DISCLAIMER: NOT MINE (AS MUCH AS I'D LIKE IT TO BE) SO DON'T SUE ME

Chapter 12: Long Night

Andros gently placed Ashley on the bed in the medical bay and ran a medical scanner over her still body.

"Deca?" he asked. "Will she be okay?"

"She was injured badly," Deca said. "Most of the wounds that she sustained from Ecliptor should heal, but the first one was intended to kill. She also bruised her ribs when she landed on your Galaxy Glider."

Andros felt a new wave of guilt was over him. He could have caught her.

"How long will she be like this?" Karone asked. None of this would have happened if I hadn't gone . . .

"It is difficult to say."

"Deca," Cassie said. "Tell us."

"Very well," Deca said. "If she wakes up she will recover completely and almost immediately, but she could die at any time."

Andros and Karone wore identical masks of guilt.

"Andros, do you want to be alone with her?" Carlos asked.

Andros nodded miserably. Ashley . . .

The other rangers and Karone filed out somberly. Andros took her hand and squeezed it gently, hoping to get some response. There was none. He took a chair and sat down next to her bed. He wasn't going to leave until she woke up. He refusesd to consider the possibility that she could die.

A day passed. Around three in the morning, Zhane stopped by. "Drink," he ordered, handing him a cup. "It will calm you down."

"Is there a sedative in here?" Andros demanded.

"No," Zhane lied.

"You drink it then," Andros said. "I can't."

"Okay, so there's a sedative in it," Zhane said. "Either you drink it, or I get the others and we force it down your throat. Your choice."

"Please, Zhane," Andros whispered. "I can't leave her."

"You can't help her by staying here," Zhane said.

"But it makes me feel better," Andros said. "If I was somewhere else, I'd be having nightmares about her dying. If I'm here, I know that she's not."

"And what if she does die?" Zhane said.

Andros closed his eyes. "She won't die. Don't say that."

"She very well could," Zhane said. "What do you do then?"

"If she . . . dies . . . then I want to be here when she does." Andros blinked furiously, trying to keep back the tears that stung his eyelids. "She saved my life, Zhane. I thought you of all people could understand that."

"I do understand," Zhane said. "I understand what she was thinking when she did it."

"I'll be fine," Andros said numbly. "I'm not ready to leave her yet."

"You love her, don't you?" Zhane said.

Andros nodded. Tears started streaming down his face. "I love her more than I've ever loved anybody. If she dies, I'll never forgive myself."

He buried his face in his arms. One hand still clenched Ashley's.

"Andros," Zhane said. Andros shook his head.

"I want to be alone," he said. Zhane nodded, and finally left.

Andros sobbed until there were no tears left in him. Ash, you can't die. I need you. I love you.

Another day passed by slowly. The hours ticked by. The others stopped by several times, but never stayed long. They sensed Andros' need to be alone with her. Karone tried to apologize, but Andros didn't listen. It wasn't her he blamed. It was himself.

Andros cried most of the time that he was alone with her. He had never loved anyone as much as he loved Ashley, and if she died before he could tell her, he would never get over it.

"Andros?"

His head snapped up when he heard Ashley whisper his name. "Ashley," he whispered. He moved so that he could see her face. "I was so afraid that I was going to lose you."

Ashley stared in shock as he started to cry. "I love you, Ash," he muttered, burying him face in his arms.

Ashley struggled to sit up. "I love you, too," she whispered.

Andros pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Ashley said, leaning back to look him in the eye. "You didn't do anything. Karone told me what happened and I thought you might need help."

"I stood there and did nothing while Ecliptor almost killed you," Andros muttered.

"It's okay," Ashley whispered. "It's okay."

"I love you so much." Andros tightened his arms around her. Ashley stiffened. "Sorry," he said, and relaxed his grip a little.

"How long have I been here?" Ashley asked. "What time is it?"

"It is eleven-fifteen at night," Deca said.

"You've been here almost three days," Andros said. "We were starting to worry about you."

Ashley swung her legs off the bed. "What are you doing?" Andros asked, moving to stop her.

"Deca, am I in any immediate danger?" Ashley asked.

"You are not," Deca replied.

"Then I'm going somewhere else," Ashley said firmly. "I hate it here."

"Fine," Andros agreed. "But you're not walking."

He slid one arm beneath her knees and wrapped the other around her waist. Ashley slipped her arms around his neck and he lifted her gently. "Do you want to go to your room?" Andros asked. "Or do you want something to eat?"

Ashley took her time deciding. "I want to take a bath. I'm freezing."

Andros left her in the bathroom. He took a quick shower in another bathroom and paused at the Synthetron, realizing that he hadn't eaten in three days. He returned just as Ashley emerged, walking shakily.

"What are you doing?" he said, lifting her in his arms again.

"You left," she said.

"You didn't tell me I could stay," he said. "I would have."

"I would have let you stay," Ashley said. "Just not watch."

"I'd would have pretended not to hear that part," Andros said. Ashley grinned and made a face at him. "Where are we going, by the way?"

"Uh, my room, I guess," Ashley said. "I'm not tired, but I can't think of anywhere else to go."

Andros set her down in her room, and Ashley sat down on her bed. "Do you want to stay?"

"Well, you're not in the shower anymore . . ." Andros pretended to consider. Ashley threw her pillow at him. He threw it back. "But I'll stay anyway."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Ashley said.

Andros leaned over and kissed her. "I love you," he said softly. "I think I've loved you ever since I first saw you, but I wouldn't admit it, not even to myself."

"I love you, too," Ashley said, laying back and pulling him with her.

Andros kissed her again and again, never wanting to stop. His tongue slid deep into her mouth. Ashley's hands were in his hair, holding his face to hers. He stopped when he realized that his hands were halfway up her pajama top. Ashley stiffened and sat up.

"I'm sorry," Andros muttered. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," Ashley said. "But . . . I don't think we're ready for this."

Andros shook his head. "Should I go now?"

"I don't want you to," Ashley said. "We can control ourselves, right?"

"Are you sure?" Andros asked.

"We can sleep together," Ashley said. "We just can't sleep together."

"The first one means sex, right?" Andros joked as they lay down again. Ashley grinned and let him kiss her again.

Andros wrapped his arms around her and realized that he hadn't slept in three days either. "I don't ever want to let you go," he whispered sleepily.

"Then don't," Ashley yawned and relaxed as Andros pulled her close.

"I love you," he muttered sleepily.

"I love you, too," he heard Ashley mutter back. He sighed happily before falling into a deep sleep.