Disclaimer: Not mine. Got it?

Author's Note: Am mega-sorry that this wasn't out earlier, but I just finished it yesterday. Am sooo sorry. Anyway, my interest in this seems to have been renewed so I'll try updating more frequently. Enjoy!


Still The Same Situation… Let's Get A Fresh POV

Watching his two red and yellow friends stare in confusion at each other, Zhane grinned slightly.

Ashley scrambled back, wide-eyed her mouth hanging slightly agape. "Andros," she whispered, her voice echoing in the dead silence of the room.

He grinned weakly. "Hi Ashley."

Ashley turned her head to stare at the crowd crowding the doorway. She twisted to look at Cassie standing nearby with an uneasy expression on her face. Pressing her lips together, she shakily stood, holding onto the nearby wall for more support. Following her, Andros grabbed her arm to keep her balanced. She stared at him, looking at his hand on her arm and back up. They stared at each other, unreadable expressions on their faces.

Zhane coughed loudly. All heads turned to look at him. "Well, um, I think that there should be more brownies left in the kitchen, don't you think- great brownies by the way, Ashley. Cassie, Andros, why don't you two help Ashley, how about it?" Without waiting for an answer, Zhane and Karone pulled their friends out the door and shut it, leaving the three in the room alone.

Wow, We're Still In The Same Situation, Surprise, Surprise

Uncomfortably, the three stood, not doing anything.

"So, uh." Surprised, Cassie and Andros looked up at Ashley who was clearing her throat nervously and deliberately looking away. "We have to talk," she said abruptly. "All of us." Her eyes wandered around the room, stopping at her two companions. "There are things we need to explain, and now's the best time to. Better late than never, there's no time like the present." Turning her gaze upward to meet Andros's with a steady, unafraid one, she continued. "I think you should start." Ashley paused for a moment and sighed, dropping her gaze. "Why?" she whispered, the simple question twisting at Andros and left empty-worded, unable to reply.

"I… I don't know." Andros stared miserably at her, her expression forlorn.

"Then why did you do it? If you don't have a reason, they why did you do it in the first place?" The former yellow and red rangers stared at each other for a while, until Cassie's voice broke the expectant, tense blanket of silence that had befallen the group.

"We could totally star in a soap opera right now and make millions of people cry, you do know that, right?" Looking over at her, the former couple of the Space gang saw a faint smile on her face, a distant, dreamy look in her eyes, her face tilted upward, one corner of her lip tugged upward in an almost reluctant smile. Slowly, she brought her head downward and pursed her lips. "Andros, Ashley has lived for the past year without knowing a thing about what you were doing, not knowing where you were, no nothing. And I think she does deserve to know more, to know something, at least."

Andros sighed, there was just no getting out of it now. "Well," he said slowly, thoughtfully. "I guess it all began with the phone call…"

Same Place, Different People

"Gosh, it's been so long." Carlos wrapped a steady hand around a pile of mugs.

"I've never even known the man, but I feel like I know him," Andrea mused, pulling packets of tea and hot chocolate powder out of a cupboard. "Mmm," She turned to the table of friends, sitting in heavy silence. "I've got tea and hot chocolate; who wants what?"

Karone shook her head sadly. "I just can't believe he came back. After all this time… Oh, Andrea? Hot chocolate please."

Zhane wrapped an arm around his fiancé. "It'll be okay."

"And you guys can get married!" Andrea piped, heating up water for the hot chocolate. "Er, sorry, not part of the conversation."

"You just spoiled my line," Carlos commented with shadowed amusement. "I was about to say 'finally' when you butted in with your apology. Anyway, just so you two know, finally!"

"Well, if you guys would stop getting off track talking about Zhane and Karone's wedding, not that it isn't important, but, I think the relationship of Andros and Ashley is disappearing pretty quickly. So, are we going to play matchmaker, or are we going to let it sink, or float, on its own? Oh yeah, and I want hot chocolate." T.J sighed heavily and crossed his arms. "And, I'm supposed to tell Carene that one of my friends used magic, another yelled at Andros and the other fainted. And the rest sat around a table drinking hot chocolate and talking about a wedding that can, finally, happen."

Andrea pondered this for a moment before saying, "Zhane? Hot chocolate or tea?"

"Hot chocolate. It tastes better, you're already making it, and everyone else is having it."

"Oh," Andrea turned around, holding an empty packet of hot chocolate. "I suppose you don't count me as being part of 'everyone', do you? Since I am having tea."

Zhane shrugged. "Hot chocolate still tastes better and you're still making it. Two out of three isn't that bad."

While They Sit Around Drinking Hot Chocolate…

"And that's it?" Cassie stared in disbelief at Andros. "That's why all this happened? Man Andros, you are an idiot, okay? Nothing personal, though."

Andros grinned dryly. "None taken; besides, I deserved that." His smile disappeared then, and he looked over to Ashley who had been silent this whole time. "Ashley?"

She sighed, long and drawn-out and shook her head slowly. "I… I don't know. I mean, I've lived in denial and, well, I've had a great life but… learning all this now. It's a lot." Ashley closed her eyes and swayed, drifting to an imaginary slow dance.

Cassie scoffed slightly. "Andros… you're still an idiot. Just so you know." And she left the room, leaving Ashley and Andros left. Together. Alone.

Let's Switch POV's Really Quick, Shall We?

Cassie smirked inwardly as she walked out of the room with on a slight glance backwards at the door swinging shut. She stopped. And turned back to face the door with a troubled expression. The door had shut. Completely. She thought back to the split-second decision she'd made at that moment. She thought back to the two people she had left in there together. Either they'll fight or kiss. One way or another, they'll have settled their differences, somewhat, at least. The one difference, though, she scowled, thinking dark thoughts about the man who had turned her friends and hers lives around. If they kiss, Ashley's going to thank me. If they fight, She'll be mad at me. Both times, I'm going to lose part of my life, my best friend. Cassie frowned at the solid wood door that was the new barrier between her and her friend.

Will They Fight Or Kiss? Let's Find Out…

Ashley's eyes were still closed in serenity. "Can you hear it?" she whispered, her voice soft and irritatingly untroubled. "The whispers of the wind, the cry of nature…" Her eyes snapped open abruptly and she stalked over to the man in red, her eyes glaring daggers of hate and anger. "The wails of betrayal, the sobs of heartbreak and the devastation of sorrow? Huh? Can you hear it? Can you hear the regret of all that you did?" Her eyes sparkled with moisture and she wiped away the tears, annoyed. "Andros, I waited, I waited for something from you. A call, a letter, a, a… some sign that you were alive and well! I waited. I waited. And you didn't have the nerve to tell me." She spun on her heel and he could hear her struggling not to cry. "I needed you. Why didn't you come?" Her voice had dipped suddenly, from an outraged outburst, to a pitiful plea.

But she's certainly not begging, Andros reflected wryly, but his attention was diverted to the girl gazing up at him, angry, confused, upset, just a muddle of feelings that she couldn't sort through.

"Just so you know," Andros came back down to Earth suddenly, as he stared down at the girl that had just spoken. "You do have a second chance. Just don't blow it." He heard the silent 'Again.' she added at the end and watched in despair as she walked out of the room, and perhaps out of his life.


Author's Note 2: I spent about ten minutes on that last paragraph, trying to think of the right words. It took me forever. On the plus side, I have Spring Break coming up so I'll have exactly nine days of almost nothing to do, excluding the bare necessities of life. I vow to write as often as I can.

RR! Ashley Hammond/ Astro Yellow, can I say that I'm absolutely thrilled that you don't mind the long waits? Well, I'm thrilled. And can't wait for more of MAW! Juzblue, thank you for the review. I love getting reviews:pause: am too tired to say anything else. Except, "REVIEW!" Phantom Rouge, do you mean the actual story or this actual situation that I left off at in Ch 10? Well, the actual situation ends here, but their is more of the story, I promise you that.