Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

Chapter 10

"Morning," Andros's voice greeted her quietly. "How do you feel?"

His hand touched her hair and she smiled faintly. "I'm fine," she whispered, and tucked her head against his shoulder.

When he didn't speak, she knew that he hadn't believed her. Andros sighed quietly and held her close, touching a kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

Why that had her blinking back tears she didn't know, and Ashley swallowed hard. "Love you too..." She rubbed her eyes with the back of her palm, and tried to smile at him to reassure him that she was all right.

Andros groaned softly as he sat up, flexing his shoulders a few times. She watched him yawn and then realized how his eyelids drooped, and wondered suddenly if he'd had any sleep at all. It was her fault if he hadn't.

"Andros?" she ventured timidly. "Are you--are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered quickly. "Are you?"

"Andros," she sighed, not fooled by his too-quick response. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he insisted. She just looked at him, and he glanced away. "Just a dream," he said. "It wasn't really anything."

"A dream about her," she muttered. She knew she was right when he didn't say anything. "I'm sorry."

"No." Andros shook his head, touching her hand. "It had nothing to do with you."

Ashley doubted that. But he insisted that it wasn't because of her and so she let it slide. The last thing she'd meant to do was give him nightmares on top of everything else.

"It wasn't a nightmare," he said softly.

She blinked at him, unsure if she'd spoken aloud or if he'd read her mind. "It... wasn't?"

"No." He lowered his eyes, frowning to himself. "She was just... there. She was bored."

"Bored," Ashley repeated flatly.

"I'm sorry," Andros muttered. He looked away. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay," she said awkwardly. "You didn't."

Andros raised an eyebrow at her, unconvinced. "Let's get something to eat," he suggested quietly. "If you feel like it."

She didn't really, but she knew she was worrying him enough as it was. "Sure," she agreed. Andros wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she hugged his waist, keeping her hold on him as they wandered down towards the holding bay. As long as he was there, she could believe that it would be okay.

"Karone?"

She looked up from the reports she had been squinting at. Andros frowned at her and she smiled, waving him closer. "You can come in."

"How do you feel?" was his first question. "Can I talk to you?" was his second.

"Sure..." She set the reader to the side and took a closer look at him. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm perfectly fine," she answered patiently, and drew her legs up beneath her. "What's bothering you?"

For a moment, he didn't answer. Eyes troubled, he came to sit on her bed, arms folded over his chest as he leaned back against the wall. "It's a long story," he said finally.

Karone nodded, and he started talking. She listened as he recounted his dream, growing uneasy as he told her Lyra's repeated insistence that he kill Cosmos. She wasn't convinced that it was anything more than a dream, but... she didn't like it.

When Andros stopped, she touched his arm and scooted closer. "Was only a dream--right?"

"I hope so," he muttered. Andros shook his head when she narrowed her eyes at him. "You're right. But... she--the dream--made me realize that--" He paused, rearranging his arms and legs. "We have to kill him," he continued. "I--I don't know if there's a way around that anymore."

Karone didn't know how to respond to that. Her hand clenched on his elbow, she studied the sheets for a few moments. "I..."

"I know." Andros laid his fingers over hers, and sighed. "I don't want to be the one to do it."

"I'm not sure I could do it, either," she said, and sighed. If she had to, then she could--she thought. Karone thought of Ashley and bit her lip, squeezing Andros's hand. If that's what it came to, she knew that her friends would help her through it, but she truly didn't want to kill Cosmos.

"Karone?" Andros's voice was soft as he sought out her eye. "Do you ever miss him? When he was Kale?"

"I..." What was the right answer to that? "When we were little, I was probably closer to him than to you," she said, and sighed. That had all changed when she and Andros had started their Ranger training in earnest. "I like you better now," she told him, and tried to smile. "More than I ever liked him."

He smiled faintly, then it faded. "I can hardly remember a time when he liked me."

Karone nodded slowly, frowning as she remembered.

"Go play with your brothers."

Andros looked up when their mother gave Karone a gentle push towards him. She looked at him and he pulled his telekinesis ball closer. "It's mine!"

"Andros, share."

"You hafta let me play," she said smugly, and the ball floated toward her. "I'm better at it than you, anyway."

He reached out and grasped the ball with his hands, holding it against his chest. "You aren't."

She narrowed her eyes at him, concentrating. The ball flew out of his grasp into hers, and she laughed when she caught it. "See? I am!"

"She is," Kale agreed, and he smiled at her over Andros's head. "You need more practice."

"I want it back!" Andros said angrily. "Karone!"

"It's my turn," she insisted. "You had it all morning."

"Let your sister have it for just a little while," their mother said patiently. "You can have it when she's bored with it."

"But--"

"No, Andros." Her voice was firmer now, and this time Andros didn't argue when Karone sat down to play.

"Karone?" He approached her slowly once their mother had left the room. "Can I play with you?"

"No." She shook her head and kept the ball close to her, just in case. "Go away."

Andros frowned at her. "But I..."

"You heard Mom," Kale spoke up. "Go watch vids or something."

Andros's face fell. Karone watched him walk away and then turned back to the ball, testing her ability to hold it still. It stopped bouncing but still turned slowly in circles, and no matter how she moved her hands she couldn't seem to make it do what she wanted.

"Here." Kale slid off of the sofa to crouch in front of her. "Let me help you."

The ball's spinning slowed. Karone stared at it until her vision blurred, her hands trembling with effort. Ever so slowly, the motion began to cease. She beamed happily and opened her eyes wide again, looking away when she saw Andros glare at her over Kale's shoulder.

"Ignore him," Kale said quietly, his voice just loud enough that Andros could hear. "Just ignore him, Karone."

"I liked him better when he was ignoring me, actually," Andros muttered. "Everyone was happier that way."

He didn't sound bitter--much--but Karone reached to squeeze his hand. He smiled faintly and shook his head, gripping her fingers tight before he released her. "I remember when we started training," he said softly. "I hadn't realized before how... jealous he was."

"It wasn't all you," she offered. "If that makes you feel any better. Remember how he drove Mom and Dad crazy?"

"He wanted his own hover." Andros laughed softly, and nodded. "Dad always told him he'd think about it, and then when he finally got it, it was blown to bits in that next large-scale attack..." He frowned suddenly. "He would have joined Dark Spectre's army around then."

Karone's smile faded. "He was a part of that attack," she said, her voice soft and furious as realization dawned. "I--I still can't believe it sometimes."

"What I'll never understand," Andros said quietly, "is why Mom and Dad. They--they loved him. They'd have forgiven him if they'd known. I'm sure of it."

She shook her head, her fists balled in her lap. "They would have," she agreed. Karone bowed her head, her throat tight. "I miss them," she whispered. "I miss them so much sometimes."

"I didn't miss them enough," Andros muttered. He sat stiffly now, his head turned away from her. "When they were on Centaur B, I mean. I would have given anything to see Kir or Renn or Zyanya or Zeah again, but... I thought that we'd have time after the war was over with, that we could start all over again then. I never thought that..."

She heard him swallow. "I knew what they did was dangerous," he said. "I knew what we did was dangerous, but even after we left KO-35 I never really thought that we wouldn't survive. I know that I should have but I just... I didn't."

"Even after Zeah?" She couldn't help asking it, but her stomach twisted guiltily when she saw him flinch.

"Yeah." He nodded, then let out his breath in a sigh. "I--I thought... if anyone else had to die, then it should have been me," he muttered. "I thought I deserved it."

"Hey," she said sharply.

He shook his head. "I don't anymore."

"Oh." She managed a small smile. "That's... good."

"Now I wish... I wish that I hadn't run away from their deaths," he said quietly. He let out a deep breath, but his voice trembled as he went on. "I--I never said goodbye to them."

"They knew you loved them." Karone tried to comfort him, but he shook his head.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered. "When they were dying, I ran away. I should have stayed with them. I--I should have told them..."

Without a word, she pulled him closer. He didn't tremble and he didn't make a sound, but she didn't doubt that there were tears coursing down his cheeks. She wiped her own eyes absently and kissed his forehead, quietly murmuring that she loved him. His hand tightened on hers and she squeezed back hard, just sitting there with him until the alarms started to shriek.

A/N: I'm back! So I didn't manage to update before I left, obviously, but I think I'll be able to update All I Am twice in the next week and have another chapter to this story up in the next week or two. We'll see... I hope you liked it, please review. :)