Disclaimer: Not mine

Juzblue: Why her face? Because I gave future Ashley a scar on her face, and I aleady told someone that Arrow did it, and I didn't really think about that until yesterday when I was writing it. :P

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Yes, you do. :P

C.C.C: Yup, Andros is feeling guilty. I love doing that. :P

Jenny: When will Andros learn? By the end of the story, if he's lucky. :P

the-power-of-love: Thanks, here's more.

Red Ranger Chick: Thanks.

DizneeDol: Thanks. This soon enough?

JDPhoenix: Thanks, here's some more. You'll find out what Arrow does later.

Melissa: Okay, tell me all about your brothers. :P

Chapter 14

Ashley slowly peeled the bandage off of her skin, wincing as she saw herself in the bathroom mirror. In the three days since she had been wounded, the other rangers had found excuses to change the bandages for her, but Ashley had grown tired of the tactic quickly. She wanted to know what she looked like now.

It wasn't as bad as the others had made it out to be, she decided, studying her face carefully. With help from Karone's magic, it would heal quickly, and was already much better. A single blow from Arrow's sword had sliced across her cheek diagonally, from just below her left temple to about an inch below the left corner of her bottom lip.

It wouldn't be completely hideous when it healed, she remembered. The future Ashley had had this scar... but she'd also had Andros. Ashley tried to smile, trying to convince herself that she and Andros would end up the same way.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall," she muttered, struck with the sudden urge to laugh.

"What?"

Ashley jumped as Andros appeared in the bathroom doorway. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I thought you said something."

"It's nothing," Ashley said, staring down at her hands. "Just something out of a fairy tale. The evil queen asks the magic mirror who the most beautiful girl in the world is."

"You are," Andros replied instantly, crossing the room to gather her in his arms. "You're beautiful, Ash."

"You mean that?" Ashley asked, staring up into his eyes, but unable to find anything to give her cause to doubt his sincerity. "You don't think I'm ugly?"

"Do you think you're ugly?" Andros asked her knowingly, not surprised when she looked away. "Ash, I think you're beautiful."

"But the scar," Ashley mumbled, still not looking at him. "It's huge."

"I don't care," Andros tried to convince her. "It doesn't make you ugly, Ash."

"It doesn't?" Ashley stared at her reflection dubiously.

"No," Andros said firmly.

"So you still want me?"

"I'll always want you," Andros said, taking her hands. He hesitated and added quietly, "As long as you still want me."

"What?" Ashley stared at him in confusion. "Why wouldn't I?"

Andros gestured towards her face. "I promised you I'd protect you, and I didn't, and then you got hurt because of me. Again."

"Andros, that's not how it happened," Ashley protested. "This wasn't your fault."

"Maybe not," Andros said, "but I still should have tried harder to stop him."

"Andros, this wasn't your fault," Ashley said. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Why don't you believe me," Andros countered, "when I tell you that you're beautiful?"

"Because I can't see it," Ashley admitted. Andros sighed and handed her another bandage.

"Put this on," he said. She pressed it to her cheek, surprised when Andros covered her hand with his own.

"Now can you see it?" Ashley stared at herself in the mirror for a long time, and then slowly shook her head. Andros sighed, and dropped his hand. "Then will you just trust me when I say that there is no one more beautiful than you are?"

"Only if you'll trust me when I say that it wasn't your fault," Ashley said after a brief pause.

Andros stared at her for a long time before he nodded. "I can do that."

"Then I believe you," Ashley said, leaning into him as he pulled her into his arms. "Andros, I love you so much."

"I love you, Ashley," he whispered in her ear, wishing that he deserved her love. He pulled her closer to him, until her body was close enough for him to feel her heart beating in time with his own. They stood wrapped in each others arms long enough for Andros to start thinking that Ashley had fallen asleep standing up, and he jumped when she spoke.

"Andros?" she asked suddenly. "Do you believe in soulmates?"

Andros pulled back enough just enough to be able to see her eyes. Ashley suddenly looked hopeful, and her eyes were brighter than they had been in days. She couldn't possibly be asking him if he thought that they were soulmates.

"For some people," Andros said after a long pause. As he stood there, staring into Ashley's eyes, it was all too easy to believe what she was saying, and almost enough for him to believe that she was the other half of himself.

"That's what I said, too," Ashley said, her face breaking into a smile. At Andros's look, she explained, "Zhane asked me, months ago, if I believed in soulmates. I said I did for some people, and he said that with telepaths, it's easy to tell who those people are, because they're bonded so closely that they can't live without each other."

"You... you think we're soulmates?"

Ashley nodded. "I can't think of any other reason why..."

Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had come, and Andros saw tears forming in her eyes. Brushing them away with his fingers he asked, "Why what?"

"I can't think of any other reason why just standing here with you makes everything okay again," Ashley whispered. "It shouldn't, but somehow it does."

"It does?" Andros repeated, unable to tear his eyes away from her, realizing that Ashley needed him just as much as he needed her.

Ashley nodded. "You're the only person that can make me feel safe," she said, speaking into his ear. "Whenever I'm with you, it's like you take away everything I don't want to be feeling."

"I do?"

Ashley nodded, an anxious look taking over her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know it's crazy, but I just wanted you to know."

"It's not crazy, Ash," Andros said softly. "It's what you do for me."

"I love you," Ashley whispered, throwing her arms around his neck, nearly strangling him with her hug.

"Ash, I love you," Andros whispered back, squeezing her as hard as he dared. Ashley raised her face to his, kissing him, a little more insistently than she'd intended to, but not regretting it as he returned the kiss. She kissed him again as they walked out of the bathroom, suddenly knowing how she wanted this night to end.

"Don't leave," she muttered against his lips, feeling him turn towards the door.

Andros stared at her for a moment, longing in his eyes as Ashley pressed her mouth to his again. "Are you sure, Ash?"

Ashley's only response was a long kiss. Taking that as a yes, Andros slipped his arms around her as he kissed her back. Ashley tightened her arms around his neck as he lifted her up, setting her down gently on her bed.

Andros was as gentle and loving with her as he had been every other time before, leaving it impossible for Ashley to have even the smallest lingering doubts that he wasn't the other half of her soul.

A/N: Happy now?