Title: Love Helps

Rating: T-M depending on how explicit the sex scenes get, and judging by my own experience, probably more towards the T, but I'll rate M just to be safe. Also torture and nudity in this chapter to warrant the rating.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, and if I did, and if I did Andros and Ashley would totally have had a make-out session!!

Summary: Andros finds Ashley held captive on the Dark Fortress beaten and powerless. The Astro Rangers are reconstituted, but things aren't completely normal, well as normal as an Astro Ranger's life can be. Ashley and Andros are both damaged, and can't seem to realize they need each other to truly heal. Can love really heal all wounds?

Author's Note: Hello all! So this is my very first Power Rangers fic, I'm typically a Buffy writer, so don't yell at me if my language is still a little Joss-y. I just recently got back into PRIS, and since then some scenes has been rolling around in my head, and I want to put them down in a story before school starts back up. Feedback is loved and greatly appreciated!!

Prologue

The Red Ranger ducked into the first open room he found. He had successfully snuck onto the Dark Fortress, and so far had avoided detection, but the surprise of a squadron of quantrons marching his way had almost spoiled the whole operation. Andros wanted information. He had been searching single-mindedly for his sister Karone since KO-35 fell. Andros knew he was close, and had recently remembered that Darkonda had kidnapped his sister all those years ago. That returned memory led him to one conclusion that the best source of information lay in the Dark Fortress, the home of all of evil's information.

Andros breathed a sigh of relief when the quantrons passed without pause, but he immediately tensed when he heard a noise in the room. He spun, ready to fight whoever was in the room. Andros froze where he stood, momentarily stunned by the sight in front of him. A person was strung from the ceiling in chains. They were bruised from head to toe, with shallow cuts all over her naked body. Andros looked away briefly before the clanking of moving manacles forced him to look back. The girl shifted gently, trying to relieve some of the pressure on her shoulders while her toes skimmed the floor in an effort to support herself, but no matter what she did, it seemed impossible that she would get any comfort from any position.

Andros snapped out of it, shook his head and made a split second decision to save this girl, even though it could complicate his exit significantly. He drew his blaster from its holster and aimed, he would only get one shot, because if he missed the alarm would surely be sounded and they'd both be in big trouble. He shot, and hit the chain dead on, and the girl dropped like a sack of potatoes. The Red Ranger ran over and knelt down next to the girl to check whether she was conscious, but the instant he got close to her, the girl scrambled to the nearest corner. Andros ran after her, "Shh… don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm gonna get you out of here."

The girl looked out through her hair and locked eyes with Andros through his helmet. Andros quickly shook off the electric current that ran through his body when she looked at him. Andros stood up and quickly scanned the room; he strode over to one of the walls, ripped the curtain down and brought it back to the girl and wrapped it around her and gingerly picked her up. He noticed how light she was, and how she shook in his arms.

The Red Ranger walked quickly to the door and peered into the hallway to check whether it was clear. Walking quickly and quietly through the maze of hallways in the Dark Fortress. Andros made it to the hangar bay before the alarm sounded; it appeared his good deed had been discovered. Maneuvering as quickly as he could, Andros reached the opening of the hangar and called for his glider, "Galaxy glider hang ten!"

Andros and the girl made it back to the Megaship without being followed. Once onboard Andros got the girl to the med bay right away, and laid her on one of the examining beds, leaving the curtain over her to keep her warm. Andros powered down and got busy getting the materials he would need to patch this girl up.

His back was turned when he heard a raspy voice say, "Who are you?"

Andros whirled around and saw her staring at him, Andros couldn't quite hold her gaze, so he turned and continued what he was doing, "You shouldn't speak." He turned and crossed the room, avoiding her eyes at all costs.

Andros slowly moved the curtain aside to begin cleaning and dressing her wounds. She closed her eyes against the sting of the disinfectant. Feeling the need to distract her from the pain, Andros said, "My name is Andros, you're on my Megaship. I found you on the Dark Fortress and brought you here."

Andros fell silent, but once he had finished cleaning the wounds on the front of her body he said, "I'm going to need to clean the wounds on your back. Can you sit up so I can clean and dress the wounds on your back?"

The girl nodded, and Andros slid his arm gently behind her shoulders and helped her sit up. She rested her head on her knees, which she brought to her chest, and circled her hands around her legs. The gashes on her back were worse than those on her front, and being as gentle as he could, Andros cleaned the wounds as quickly as possible, but noticed tears leak out of the corners of hers eyes as she stared blankly in front of her.

Ashley snapped herself out of the nightmare of recent events replaying in her mind and croaked out, "I'm Ashley."

Andros nodded slightly and continued dressing and treating Ashley's wounds. He finished quickly, "You can lay back now. I'm going to go find something for you to wear." Andros went to the sythetron, pushed some buttons and handed Ashley a small cup, "Here, drink this. It will help with the pain, and help you sleep."

Ashley nodded, accepted the cup, and swallowed the foul tasting concoction. Andros was leaving the Med bay when he heard Ashley whisper, "Thank you." Andros turned just to see Ashley's eyes flutter closed. Andros couldn't believe how differently his night had gone. He had gone to the Dark Fortress for information and come back with a girl; essentially he'd come back with nothing. Andros was frustrated. He was so close to getting information on his sister's whereabouts, but his damn conscience distracted him and compelled him to save the girl, Ashley. Setting his resolve, he decided to dump her on the closest human colony and get back to his mission. He grabbed a spare color sweat suit for Ashley and stopped on the bridge.

"Deca, what's the closest human colony?" Andros was looking at star charts trying to figure out where he could leave the girl.

"The nearest human colony is Earth, which I believe the girl comes from." The machine answered immediately.

"Set a course and get us there as fast as possible, I have better things to do than baby-sit a terran." Andros was focused on the controls when a ship suddenly appeared on the viewing screen.

"There is an incoming shuttle. Docking procedures begun." Deca stated calmly.

Andros rounded on the red eye mounted on the wall, "What! Do not dock the shuttle! Deca, did you hear me?! Deca!" Andros fumed and yelled, "Let's Rocket!"

So what did you think? Reviews are greatly appreciated! I'm hoping to post another chapter in the next couple of days. Thanks for reading!!