Lying impatiently in the infirmary, Andros began hearing loud protests drifting down the corridor. Confused, he looked up. Soon enough, Cassie and Ashley burst through the door literally dragging the irritated silver ranger between them. They smugly dumped him onto the stool by the bed. Zhane slumped in the seat and scowled. Andros, sighing, lay back down.

"There we go," announced Cassie dusting pretend dirt off her hands with a smirk. "Now stay. Talk. And remember DECA will be keeping an eye on you two, so don't even think of trying to escape."

"See you later," put in Ashley and blew them a kiss as the girls left. The door to the infirmary closed behind them.

Andros and Zhane glanced at each other, but immediately looked away, their gazes instead touring the metal room. A turmoil of thoughts and feelings spun in the heads of both rangers as they tried to think of what to do or say. The only noise to penetrate the tense air was the familiar hum of the megaship's machinery.

Andros finally turned his gaze to the pale face of his best friend. The silver ranger was currently staring at a spot on the floor, his eyes dark tunnels of exhaustion and anguish. Andros turned away again, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists.

"I'm sorry," he managed to choke out into the silence.

Zhane looked at his friend in shock. "You're sorry?" His eyes glistened with tears as his turmoil of emotions cascaded forth. "Stars, Andros! I'm the one who has to apologies here. Look at what I did to you!"

The red ranger shakily sat up so he could face his friend. "You saved me!" he protested.
         "I shot you!" Zhane sprang up and started to pace the room his whole body trembling with emotion. "Great way of saving you. I could have killed you!"

Andros shook his head. "But you didn't."

"But I could have! What if you hadn't woken from that coma? Stupid silver ranger can't even come up with a plan to protect his best friend."

An arm caught Zhane's shoulder, stopping his pacing.

"There wasn't time to come up with a plan. You had to act."

Zhane knocked the hand off his shoulder his face contorted by anger. "You don't understand. When you attacked, I made a choice: you or me. And I chose me."

A shocked silence followed. Despairingly, Zhane sat back down.

Eventually, Andros looked up from where he had been gazing at his feet. "Well, I'm glad you finally did."

"What?!"

Andros rolled his eyes. "You've always chosen other people's needs before your own. You sacrificed your life for mine!" Pausing, Andros ran a hand through his long hair. "I couldn't have handled it if I had lost you again. I couldn't survive living through that another time."

Zhane let out a snort. "Maybe I just sacrificed myself so I wouldn't be the one left alone." Sighing, he placed his face in his hands and whispered, "And that's what I'm the most sorry for."

"Zhane?."

Eyes reflecting his guilt, the silver ranger looked up at his friend. "I abandoned you. I left you alone for two years. I failed you. I failed our people, our home and because of that we almost lost everything."

"We had already lost. You know that. By that time, the planet was overrun. We were already evacuating. There wasn't much else you could have done." The red ranger let out a long sigh and looked away. "But I do often wonder what I should have done, what I could have done to save our world before any of that happened. If I had stopped to think instead of running arrogantly into battle with that monster, maybe I could have at least saved you those two missing years. It feels like you're always getting hurt because of me."

"No, Andros," interrupted Zhane shaking his head. "Don't start blaming yourself. I know you're the expert in that area, but…"

His friend gave him an annoyed glare.

"…but what I did, it was my decision. You're not responsible for everything you know."

"I know. I know," insisted Andros in response to the silver rangers incredulous look "I just wish I could have spared you that loss. When you woke up things had changed so much. It must have seemed like a completely different world. It was hard for you to adjust and I wasn't much help."

"There wasn't anything you could have done. Things had changed. A lot of things have changed."

"Including us."

Zhane frowned recalling the peculiar way both of them had been acting the past few weeks. "That's true. We have changed. And I don't know if things will ever be the same."

Bowing his head, Andros closed his eyes. "But we're still best friends, right?"

The silver ranger reached over and embraced the red ranger.

"Forever."