Disclaimer: THe Power Rangers are not mine.

Chapter 25

"Contraceptives are available in the infirmary Synthetron."

Andros choked on his orange juice. "What?"

"Contraceptives are--"

"I heard you the first time!"

"You did ask me to repeat myself," Deca reproved him. "And as I believe that it is in your best interest to have the information--"

"Deca." Andros rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "I'll remember that," he said finally, deeming it the quickest way to avoid an unwanted conversation. "Thanks."

"I find it unlikely that you will be in the proper state of mind to remember when you are actually in need of whichever device you decide in favor of," she continued, blinking at him. "My advice--"

"Which I haven't asked for," he muttered. "And I'll be fine. Ashley and I aren't--we haven't...

"And it's none of your business if we have," he added, his appetite suddenly diminished.

"I believe we differ in opinion," Deca replied calmly. "Should Ashley become pregnant--"

"I'm not going to get her pregnant."

"You would find this a simpler process if you would allow me to complete a sentence," she reprimanded him, and he sighed.

"Fine," he muttered. "I'm listening."

"I am confident that neither you nor Ashley wishes for a child at this point in your lives," Deca said. "As such, before you engage in sexual relations, I recommend that you choose a reliable way to prevent an unwanted pregnancy."

Andros groaned. He was tempted to snap something at her and storm off, but he couldn't help thinking that it might be best to get this over with all at once.

"Deca... I appreciate your concern," he said, shaking his head. "But Ashley and I aren't anywhere close to that."

"Are you certain?"

"Very." Andros poked at the food left on his plate with a fork.

"But you do wish for more."

He pushed his hair out of his face with a sigh. If it had been anyone else, he would have ignored the question but Deca had saved his sanity more times than he could remember, had been his only friend for two long, lonely years.

"Maybe," he said slowly. "I don't know."

"Do you feel that you are ready for such a step in your relationship?" she pressed.

"Sometimes," he admitted, staring down at the table. "Other times I don't."

"Would that be the same as a no?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Probably."

"You have yet to discuss this with Ashley," Deca continued. "I believe that might be wise."

He didn't answer then. It grated his nerves to no end that she expected him to want her to solve all his problems--even when there wasn't a problem--but he kept his mouth shut. Her advice was just helpful enough that he valued her opinion.

Sometimes.

Andros closed his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, hoping that she caught the note of finality in his voice. Reluctantly, he added, "Thank you, Deca."

"I don't believe that you will."

"That's enough, Deca," he said sharply. "I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine."

And it was none of her business if he wasn't.

"You should give consideration to Ashley's feelings in this matter. Last time I updated my medical file, human males do not carry the offspring."

"Do you really think I'd not think about Ashley's feelings?" Andros narrowed his eyes, not bothering to keep his irritation hidden any longer. "When have I ever done anything without asking her permission first?"

"That does seem to be a habit of yours," Deca agreed. "I believe you are overcautious more often than not."

"See?" he muttered. "I'd never do a thing to hurt her."

"As you were hurt?"

Andros froze. Slowly, he forced his fists to uncurl, his voice stiff when he spoke. "Nobody hurt me."

"On the contrary, many people hurt you," Deca said.

"Nobody raped me," he said deliberately, his voice a low growl. "Don't pretend that wasn't what you meant. Deca, whatever it is you want to say... will you please just say it already?"

"You are sensitive about this," she observed, and he sighed.

"Yes," he said coolly. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Then why do you continue to respond?"

Andros glared at her. "Leave me alone."

"Morning, everybody... Andros." Zhane muffled a yawn with the back of his hand as he strolled into the room, still in his pajama bottoms. "I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"No." He let out a deep breath, trying to relax. "Just Deca."

"Oh." Zhane yawned another time, sliding onto the stool across from him. "Everyone else at school again?"

"Yeah."

His friend raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Andros muttered. "Really nothing."

"You know I don't believe you."

Andros almost smiled. "I know."

"Ash! Hey, Ash!"

She leaned against her locker to let Cassie catch up to her, smiling as her friend paused in front of her. "Hey."

"I haven't seen you all day and that's all I get?" Cassie wrinkled her nose, and Ashley grinned. "So, how was your date last night?"

Ashley frowned. "I didn't go on a date last night."

"You were gone from the middle of the afternoon until nighttime and Andros was with you, I asked Deca." Cassie smirked at her. "Now, spill."

"Oh, that." Ashley remembered suddenly how she'd ended up spending all night with Andros in the first place, and sighed. "It was all right."

Cassie didn't look convinced, and Ashley groaned. "It was nice up until the end," she said finally. "We just sat in the park and talked."

"What happened at the end?"

Ashley made a face at her friend. "Someone sort of tried to kill Andros."

"Um..." Cassie took the time to tuck her hair behind her ear before speaking again. "What?"

"Some alien guy," Ashley muttered. "He came out of nowhere and attacked us."

"And you didn't tell us?"

"We were all right," she said defensively. "We weren't hurt, and I was worried about Andros... He was pretty upset about it."

"That's... understandable." The Pink Ranger shook her head, a bit of a stunned look on her face. "But, um... why?"

"It's complicated." Ashley scuffed one shoe along the floor, knowing that she shouldn't tell Cassie. She'd promised Andros that she wouldn't and she didn't want to betray the trust that she'd worked so hard to earn. But she didn't want to keep secrets from her best friend, either.

"Complicated how?"

"He didn't really want to talk about it." That seemed to be the safest answer; it was true, and Ashley knew that Cassie would take the hint.

She did, but shot Ashley a sly grin and didn't change the subject much. "So, how's it going with you two?"

Ashley couldn't keep a smile from forming. "I love him," she said. "And yeah, he knows it."

"Ash?"

"I just... I love him," she said again, giggling. "I've never felt this way about anyone, ever."

Cassie's smile seemed a little strained, but she spoke before Ashley could question it. "So you two are pretty serious, then."

"Yeah." Ashley grinned to herself. She would have said more if it hadn't dawned on her then why her friend was unhappy. Mentally kicking herself for being too wrapped up in Andros to notice what was going on in her best friend's life, she ventured, "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't you give me that look!" Ashley exclaimed. "You know what I mean!"

Cassie's smile was rueful. "Yeah. I know."

"So?" Ashley pressed. "What's going on with you?"

Her friend was silent for a moment. "Arietis left again last night."

"Oh." Deflated, Ashley looked down with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Cass."

"Me too." She certainly didn't look upset, and held up her left wrist with a smile. "But... he did leave me this."

Ashley studied the wristband curiously. "What is it?"

"It contacts his ship directly, he said," Cassie explained. "If I need to talk to him."

"That's--" Ashley broke off midsentence when her communicator beeped, shooting an automatic glance over her shoulder to check that no one else had heard. "Come on."

They left the school quickly, ducking out of sight around the side of the building. Checking one more time for anyone around to overhear, Ashley raised her communicator to her mouth.

"What is it, Deca?"

"Darkonda is attacking downtown Angel Grove."

Ashley would have sworn that the AI sounded troubled, and she couldn't blame her. "Is Andros there?"

"Affirmative. Zhane is there as well. TJ and Carlos are on their way."

"We'll be right there," Ashley promised, and nodded at Cassie. "Ready?"

"Let's rocket!" they shouted as one, the words hardly out of their mouths before they were swept up and transported halfway across town.

Ashley's eyes widened in horror the moment the rush of teleportation faded. Andros lay on the ground, Zhane on top of him, neither moving as Darkonda strode towards them.

"Darkonda!" Cassie shouted, darting forward as she drew her blaster.

Ashley took off after her, a wave of relief crashing down upon her as she saw TJ and Carlos running towards them from the opposite direction. Carlos went straight for Andros and Zhane. Ashley spared the motionless Red and Silver Rangers one more look before she was distracted by Darkonda sending a lightning blast straight towards her.

Dodging it, she summoned her Star Slinger. With Darkonda's attention mostly on throwing TJ and Cassie around, she managed to land a few shots before he rounded on her.

She wasn't quick enough this time. Hit squarely in the stomach, Ashley flew backwards a good ten feet. The air whooshed out of her lungs as she landed hard on her back, leaving her gasping for breath.

She rolled over onto her hands and knees, her head lowering as she tried to hack air back into her lungs. Her chest ached and she heard herself wheeze, for a moment almost completely forgetting the fight around her.

A hand gently touched her shoulder, and she looked up in surprise to see Andros there. He squeezed her arm briefly and nodded to her, not moving from her side until she could stand on her own.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine," she gasped out. "You?"

"I will be," he said after a quick pause, saber in hand again. That was probably as much as he was willing to admit.

Ashley shot a quick glance past him to where Carlos was pulling Zhane to his feet, preparing to charge back into battle. Andros was right beside her as she rushed forward, quick enough on his feet to reassure her that he really was all right.

Darkonda seemingly lost all interest in the rest of them the moment Andros was close. Hard, savage swings of his sword came one after the other, quickly enough to make the air whistle loudly. Ashley watched in horror as Andros somehow managed to dodge each attack, expertly retaliating with blows of his own.

"Now's our chance," Carlos said quietly, brandishing his weapon. "He's not looking."

TJ and Cassie stepped closer, and Ashley did the same. "Quadroblaster!"

"Super Silverizer," Zhane muttered from beside them.

"Fire!" TJ shouted.

Ashley tightened her grip as the weapon recoiled, automatically closing her eyes. It couldn't be a safe habit to get into, but sometimes the visor wasn't dark enough. As she blinked, she heard Zhane echo the call. Lowering her head again, she was nearly deafened by the sound of the explosion.

She watched Andros stand still for a moment, his head turned towards the spot where Darkonda had just been. Then without a word, he raised his wrist and tapped at his morpher before vanishing.

Ashley let out a soft sigh as he disappeared, ignoring the urge to run after him. She didn't know what they waited for, but it was a full five minutes before they moved to follow him.

"Andros?"

Ashley's voice brought his wandering thoughts back to reality, and Andros paused midway through the weight-lifting exercises he'd been doing. "Hi."

"I wanted to see how you were doing," she said, smiling warmly at him. "You sort of disappeared after the fight."

"I know." He pushed himself up with a quiet groan, his abdomen still sore from the kick he had taken. "I'm fine. I just... I wanted to be alone for awhile."

"Oh." She frowned at him, disappointed, and tried to hide her sigh. "I'll leave you alone, then."

"You don't have to," he said. "If you don't want to, I mean... You look like you're on your way to bed."

"Couldn't fall asleep." She shrugged her shoulders, pushing her tangled hair away from her face with one hand.

Her shirt rode up with the motion and Andros swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. Her stomach was smooth and tanned, and he lowered his eyes as he was struck by the strangest desire to kiss her bellybutton.

He felt himself blush fiercely and could only hope that she didn't notice. Rubbing sweaty palms dry on his sweatpants, he stared hard at a spot on the floor halfway between them, unsure of what to do now.

"Andros?"

"I--I'm fine," he muttered. "Really, I..." He snuck a quick glance at her face, looking away when he saw her hide a smile. "That... wasn't what you asked, was it?"

"No." Ashley giggled softly as she stepped closer, crouching down in front of him. "You know, you're sort of cute when you're blushing."

He felt his face burn hotter at her words, squirming uncomfortably when she laid a hand on his. "Ash..."

"Well, you are." She seemed pleased when that coaxed a smile out of him, tugging his hand towards her lips. "And would you like to know what I was asking you a minute ago?"

"Yeah," he said sheepishly, eyes on his lap as she pressed a kiss to the back of his hand.

Ashley giggled at him, nuzzling his fingers with her lips now. "Tomorrow's the last day of school before winter break," she explained. "I know that you're probably not big on parties, but there's going to be one, sort of, at the Surf Spot tomorrow night. You don't have to go if you don't want to, but I was sort of hoping..."

She looked at him expectantly, and he sighed. "Ash..."

"It's all right." She kissed his thumb before dropping his hand, smiling at him as she straightened up. "I didn't think it was your kind of thing."

She was right about that, but that didn't keep him from feeling guilty. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad... "How long is it?"

Ashley's face lit up. "From seven until eleven, but I wasn't planning on showing up until nine or so."

Two hours. Andros supposed he could stand it for that long if he had to, and if it meant that much to her... He sighed. "All right."

She beamed at him, leaning down to press her mouth firmly to his. "You're the greatest, have I told you that?"

He bit his lip to keep from smiling too much as she sat next to him on the weight bench. "Maybe."

"Well, you are." Ashley grinned at him happily, reaching for his hand. "I love you."

"I--I love you too," he said quietly, carefully. He felt his heart pound furiously in his chest the way it had the day before, but the words came more easily this time than the last.

Ashley leaned closer to kiss him again, her lips touching his lightly in a teasing kiss. Andros felt himself reach for her when she did it again, his hands on her shoulders to keep her from moving away again.

She slid closer to drape her arms around his shoulders. Andros caught his breath as she turned her head to kiss his jaw, her lips trailing from his chin to his ear and back again, her breath hot on his skin as his heart started thudding furiously.

"A--ash," he stuttered, hands clenching on her shoulders. "What..."

She stopped what she was doing and straightened up, her cheeks flushing pink as he met her eyes. "Sorry," she murmured. "I guess I got a bit carried away."

"It's all right." Andros swallowed, not quite brave enough to ask her to do it again. "I--I didn't mind."

She giggled and he just knew that he was blushing again, but he could hardly feel it beneath the rush of everything else. He closed his eyes to try and clear his head, but all he could feel was her kisses on his skin.

"Ash..." He bit his lip, staring at her uncertainly. "Can I... I mean..."

Ashley lowered her head, fluttering her eyelashes at him with a soft laugh. "You did like that," she said, looking so delighted that he didn't feel half as hopeless he had been a moment before. "And yes, you can."

The doubt came rushing back, and he stared at his hands. "I... I--I've never... I don't know how to," he muttered, surprised to see her take his hands.

"Well..." She squeezed his fingers between her own, her thumbs caressing the back of his hands. "What do you want?"

"I..." He still wanted to kiss her bellybutton. Andros felt his face redden and shook his head, not about to tell her that. "I just want to kiss you."

"All right." She leaned closer and kissed his mouth, his jaw, murmuring in his ear, "Just do what comes naturally."

He slid a hand around to cup the back of her head, his other hand on her back as he mimicked the way she'd kissed him, his lips following her jaw to that soft spot just beneath her ear. Ashley made a quiet sound when he kissed her there, and he paused.

He did it again, tentatively flicking his tongue across her earlobe. Her groan made him a little more daring, and he drew her earlobe into his mouth to suckle gently, his insides trembling at her soft gasp of surprise.

Her hands slid through his hair as he touched his lips to hers another time. He shivered, starting when Ashley nipped gently on his lip. He was too surprised to move when she bit down a little harder, her tongue running back and forth across his bottom lip until his lips parted.

He jumped again when her tongue touched his. Her arms tightened around his shoulders, his sweatshirt bunched in her hands as she held him in place. Relaxing, Andros prodded her tongue tentatively with his own, hearing her moan softly deep in her throat.

He still didn't know what he was doing but Ashley yielded control of the kiss to him, and he was only too happy to explore. His hands were still on her shoulders and he tried to pull her closer, suddenly craving her in a way that he couldn't explain.

He was hot all over as he cradled the back of her head, holding her to him. Something inside him quivered when she pushed back, screaming for more as Ashley slid her arms all the way around him. She was practically in his lap now, her mouth pressed unrelentingly against his in an unmistakably hungry kiss.

The dizzying sense of just kissing her, just feeling and just wanting, vanished abruptly. Ashley drew away, her arms falling from around him. Hesitantly, he looked up to catch her eye, startled to see a smile on her face.

"That wasn't hard, was it?"

Andros just shook his head. He didn't trust himself to speak.

She sat there smiling at him for awhile longer, her hands in his now. Andros looked down to watch her thumbs rub slow circles against his palms. Impulsively, he raised one hand to his lips and kissed her fingers, holding her hand to his cheek when he heard her giggle.

Ashley squeezed his hand, still happy as she sighed. "I could stay here with you all night," she murmured. "And that's why I should probably go to bed now."

He nodded slowly, unable to keep himself from smiling when she reached out to stroke a hand through his hair. "Good night, Ash."

"You have pretty hair." She giggled and leaned in to kiss him one more time, a soft brush of her lips over his that half of him longed to turn into something more.

The other half of him was level-headed and rational now, and he did nothing to keep her from standing.

"I'll see you in the morning," she murmured, giving him a little wave as she left the room.

Andros stared after her, unsettled. He hadn't expected it to be that... easy. Now that he knew it was, he wasn't sure any longer that he didn't want more. He doubted that sex would be as simple as whatever they'd just done now, but it suddenly didn't seem so impossible anymore.

Grudgingly, he admitted that Deca was right. If he was feeling this way, then he did need to talk to Ashley about it, before he went too far and did something that she didn't like. It wasn't fair of him not to say anything.

He let out a sigh and stood, vaguely surprised that his legs were steady. Not the least bit sleepy, he headed to his room. Without being told, Deca locked the door behind him and brightened the lights to quarter power. Andros paused only to kick off his shoes and socks before sliding beneath the covers and making himself comfortable.

He wanted her here with him. Andros groaned aloud as the realization hit him, rolling over to bury his face into the pillow. He wanted her here with him, just sleeping in his arms. He didn't want to be alone any longer.

But he wasn't really alone. That revelation hit him harder than the last, and he bit back a smile as he turned onto his back. He hadn't been alone for months and he had more friends now than he ever had.

That didn't stop him from wanting anything more. Andros didn't much care whether he was attractive or not. He despised looking at himself in the mirror because he hated to remember, hated to accept that he hadn't been strong enough, hated to accept that people had hurt him.

The scars themselves hadn't bothered him so much until he'd realized that he would have to show Ashley and somehow, she could look at him and still say "perfect." He didn't know how she could, but because she did--was it really too much to hope for that she would want more?

He didn't know, and he didn't feel at all comfortable with pressing her for an answer. Andros sighed. He loved her, and he was absolutely sure that she loved him; he didn't have it in him to question that. What he didn't know was where that left them and until he asked her outright, he supposed that meant he followed her lead and just waited to see where this took them.