Power Rangers 1. Holding Boxes and Cutting Food

_**Note:** This is a three-part series of fics related to "Harder to be Brave" and "Easier to Hide", and before "Sunrises, Sunsets, and Precut Muffins". Like everything else in this storyline, this contains mentions of suicidal ideation._

**Holding Boxes and Cutting Food**  
**by Estirose**  
**c 2011**

Flynn leaned back as he surveyed his latest effort. The three boxes - Ziggy's only earthly belongings, as far as anybody could tell - were temporarily sitting in his room until the docs cleared Ziggy for duty and off of suicide watch.

Thank goodness Dillon had realized what was going on when he and the others hadn't. He might have the occasional issue with Dillon, but the guy did know Ziggy better than anyone else did. If he hadn't realized what Ziggy'd tried to do, they'd probably be burying him instead of keeping a sharp eye.

He had to also admit that he'd had Ziggy all wrong. When he'd heard that Ziggy'd taken off without his morpher, his first thought was that Ziggy was being himself: silly, selfish, a little irresponsible. All he needed was a good talk. The force of his team bearing down on him to remind him of how much things had changed in the few hours before.

Ziggy's confession - well, more or less a confession, since Dillon had been the one to say the words - had told him how badly he'd been wrong. And how much Ziggy valued their opinions, in totally the wrong way. Ziggy needed people around him. He needed them, he needed teammates to keep him steady. Sure, he couldn't fight, but that could be fixed. Flynn had always figured they'd get used to each other just like he, Summer, and Scott had come together before.

And, by underestimating Ziggy, he almost would have been denied the chance. His first impulse, once he'd gotten past the stunned realization of what had almost happened, was to tackle Ziggy and tie him up until he was sure that Ziggy was safe. Dr. K had since told them what needed to be done in Ziggy's case, and he had to admit that it hadn't been as terrible as he'd first thought… but Ziggy was still sick, and he had to be taken care of until the doctors could fix him.

Some part of his mind was planning for the next day. He'd be watching over Ziggy for the last part of the evening, taking over from Summer until it was time to go to bed and turn Ziggy back over to Dillon. Ziggy probably needed something nutritious, but nothing that required him to use a knife or a fork, or at least a knife. If he was doing roast beef as he'd planned, Ziggy would need his pre-cut. Probably was best to cut the muffins in the morning, too. Dr. K had told him that Ziggy didn't need to be watched every moment, just kept an eye on to make sure he wasn't doing anything dangerous. That's what suicide watch apparently meant for Corinth's military, or at least its Rangers.

At least Ziggy had been deeply asleep when Flynn had come to take the boxes away. He'd have said that Ziggy was dead to the world, but dead really wasn't a word he was willing to deal with when it came to Ziggy at the moment. He was at least tired from everything that was going on, and Dillon was probably going to have a really easy shift.

But he was safe. For now. And Flynn and the others would make sure he stayed safe.


	2. And Understanding Teammates

_**Note:**__ Summer's turn here, as she watches Ziggy sleep._

**Of Understanding Teammates  
by Estirose  
c 2011**

Summer watched Ziggy watch from the door. He was sleeping soundly, one thin arm contrasting against the dark green covers, the other arm half-buried by his head. His morpher was sitting snugly on his wrist, their insurance that if he tried to leave, they could find him and stop him. Scott had been talking about ways to make sure Ziggy couldn't take the morpher off until they were sure he wouldn't try to kill himself.

Flynn had been in the room earlier, she knew, taking Ziggy's things away for a little while until they were sure he was safe. Scott was talking to Doctor K about what to do. With nothing else for her to do, or at least anything to keep her attention, she'd found herself outside Ziggy's room, making sure he was okay. Or as okay as he was going to be at the moment. It was Dillon's watch right now, technically speaking, but she found herself taking it up, wanting to make sure that she did what she could for Ziggy.

She had to admit, Ziggy didn't make the best first impression. Or second, third, or fourth. He was a coward, he cracked bad jokes, he tried to be impressive and failed spectacularly. He could be the kind of guy that you were embarrassed to admit you knew.

And then he did things like take on a power and responsibility he didn't want to keep a promise he'd made. His actions had saved them, just as they'd stuck the team with a Ranger that was unqualified for the job. Even she'd known how to fight when she'd been offered hers.

That was Ziggy for you, a contradiction in terms. A good guy who had made bad choices; someone who joked and smiled as he was in pain. Someone who wanted to be loved and managed to do everything to keep him from being loved.

Someone who wanted love, people to love him as he was, just as she had subconsciously. When she'd left everything behind to save Scott and become a Ranger, she'd found those people. Scott and Flynn had been the ones she'd needed to keep her from regressing back to the old Summer Landsdown, sometimes. And with his team around him, she was sure that Ziggy would be the same way.

If they could keep him from dying.

What was bothering her, she had to admit, was that Ziggy had implied that it was the team that had driven him away. That he'd felt not wanted. She'd done her share of lecturing; Scott, Flynn, and Dr. K too. She didn't know about the others, but she'd wanted Ziggy to understand. And it turned out he had, a little too well. Enough to walk out of there without his morpher, intent on freeing up his power the only way he knew how.

If Dillon and Dr. K hadn't been there, he could have been dead. He knew the tech well enough to know that he couldn't be tracked without his morpher, and he had a gift for provoking people - unintentionally, probably, but enough to know how to piss someone off. That's what Dillon had figured out, anyway, from what she'd gotten out of him after Ziggy had gone to sleep. It was pure luck that Ziggy had gotten hungry and stopped long enough for Dillon to chase him down.

She didn't know how Scott wanted to handle this, but it was clear that the most important thing that Ziggy had to understand was not his responsibilities, but theirs. To know that they were there for him, and that he was on this team, and he wasn't going to leave it. They wouldn't let him. Not the way he'd tried.

At least they'd have time to talk. She intended to sit Ziggy down during her afternoon watch and get him to realize that he had teammates now, and damned if they were going to let him die.

As Dillon came into view, she let go of the doorframe, silently ceding the watch back to Dillon. She'd have time to talk to Ziggy later.


	3. Policies and Procedures

_**Note:** One more, for Scott and Dr. K, before I start posting the next fic in the series._

**Policies and Procedures**  
**by Estirose**  
**c 2011**

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. He and Dr. K had been going over the policies and procedures they'd adopted when his team had first formed, looking for something that would help them deal with the current situation.

Of course, nobody had anticipated a suicidal Ranger, mostly because those supposedly chosen for the task were strong fighters with sound minds, or supposedly so. Or at least the morphers were not supposed to bond with anybody who wasn't. "How was he able to bond with the morpher anyway?" he wondered out loud.

Dr. K was silent for a moment before replying, "I'm not sure, Ranger Red. The morpher should have prevented the bond, instead of accepting him. The experience he described during his debriefing accurately described a bond prompt, which was intended to prompt the Operator-to-be that the device is ready to bond. It might have unintentionally spurred his decision to activate the morpher, as he was in danger at that time."

Scott pinched his nose. "Well, at least it's not in Tenaya Seven's hands, I guess." That had given Scott the shivers, the fact that Tenaya had nearly gotten the morpher. It still didn't explain why the morpher had accepted Ziggy Grover, but at least she hadn't gotten it. "Was it damaged in any way?"

"No, Ranger Red," Dr. K said, with only a brief pause. "That was what puzzled me. Ranger Green's morpher seems to be in perfect operating condition."

Perfect operating condition. And yet, it had bonded with Ziggy.

He didn't want Ziggy to be a Ranger, and he'd wished that the morpher would spontaneously debond, even though he knew it wasn't technically possible. Ziggy Grover's DNA would be matched to it for the rest of Ziggy's life.

Apparently Ziggy had been as thrilled with this as Scott had, and much better at realizing how to free up the morpher than Scott had been. Scott's wish had been idle dislike; Ziggy's had been a fairly solid suicide plan that had only been foiled by Dr. K's technical skills and Dillon's friendship. And Ziggy's desire to have breakfast.

The will to live, the will to keep continuing, had temporarily won out the desire to die, in Ziggy's case.

"Ranger Red?" Dr. K asked, and he realized he'd fallen into his own thoughts.

"I remember wishing that there had been some way to free the morpher," he said simply.

"I had that desire, too, Ranger Red, and yet I knew it was a technical impossibility. That's why I instituted such an intense training program. For whatever reason, we do have a Ranger Operator Series Green, and he must be trained up to the default level."

Dr. K's tone was crisp, and Scott found himself nodding. "I think he can do it." Suicide was not being brave, but Ziggy had to have a strong will if he'd been willing to die. Strength was sometimes found in the most unusual places.

"What are you considering?"

"I'm thinking of what we have to do to keep him from trying to kill himself again."

"I've been scanning the literature on what to do, and it appears that we must… support the fact that he is important, listen to him, and help him develop steps to take should he ever consider taking his own life again." He sounded like he was reading off of a page, or something.

Support the fact that Ziggy was important. Scott wasn't sure how he was supposed to do that, but he suspected that having a long talk with Ziggy about how he had a team to support him, just as he was expected to support them. He'd talk more with Flynn and Summer, coordinate with them on what they could do to convince Ziggy his life was worth living. Try to work on whatever he'd done to make Ziggy convinced that he was unwanted and try to kill himself.

The doctors might be able to help with some of that, but he had a feeling that he and the others were important, and accepting Ziggy even with his quirks even more so.

"Got it." He stood up. He was the first one to handle Ziggy in the morning, and he had no clue how. Time to talk to his teammates, coordinate things, make things work. Because even as he was in command, they were still a team, and together, they would get this worked out.


End file.

Power Rangers, Angst