eyes, though, radiated a nervous energy mixed with the purest love, respect, and devotion. After the disaster of the wedding, he had attempted to make the most out of the reception; the weary reply of 'it's already paid for' sighing from a shell of a broken man. Bree had continued to see him, though, and she would relay everything back to her. However, by that time, she had married Joshua and wasn't so interested in the ins and outs of Bree and Wei. She never truly forgot him, though.

The next time she had seen him was a quick interaction in the first few months of his employment. Her offsider at the time, a somewhat oily guy named Dwayne, had somehow overslept his alarms and was running extremely late. Wei's team leader then, a lazy and unmotivated person, had neglected to unload the green waste from the day before and wasn't keen on helping the thin Asian. She had lent a hand, of course, but it didn't seem as though he had remembered her. She recalled the hurt that had reverberated through her all day. Of course, it turned out that he had remembered her but didn't know how to approach everything.

"Ultra Cavern to Bri," Weihan's amused voice snapped her out of her musings. "Come in Bri, you're losing signal and breaking up."

"You ass," she laughed, lightly swatting him on the shoulder. "The only thing we're breaking up today are the grass runners around the swing set."

"Aw man," he grinned back, eyes dancing with mirth, "I just volunteered, didn't I?"

At her nod, he let out a comical groan and rolled his eyes. It was just like him to shake her out of the beginnings of a bad memory by doing something like this. It was also starting to become second nature to her to play along, just so she could see the shadows around his eyes, and heart, lift. As he stepped out of the Ute to begin the daily rubbish run, she opened up the work iPad to start the day's work, all the while thinking of how he had looked during that interaction. Yes, there had been annoyance, exhaustion, and gratefulness, but there were also deep and dark shadows that made him look like a war veteran. Even when he laughed, it wouldn't reach his eyes. Joshua and her mother had likened it to PTSD, Bree had compared him to a glass sculpture shattered on the ground and lazily glued together.

Glancing out the window at his retreating form, she tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she began driving to check and clean the first bin. A glass sculpture lazily glued together, those words kept rattling around in her brain for the longest time, but they were perfect for describing him. His other team leaders had commented on his withdrawn nature, eagerness to work in the toughest conditions, and willingness to learn and grow; one of Wei's longest team leaders, Daz Parrens, had said it was an endearing trait but slightly worrying. Unbidden, his words rose to the forefront of her mind.

"It's like he's burying himself in work to avoid the monsters from the past."

And what monsters they were. Not only the heartbreak of AJ, he was still dealing with trauma from his mother's passing in 2020, her encouraging but cryptic words revolving around his then future employment, his sister permanently moving to Brisbane with his nephew, an ex-girlfriend who had played with his heart in the worst way, and an extremely traumatic break-up from his high school days. It was a wonder he was both still sane and smiling, though, as he had said the day before, he had a truckload of self-worth issues.

Bri stepped out of the Ute, checking the first bin over for cobwebs and graffiti. The scorched turf caught her eye and she shivered. Weihan was the strongest Power Ranger in the world; no, scratch that: he was the only Power Ranger in the world. And, if what she could read between the lines was correct, he would be fighting to keep it that way for as long as he could. Not just because he knew he could do better alone, no. A reason like that, coming from him, it would be too shallow and self-serving. No, the reason he would fight to keep from forming a team was because it meant she would take up the Power.

Taking up the power would mean putting the world first, above her family, above Joshua. It would mean diving head-first into a wealth of absolute power, and with her family history of substance addiction and abuse…no, she wouldn't be corrupted by it. Defending the Earth would curb any issues, hopefully, and Weihan would be her leader. Man, that would be strange. Not in the sense that he was a bad leader, no, it would be a bit jarring to switch from being his team leader to an equal. No, that was wrong as well, on some jobs around the park, he took the lead already. Sliding back into the Ute, she nodded once, yes, that was it. It would mean Weihan would be taking on more responsibility, challenges, and burdens…and she couldn't really do anything to soothe him.

The work phone vibrated once in her pocket. Taking it out, she looked at the message and smiled. Weihan was past the BBQ area and, for once, they were clean and unused. She would still need to drive up there to check the bin and dog bag dispenser, though, but it was one less thing on the list. Her personal phone chose that moment to vibrate several times and she sighed. True to his word, Joshua had come home late last night, tired and achy from a long night cleaning up the messes of his new co-worker. He had mumbled something into her ear before staggering off to the bathroom; whatever it was, she hadn't heard it. The messages were probably his plans for the morning.

Driving up to one of the secondary entrances, the one that was always blocked by several, removable, bollards, she wondered about the strange mumblings from her husband early in the morning. As always, she jotted them down in a notebook, but they really made zero sense. The word "sorry" seemed to come up a lot, followed by the phrase "One day, soon" – which didn't really mean a lot to her. Yes, they had talked about starting a family one day, but that wasn't the type of thing he should feel sorry about. Maybe it was him apologising for the face that she would have to become a stay-at-home mother? Or perhaps bringing up a baby in such a dangerous new world? Whatever the meaning, she knew that the future looked bright. Her grandparents and Joshua's were both ecstatic at the news that they were planning to have a baby.

Checking the dog bag dispenser, her personal phone vibrated again and she creased her brow. That was odd, Joshua wouldn't send another message so soon; not after sending through his plans for the morning (doing the washing, hanging it out, emptying the dishwasher). Pulling it out, her eyes scanned the nearby road nervously, looking out for Ethan's Ute. Checking the work phone in the open was acceptable, but a personal phone on work time? Only for emergencies, which this wasn't. Opening the message, she read the first few lines before a smile erupted on her face. Finishing the paragraph of text, she began to laugh.

Oh, he was going to love this.