A.N.: This is an idea that came to me while watching the SPD/Dino Thunder crossover episodes (there were two, if you didn't know...). That means that Bridge and Kira met twice before Once a Ranger but because their memories were wiped, they don't remember at all, and for some reason, that makes me really sad. I imagine they would make good friends, though, so this is me, giving them a chance at friendship.

Hartford Manor, San Angeles, California (2007)

Bridge Carson stared at the ceiling, blinking only when absolutely necessary. This time and place, this speck of dust in the universe, this moment in distant history, it was all so strange to him. It was hard to imagine that he was here, and that he would have to go back. Would he be permitted to remember this time? Dr. Manx had once let it slip to him that he'd been around this time before, even though it had risked the natural progression of time. Really, it was a wonder that the Sentential Knight had chosen him at all, considering that at this exact moment, he was in two places at once. Somewhere in what would soon be Newteche City, there was a three year old him, tucked in soundly, dreaming of becoming a power ranger.

It was so dark in this room; there were no windows in this ranger team's base. The darkness reminded him of his dorm back home. The air mattress was, however, a step down from his once-regulation bunk. In the years since he had first moved into that dorm, he'd altered, adjusted and tricked that bad boy out until it was the epitome of comfort. Shifting slightly in his sleeping bag that rustled against the plastic mattress, he decided this was less than comfortable.

He'd be home soon enough, he reminded himself. Two more days, tops. That was the way it always worked with this kind of mission: go back in time, work quickly, save the world, get home. Memory wipe: optional.

Bridge smiled, thinking of what was waiting for him in the future—or was it the present? It was his present. This was the past. Although, now certainly felt like the present. To someone on some other time line, this was the future, though. Time travel hurt his head. He gave it thought and came to the conclusion that time didn't really matter. Not to him. He just wanted to return to the time and place where his friends were, where he had finally made a name for himself. Satisfied, he sighed deeply.

"Bridge?" A whisper cut through his thoughts. Was it a ghost? It almost sounded like Syd… But Syd was in the future (present? home?) so it couldn't be her. Perhaps he'd only imagined it. He closed his eyes, and tried to forget about it. "Are you awake?" No, it was definitely real, and it definitely wanted to talk to him.

"Yes?" He hesitantly answered, only slightly confused. "Yes, I am. May I ask who's calling?" The voice giggled. In the dark, he caught the peripheral outline of a body sitting up. An air mattress across the room scuffed against the tile.

"I'm coming over there." He sat up in response. Peeling the leather glove off of his right hand, he felt for an aura. Yellow waves hit him like a tsunami. He had never felt such a strong wave of energy all at once, or at least he couldn't think of a time when he had. Quickly, he fastened the glove back on. It was almost painful, having such pure energy radiating through his skin, pulsating like earthquakes through his senses.

"Good morrow, Kira," Bridge greeted her with overenthusiastic formality in a whisper as she padded her way between the others' makeshift beds. She reached his and hesitated only a second before sitting on the opposite end. Folding her left leg under her right, she cocked her head slightly.

"Is it morning, already?" She asked.

"I think so," He answered, reaching to the pile of his clothes, folded neatly beside him, he dug up his watch from the pocket of his uniform. Pressing a button on the side of the face, a dimly lit hologram informed them that it was 2:16 in the morning.

"I guess it is." Kira shrugged. As he tossed his timepiece back onto the pile, she couldn't help but notice how well it suited him. It was odd, but somehow still classy. "Great watch, by the way."

"Thanks," He said, trying to remember when or where he'd gotten it. The hands were a bright green, so he could only assume it was from his rookie days. "I've had it… a while."

"I'm not keeping you up, am I? I hope I didn't wake you…"

It was Bridge's turn to shrug. He ran a hand through his bed-head and answered, "I was up, and I don't know that I was getting to sleep anytime soon. Was there some particular reason you wanted to talk to me? Not that I don't enjoy your company… Well actually, I don't know whether I enjoy your company or not. I haven't really made that decision yet." He caught himself before his entire foot was in his mouth. "No offense intended."

"None taken," She laughed quietly, trying not to wake anyone else up. "I don't actually know why I came over here. I couldn't sleep and when I heard you stir, I thought maybe…" Her voice trailed off. She didn't know how to explain what it was, but she knew that talking to Bridge was like living in a dream, and she couldn't help but be completely honest with him. "I think I like talking to you, is all. It gives me this… feeling."

"Feelings are actually your brain's reaction to changes in heart rate." He recited a line he'd read in a medical journal at the age of nineteen. No, wait. In the library… Librarian with the chains on her glasses… Syd was there. Sky was not. He was eighteen when he read that. "Typical feelings of anxiety or fear tend to accompany a quickening heart rate, while disappointment and relaxation are generally coupled with a slowing heart rate."

"I don't think it's one of those feelings," She said slowly, dissecting his words. Kira couldn't be sure, she hadn't known Bridge for more than a few hours, but it sounded to her like he thought she was hitting on him. She tried to correct that sentiment. "More like… nostalgia? Like we've had conversations before. But that's impossible, isn't it? We just met today, or yesterday, rather, seeing as its morning."

"Actually, in Portuguese, there is a word for that: saudade. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, I've only ever read it before… Anyway, it refers to a mild nostalgia or deep longing for something that either hasn't happened yet or possibly happened in another life." Pausing, he scanned his memory. There was something else. Squinting in concentration, he began to speak again. "I think the most literal English translation is something along the lines of 'a residual love' or 'the recollection of feelings'. It's kind of similar to déjà vu, which, of course, is French for 'what has been seen before'."

"Wow," Kira breathed, letting his words resonate with her. He had so much knowledge that it almost scared her. Was there anything he didn't remember? Anything he hadn't read? "You speak all those languages?"

"Yes." He said bluntly. "I speak every language known to man, extraterrestrial, and most varieties of dolphin."

Kira fell silent. For a moment, she couldn't tell if he was insane or simply brilliant. As she pondered, he suddenly let out a laugh, soft and sweet, that let her in on his joke.

"I'm sorry," Bridge gasped between muffled bursts of laughter. "Dolphins… You totally believed me!"

She blushed only slightly before joining his laughter. He was right. It was pretty funny. "Was I not supposed to believe you?" She reached over his sleeping bag and shoved his shoulder. "Did I have any reason not to? It's not like I've ever been to the future before, you know. For all I know, the dolphins are all scholars there!"

"You're right, you're right," He admitted, catching his breath. "I'm honestly sorry. I took advantage of your past-liness."

"That's right, you're sorry!" Kira joked. "In my day, we respected our elders, young man."

"We are in your day!"

"I suppose we are, aren't we?" She smiled, silently trying to do the math. "I'm twenty, now… How old does that make you?"

"Well, I was born in 2004," He answered. "So, little Bridgey is almost four. I had hoped while I was here that I might meet myself so then I could be friends with little me. The only problem is… what if I end up not liking myself? That could be a total bummer."

"That's not what I meant," Kira explained. "How old are you… were you… will you be, I guess, when you leave to come to this time?"

"Oh, twenty-four," He nodded. A smile sprawled across his face, as he realized what that meant. "I think that makes me your elder, after all." Crossing his arms, authoritatively, as he'd seen Sky do for years, he decreed, "You are now obligated to laugh at all of my jokes, including, but not limited to, those about dolphins."

"Keep it down, you two!" A husky voice growled, the thin accent thickened with sleep. Xander rolled over in half wake. "Beauty sleep is trying to happen over here."

"Sorry!" Kira hissed in his direction. Turning back to Bridge, she hesitated. "I guess I better get to bed, then."

"Yeah," He said, letting his smile fade. "We've got a big day of alien-robot-or-whatever fighting in the morning."

She stood up and silently made her way back to her own bed, thinking to herself that there was no way she was only meeting him for the first time. It could be possible that they'd met, or even been friends in a different life, or timeline, or something. Stranger things had happened, she supposed. What was this, exactly? Déjà vu? Saudade? Residual love? There was no way.