30_kisses fic (part 2 of 3)
Title: Just A Man, Not A Hero
AuthorS: mariusgirl and lttledvl
Fandom: Power Rangers SPD
Rating: T
Summary: They had become confident in their abilities to the point where death seemed like a remote possibility at best...
Prompt: Invincible
Additional Notes: For the last 3 prompts, we decided to make this last bit one long story since they flowed together so well. Tissues may be required for this. Also, much thanks to scifislasher for the beta!
He awoke with a start, a silent scream lodged deep in his throat as the nightmare slowly faded away into the bright light of dawn. His breathing was labored as if he had just run a mile, and his heart was beating painfully against his chest. He swallowed but his throat was as dry as an old piece of sand paper.
Irritated, he stood and made his way to the bathroom. Without bothering to turn on the light, he snatched on the cold water and, cupping his hands, drank until his stomach protested. He splashed the refreshing water on his face, savoring the chill that it sent down his spine, but stopped with another handful halfway to his face when he heard a soft moaning coming from the room behind him, almost too softly for his ears to pick up. He let the water fall back into the sink and dried his hands on his pants as he rushed back into the infirmary, making a beeline for Z’s bed.
“Z?” He grabbed her hand as he sat on the edge of her bed. “Z, are you awake?”
He gingerly brushed the tips of his gloved fingers across her cheek and her bruised face contorted into a mask of pain as she whimpered in anguish beneath his touch.
“I-I’m sorry,” he whispered, withdrawing his hand.
Z struggled to open her eyes but they were swollen shut. “Bridge?”
He nodded his head, forgetting that she couldn’t see him. “I’m here,” he choked out, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
She squeezed his hand in return and after what seemed like a lifetime, she drifted back into a fitful sleep.
Bridge felt a stab of pain, for some reason he felt responsible for her current state, and nothing he did shook the feeling loose. It had attached itself like a leech to his brain, where it was fueled by anger and regret every time his eyes fell upon his friend’s limp body. If only he had taken Z’s place on night watch, she wouldn’t be fighting for her very right to live. If only he had found her sooner, maybe she would stand a better chance at survival. If only...the infinite possibilities that those two words brought with them ran through his head until he wanted to scream, scream until he felt the pain leave his body in one dizzying wave of blinding rage.
But instead he closed his eyes and concentrated with every fiber of his being on Z. He thought that if he concentrated hard enough, that maybe if he cared just enough, he could heal her, but when he opened his eyes she was just as still and broken as before.
And all at once, the harsh reality of being a Power Ranger set in. Every day they put their lives on the line to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. As Earth’s only line of defense against the most evil aliens in the galaxy, they had to be selfless and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.
There were bumps and bruises galore along their journey, and the occasional broken limb, but no one had ever died. They had become confident in their abilities to the point where death seemed like a remote possibility at best, and not something that any of them ever gave much thought to. After all, the good guys always won, right?
Bridge shook his head and stared at Z through misty vision. They had been so terribly wrong.
For everything they were, they were not invincible...
-------------------------
Z stood outside of SPD headquarters, the frosty night air nipping at her bare face as she stared up at the stars in the inky black sky. Though it was cold, it was a beautiful night, the clouds moving lazily across the crescent moon, bathing the thin wisps in pale silver. She continued along her routine path; night watch was nothing less than boring at most times, but it was necessary to protect the base against attack.
She heard a faint shifting of air behind her, spinning quickly and glancing around, she scoured the immediate area, but found nothing. Shrugging it off and chalking it up to a stray cat, she turned back and an instant later, found herself bound by an iron-grip. She struggled, but her unseen assailant was stronger than she.
“Unhand me! You’re assaulting an SPD officer and you’re under arrest!”
The laughing response sent chills up her spine. “Arrest me?” the voice mocked, “You can’t even get yourself free. Come little Ranger, why don’t we find a more private place to talk.”
She yelled for help and struggled to break free of the vice grip that held her tight, but to no avail. Her captor ran off with her, carrying her under one arm as if she weighed nothing. She squirmed in vain, attempting to reach her morpher, but only succeeded in knocking it free from its holster.
She continued to yell as the base got further away, turning into a tiny glowing dot in the distance before finally vanishing from her sight completely as he dragged her through the shadowy alleyways of Newtech City.
Her morpher lay on the pavement, pale moonlight glinting off it, a lonely specter in the cold night; the only indication that she had ever been there at all.
-------------------------
Bridge jerked awake as the alarms surrounded him in a cacophony of noise and light. Jerking himself out of slumber and bed, he rushed into the Command Center, to find Cruger looking slightly worried.
He waited impatiently to be told what was going on, but from the looks that the Commander and Kat wore, it couldn’t be good.
“Rangers, there’s been an attack.”
“Where?” Syd asked, rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes.
“Here. All we know as of this moment is that Cadet Delgado is missing.”
Bridge’s heart leapt into his throat. Missing? But how? Why? Steeling his nerves, he forced his voice to remain even. “Where did she disappear from?”
“The east side of the building; she was out on patrol when someone grabbed her. A nearby cadet also on patrol could her yelling for help, but when they got there, all they found was this.” Cruger placed Z’s morpher on top of the command console.
It sat there, almost glaring in accusation at the Green Ranger, sending knives of guilt straight into his gut.
It should’ve been me, he thought dully, Z and I traded night watch duties so I could do some stupid computer upgrade, and look what it cost me. She’s gone and it’s all my fault.
“So we don’t have any way to track her then?” Syd was asking.
“Not yet; Kat is working on something right now.”
“I’ll go.” Bridge stepped forward. “I’ll track her. The trail is still fresh, so hopefully I can pick up on something.”
“No,” the Commander replied, “This assailant has already captured one of you; I won’t send another out blindly and risk losing you as well. I’m sorry, Bridge.”
He nodded in acquiescence. Cruger did have a point, but even so...if they waited too long any traces of her would vanish and they’d have even less chance of finding her.
Bridge mentally kicked at himself in anger as Cruger ordered them back to their rooms. He decided to obey the order for now, but at the first opportunity...
He wandered towards his dormitory and finally fell wearily and broken hearted onto the soft sheets. He replayed the conversation in the Command Center over and over again as a single tear fell onto his pillow. Furious with himself and overcome by guilt, he smashed his fist into the wall beside his bed. Again and again he bashed his fist against the wall until the blinding wave of anger and self hatred burned itself out from pure exhaustion. He cradled his hand against his chest as he lay staring blankly at the ceiling, the image of Z smiling and waving as she disappeared into the night, laughing in amusement at some stupid joke he had told her, was burned into his mind’s eye. He could see it every time he closed his eyes, and it made his pain so much more unbearable.
Cursing himself and the ills of bad fate, he turned over onto his side, clutching his pillow tightly to his chest as if it were his last anchor to earth and fell into a fitful sleep full of dark shadows and taunting, nameless faces.
-------------------------
The Green Ranger felt someone shaking his shoulder but he kept his eyes closed in a vain hope that whoever it was would go away and leave him and his misery in peace.
“Bridge! Bridge, wake up,” hissed Syd into his ear. “Get up; we think we’ve located Z!”
“G’way,” he mumbled sleepily as he shoved her away.
She huffed in irritation before grabbing the covers and yanking them down to his feet. “Get up; we think we’ve located Z!”
The words “located” and “Z” kick started his numb brain and his eyes flashed open. “What? How? Where? Is she alive, is she okay?”
Syd shook her head and threw up a hand to silence him. “Shhh! You’ll wake the whole base! God knows we don’t need you to wake Cruger!” She grabbed his jacket and threw it at him, aiming for his head as she turned towards the door.
Bridge jumped out of bed. His uniform was horribly wrinkled from being slept in and his hair was a mess, but he didn’t have time to change. He tried to smooth the unruly mop of brown hair down as he followed Syd to the garage but it refused to cooperate.
“You never answered my questions,” he said between licking his hand to smooth down his hair and trying to slide into his jacket.
“I don’t know any details,” she said, “all I know is that Boom came across something…”
“Boom,” said Bridge, coming to a halt beside the Jeep. “What do you mean ‘Boom came across something’?”
Syd shot him a nervous smile as her face brightened a shade or two in the darkness. “Well,” she confessed, “I kinda asked him to keep an eye out for anything unusual…you know, with that old radio of his that he’s always messing around with. It was just a hunch really, that the assailant might be trying to use some old, archaic equipment in an attempt to avoid normal channels of communication.” She gave him a sideways glance before turning her attention back to the highway and easing the Jeep out of the garage behind Sky’s bike. “It was just a hunch,” she repeated.
Bridge stared at her, openmouthed. “Wow,” he said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. “I’m impressed, Syd, truly impressed.”
“Hey, Z’s my friend too you know. I want to find her just as much as you do!” exclaimed the Pink Ranger; a little more than slightly offended by his choice of words.
Bridge nodded distractedly, his mind reeling with the possibility of recovering Z. “Yeah, but why Boom?” The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
Syd glared at him, her eyes holding little sympathy for him. “Well, you weren’t of any use, moping around and blaming yourself. I had to find someone who wasn’t so emotionally damaged to help out.”
The Green Ranger said nothing as he stared straight ahead, his mind already focused on what might lay just beyond the pink tinged horizon as he clung desperately to the last vestige of hope that Z was still alive…that she had somehow survived.
-------------------------
Z found herself in a small, dimly lit room. One window let in the barest streaks of daylight. The monster that had seized her during the middle of the night knocked her out not too long after they’d gotten out of sight of the base, presumably he didn’t want her continued yells to be overheard or her to have any idea where she was currently being held captive.
She was strapped to a chair, chained to the wall and unable to move, except for the smallest of motions. She could only hope that it would be enough. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed; obviously it had been a few hours and by now, the entire base had to know that she was missing. She growled at her own stupidity; if she hadn’t tried to go for her morpher, maybe she’d still have it. In all likelihood, her captor would have taken it from her, but at least it would still be here, wherever here was, and the Rangers could track her through it.
But now; it was unlikely they’d have much to go on. She didn’t even know if anyone had heard her screams as she was being carted off. If they did, it still wouldn’t help her current predicament much. She didn’t know if her friends would be able to find her at all. The more time that passed, the less likely it was they’d find her before...Z tried not to think about that, but it was becoming obvious that the only reason she was still in one piece was that her abductor wanted intel on SPD. He’d begun questioning her as soon as she woke up and when she hadn’t told him willingly...he settled for using other methods.
Even now, her body was wracked with convulsions from what he’d put her through. She didn’t know what kind of powers this creature possessed, but he had some way to use his mind to inflict pain and injury. She felt as if a jagged knife had been run across her body, randomly cutting into her sensitive skin. She looked down at herself and she could see a few spots where blood had seeped through and stained her uniform.
Deep down, she knew this was only the beginning. She’d have to hold on for as long as she could; never giving up, never giving in, for if she did, all of SPD would be gone. And she couldn’t let that happen. Even if it cost her very life.
-------------------------
She jerked awake at the onslaught of horrible memories; it seemed like an eternity had passed in that cold, lonely room, but in reality she didn’t how much time she’d spent there. She trembled in agonizing pain as something brushed across her bruised skin. A soft voice spoke to her; it was laced with pain, but it also gave her faint hope as she recognized the familiar voice.
She fought to open her eyes, but she realized to her dismay that they were swollen shut. “Bridge?” she called softly, her voice barely a whisper.
“I’m here,” came the quiet reply, as she felt him squeeze her hand gently.
It took a massive effort, fighting against pain, but she managed to squeeze his hand in return. She couldn’t understand why Bridge sounded like he was in such agony; it tore at her heart to hear it. Maybe it was because he couldn’t stand to see her as she was now; weak and trembling, a pathetic excuse for a Ranger. She vowed that she’d get better, somehow, someway, even if it took her until the end of time, she’d regain his respect and confidence. But for now, she could only fall back into a fitful sleep, haunted by visions of a disappointed and aching Bridge, chased by the horrible memories of that imprisoning room.
-------------------------
Bridge watched Z as she sleep and marveled at the vast array of facial expressions she was able to make as she was lost in the grip of some new nightmare. As she twisted slightly in the bed, withering beneath the touch of an invisible hand, he was seized with the urge to shake her awake. He wanted to comfort her, to let her know that she was okay and that everything was going to be alright, but in his heart he wasn’t sure if he truly believe that himself. Not after everything that had happened.
How could something so wrong ever be right again? How could he go on with his life knowing that he was the reason this had happened? Years from now when Z was whole again and back to her normal self, how could he pretend that the nightmares that haunted his dreams were nothing more than a manifestation of the guilt that plagued him now? Would he ever be able to look her dead in the eye again and not see his own failure glaring back at him?
Bridge shook his head in defeat, but it wouldn’t do to worry about the future while his friend’s life still hung precariously in the balance. He had to concentrate on her first; he could grapple with his own personal demons later.
He finally tore his gaze from her face, unable to stare at the marred beauty for a second longer. His eyes fell on her hand and on an impulse he reached out and took it gently in his own. He ran his thumb over the angry red scar that ran the length of her knuckles before raising her hand up and, like a gentlemen bidding his lovely lady ado, placed a tender kiss on the back of it.
For a moment, he thought she stirred at his touch, but a quick glance at her face told him that she was still fast asleep. The look of serene peacefulness that suddenly floated across her features made him momentarily forget all of his pervious worries. And for the second time in as many minutes, he found himself bringing her hand back up to his lips. It was all the comfort he could give her, but for the time being, it was more than enough.
and finally - the conclusion...
AuthorS: mariusgirl and lttledvl
Fandom: Power Rangers SPD
Rating: T
Summary: They had become confident in their abilities to the point where death seemed like a remote possibility at best...
Prompt: Invincible
Additional Notes: For the last 3 prompts, we decided to make this last bit one long story since they flowed together so well. Tissues may be required for this. Also, much thanks to scifislasher for the beta!
He awoke with a start, a silent scream lodged deep in his throat as the nightmare slowly faded away into the bright light of dawn. His breathing was labored as if he had just run a mile, and his heart was beating painfully against his chest. He swallowed but his throat was as dry as an old piece of sand paper.
Irritated, he stood and made his way to the bathroom. Without bothering to turn on the light, he snatched on the cold water and, cupping his hands, drank until his stomach protested. He splashed the refreshing water on his face, savoring the chill that it sent down his spine, but stopped with another handful halfway to his face when he heard a soft moaning coming from the room behind him, almost too softly for his ears to pick up. He let the water fall back into the sink and dried his hands on his pants as he rushed back into the infirmary, making a beeline for Z’s bed.
“Z?” He grabbed her hand as he sat on the edge of her bed. “Z, are you awake?”
He gingerly brushed the tips of his gloved fingers across her cheek and her bruised face contorted into a mask of pain as she whimpered in anguish beneath his touch.
“I-I’m sorry,” he whispered, withdrawing his hand.
Z struggled to open her eyes but they were swollen shut. “Bridge?”
He nodded his head, forgetting that she couldn’t see him. “I’m here,” he choked out, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
She squeezed his hand in return and after what seemed like a lifetime, she drifted back into a fitful sleep.
Bridge felt a stab of pain, for some reason he felt responsible for her current state, and nothing he did shook the feeling loose. It had attached itself like a leech to his brain, where it was fueled by anger and regret every time his eyes fell upon his friend’s limp body. If only he had taken Z’s place on night watch, she wouldn’t be fighting for her very right to live. If only he had found her sooner, maybe she would stand a better chance at survival. If only...the infinite possibilities that those two words brought with them ran through his head until he wanted to scream, scream until he felt the pain leave his body in one dizzying wave of blinding rage.
But instead he closed his eyes and concentrated with every fiber of his being on Z. He thought that if he concentrated hard enough, that maybe if he cared just enough, he could heal her, but when he opened his eyes she was just as still and broken as before.
And all at once, the harsh reality of being a Power Ranger set in. Every day they put their lives on the line to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. As Earth’s only line of defense against the most evil aliens in the galaxy, they had to be selfless and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.
There were bumps and bruises galore along their journey, and the occasional broken limb, but no one had ever died. They had become confident in their abilities to the point where death seemed like a remote possibility at best, and not something that any of them ever gave much thought to. After all, the good guys always won, right?
Bridge shook his head and stared at Z through misty vision. They had been so terribly wrong.
For everything they were, they were not invincible...
-------------------------
Z stood outside of SPD headquarters, the frosty night air nipping at her bare face as she stared up at the stars in the inky black sky. Though it was cold, it was a beautiful night, the clouds moving lazily across the crescent moon, bathing the thin wisps in pale silver. She continued along her routine path; night watch was nothing less than boring at most times, but it was necessary to protect the base against attack.
She heard a faint shifting of air behind her, spinning quickly and glancing around, she scoured the immediate area, but found nothing. Shrugging it off and chalking it up to a stray cat, she turned back and an instant later, found herself bound by an iron-grip. She struggled, but her unseen assailant was stronger than she.
“Unhand me! You’re assaulting an SPD officer and you’re under arrest!”
The laughing response sent chills up her spine. “Arrest me?” the voice mocked, “You can’t even get yourself free. Come little Ranger, why don’t we find a more private place to talk.”
She yelled for help and struggled to break free of the vice grip that held her tight, but to no avail. Her captor ran off with her, carrying her under one arm as if she weighed nothing. She squirmed in vain, attempting to reach her morpher, but only succeeded in knocking it free from its holster.
She continued to yell as the base got further away, turning into a tiny glowing dot in the distance before finally vanishing from her sight completely as he dragged her through the shadowy alleyways of Newtech City.
Her morpher lay on the pavement, pale moonlight glinting off it, a lonely specter in the cold night; the only indication that she had ever been there at all.
-------------------------
Bridge jerked awake as the alarms surrounded him in a cacophony of noise and light. Jerking himself out of slumber and bed, he rushed into the Command Center, to find Cruger looking slightly worried.
He waited impatiently to be told what was going on, but from the looks that the Commander and Kat wore, it couldn’t be good.
“Rangers, there’s been an attack.”
“Where?” Syd asked, rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes.
“Here. All we know as of this moment is that Cadet Delgado is missing.”
Bridge’s heart leapt into his throat. Missing? But how? Why? Steeling his nerves, he forced his voice to remain even. “Where did she disappear from?”
“The east side of the building; she was out on patrol when someone grabbed her. A nearby cadet also on patrol could her yelling for help, but when they got there, all they found was this.” Cruger placed Z’s morpher on top of the command console.
It sat there, almost glaring in accusation at the Green Ranger, sending knives of guilt straight into his gut.
It should’ve been me, he thought dully, Z and I traded night watch duties so I could do some stupid computer upgrade, and look what it cost me. She’s gone and it’s all my fault.
“So we don’t have any way to track her then?” Syd was asking.
“Not yet; Kat is working on something right now.”
“I’ll go.” Bridge stepped forward. “I’ll track her. The trail is still fresh, so hopefully I can pick up on something.”
“No,” the Commander replied, “This assailant has already captured one of you; I won’t send another out blindly and risk losing you as well. I’m sorry, Bridge.”
He nodded in acquiescence. Cruger did have a point, but even so...if they waited too long any traces of her would vanish and they’d have even less chance of finding her.
Bridge mentally kicked at himself in anger as Cruger ordered them back to their rooms. He decided to obey the order for now, but at the first opportunity...
He wandered towards his dormitory and finally fell wearily and broken hearted onto the soft sheets. He replayed the conversation in the Command Center over and over again as a single tear fell onto his pillow. Furious with himself and overcome by guilt, he smashed his fist into the wall beside his bed. Again and again he bashed his fist against the wall until the blinding wave of anger and self hatred burned itself out from pure exhaustion. He cradled his hand against his chest as he lay staring blankly at the ceiling, the image of Z smiling and waving as she disappeared into the night, laughing in amusement at some stupid joke he had told her, was burned into his mind’s eye. He could see it every time he closed his eyes, and it made his pain so much more unbearable.
Cursing himself and the ills of bad fate, he turned over onto his side, clutching his pillow tightly to his chest as if it were his last anchor to earth and fell into a fitful sleep full of dark shadows and taunting, nameless faces.
-------------------------
The Green Ranger felt someone shaking his shoulder but he kept his eyes closed in a vain hope that whoever it was would go away and leave him and his misery in peace.
“Bridge! Bridge, wake up,” hissed Syd into his ear. “Get up; we think we’ve located Z!”
“G’way,” he mumbled sleepily as he shoved her away.
She huffed in irritation before grabbing the covers and yanking them down to his feet. “Get up; we think we’ve located Z!”
The words “located” and “Z” kick started his numb brain and his eyes flashed open. “What? How? Where? Is she alive, is she okay?”
Syd shook her head and threw up a hand to silence him. “Shhh! You’ll wake the whole base! God knows we don’t need you to wake Cruger!” She grabbed his jacket and threw it at him, aiming for his head as she turned towards the door.
Bridge jumped out of bed. His uniform was horribly wrinkled from being slept in and his hair was a mess, but he didn’t have time to change. He tried to smooth the unruly mop of brown hair down as he followed Syd to the garage but it refused to cooperate.
“You never answered my questions,” he said between licking his hand to smooth down his hair and trying to slide into his jacket.
“I don’t know any details,” she said, “all I know is that Boom came across something…”
“Boom,” said Bridge, coming to a halt beside the Jeep. “What do you mean ‘Boom came across something’?”
Syd shot him a nervous smile as her face brightened a shade or two in the darkness. “Well,” she confessed, “I kinda asked him to keep an eye out for anything unusual…you know, with that old radio of his that he’s always messing around with. It was just a hunch really, that the assailant might be trying to use some old, archaic equipment in an attempt to avoid normal channels of communication.” She gave him a sideways glance before turning her attention back to the highway and easing the Jeep out of the garage behind Sky’s bike. “It was just a hunch,” she repeated.
Bridge stared at her, openmouthed. “Wow,” he said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. “I’m impressed, Syd, truly impressed.”
“Hey, Z’s my friend too you know. I want to find her just as much as you do!” exclaimed the Pink Ranger; a little more than slightly offended by his choice of words.
Bridge nodded distractedly, his mind reeling with the possibility of recovering Z. “Yeah, but why Boom?” The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
Syd glared at him, her eyes holding little sympathy for him. “Well, you weren’t of any use, moping around and blaming yourself. I had to find someone who wasn’t so emotionally damaged to help out.”
The Green Ranger said nothing as he stared straight ahead, his mind already focused on what might lay just beyond the pink tinged horizon as he clung desperately to the last vestige of hope that Z was still alive…that she had somehow survived.
-------------------------
Z found herself in a small, dimly lit room. One window let in the barest streaks of daylight. The monster that had seized her during the middle of the night knocked her out not too long after they’d gotten out of sight of the base, presumably he didn’t want her continued yells to be overheard or her to have any idea where she was currently being held captive.
She was strapped to a chair, chained to the wall and unable to move, except for the smallest of motions. She could only hope that it would be enough. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed; obviously it had been a few hours and by now, the entire base had to know that she was missing. She growled at her own stupidity; if she hadn’t tried to go for her morpher, maybe she’d still have it. In all likelihood, her captor would have taken it from her, but at least it would still be here, wherever here was, and the Rangers could track her through it.
But now; it was unlikely they’d have much to go on. She didn’t even know if anyone had heard her screams as she was being carted off. If they did, it still wouldn’t help her current predicament much. She didn’t know if her friends would be able to find her at all. The more time that passed, the less likely it was they’d find her before...Z tried not to think about that, but it was becoming obvious that the only reason she was still in one piece was that her abductor wanted intel on SPD. He’d begun questioning her as soon as she woke up and when she hadn’t told him willingly...he settled for using other methods.
Even now, her body was wracked with convulsions from what he’d put her through. She didn’t know what kind of powers this creature possessed, but he had some way to use his mind to inflict pain and injury. She felt as if a jagged knife had been run across her body, randomly cutting into her sensitive skin. She looked down at herself and she could see a few spots where blood had seeped through and stained her uniform.
Deep down, she knew this was only the beginning. She’d have to hold on for as long as she could; never giving up, never giving in, for if she did, all of SPD would be gone. And she couldn’t let that happen. Even if it cost her very life.
-------------------------
She jerked awake at the onslaught of horrible memories; it seemed like an eternity had passed in that cold, lonely room, but in reality she didn’t how much time she’d spent there. She trembled in agonizing pain as something brushed across her bruised skin. A soft voice spoke to her; it was laced with pain, but it also gave her faint hope as she recognized the familiar voice.
She fought to open her eyes, but she realized to her dismay that they were swollen shut. “Bridge?” she called softly, her voice barely a whisper.
“I’m here,” came the quiet reply, as she felt him squeeze her hand gently.
It took a massive effort, fighting against pain, but she managed to squeeze his hand in return. She couldn’t understand why Bridge sounded like he was in such agony; it tore at her heart to hear it. Maybe it was because he couldn’t stand to see her as she was now; weak and trembling, a pathetic excuse for a Ranger. She vowed that she’d get better, somehow, someway, even if it took her until the end of time, she’d regain his respect and confidence. But for now, she could only fall back into a fitful sleep, haunted by visions of a disappointed and aching Bridge, chased by the horrible memories of that imprisoning room.
-------------------------
Bridge watched Z as she sleep and marveled at the vast array of facial expressions she was able to make as she was lost in the grip of some new nightmare. As she twisted slightly in the bed, withering beneath the touch of an invisible hand, he was seized with the urge to shake her awake. He wanted to comfort her, to let her know that she was okay and that everything was going to be alright, but in his heart he wasn’t sure if he truly believe that himself. Not after everything that had happened.
How could something so wrong ever be right again? How could he go on with his life knowing that he was the reason this had happened? Years from now when Z was whole again and back to her normal self, how could he pretend that the nightmares that haunted his dreams were nothing more than a manifestation of the guilt that plagued him now? Would he ever be able to look her dead in the eye again and not see his own failure glaring back at him?
Bridge shook his head in defeat, but it wouldn’t do to worry about the future while his friend’s life still hung precariously in the balance. He had to concentrate on her first; he could grapple with his own personal demons later.
He finally tore his gaze from her face, unable to stare at the marred beauty for a second longer. His eyes fell on her hand and on an impulse he reached out and took it gently in his own. He ran his thumb over the angry red scar that ran the length of her knuckles before raising her hand up and, like a gentlemen bidding his lovely lady ado, placed a tender kiss on the back of it.
For a moment, he thought she stirred at his touch, but a quick glance at her face told him that she was still fast asleep. The look of serene peacefulness that suddenly floated across her features made him momentarily forget all of his pervious worries. And for the second time in as many minutes, he found himself bringing her hand back up to his lips. It was all the comfort he could give her, but for the time being, it was more than enough.
and finally - the conclusion...