Anymore Part 2 – In Between
A bright light interrupted her sleep. 'Go away.' She mumbled annoyed at whoever had turned on the light in her room. But the light wasn't going away so she opened her eyes but she couldn't see anything. Before she could panic she heard a familiar voice.
"You're going to be okay." He promised her, wishing he could make it come true. He would give anything in his power to bring her back, but he didn't know how.
Andros?' she murmured softly hearing his voice.
He lifted his head in hope, but her eyes were still closed, her body still motionless.
Sighing, he pleaded with her "Come back Ash." She was aware of his hand gently covering her own, but when she moved to squeeze it in return, it refused to obey.
'I'm still alive' she realized gladly, though she didn't know why or how she had come to this place. It was quiet, devoid of all distraction. She was alone. 'Where am I?' she considered in confusion. 'What happened?' her mind demanded to know. 'Why can't he hear me?' she cried out when her questions went unanswered.
Andros didn't know why but he felt compelled to tell her what happened. He hadn't discussed the incident with anyone. "You were captured by the psycho rangers." He explained slowly. "That never should have happened. Suddenly you were gone and I couldn't save you." He admitted, finally breaking down as his emotions came pouring forth.
'It's not your fault.' She tried to reassure him. She knew he still carried a lot of guilt over what had happened with Karone and Zhane. She refused to let him take the blame for her. 'I should have been more careful.' She muttered in regret.
Peace flooded his soul as the words reminded him of what Ashley would say to him if she were awake. "I know." He replied to her soothing voice. He opened his eyes suspiciously. The fragile peace was shattered when he remembered she wasn't awake.
For a moment it was like she was there with him. "I must be losing my mind." He said in disgust, realizing he was talking to himself. "I miss you." He recognized in surprise. He wasn't surprised that he missed her, just at how much he did. So much in fact, he couldn't bear to walk the mega ship anywhere and not notice her absence. He had taken her presence for granted and not that it was gone, albeit temporarily, he ached for it.
"I miss you too." she wanted to shout; needed him to hear her. She hated that he was so far away. Since they had watched Haley's comet, the two hadn't been more than two doors apart or spent more than a few hours apart. Now it felt like they were two galaxies apart. And there was nothing she could do about it as she felt herself losing the battle to sleep.
Though it had only a few nights ago that he had said the words I love you to Ashley, he had known it to be true for quite some time. He had wanted to tell her on her birthday, but then Astronema had kidnapped her and he had run out of time before Zhane had awoken. It seemed like there had always been something to keep him from admitting his feelings for her. "No more." He promised himself determinedly. He would not let another thing prevent him from telling Ashley how he felt about her.
Hour after hour, day after day Andros sat by her side willing Ashley to come back to him. For three days she remained unresponsive, but he wouldn't give up hope. If he gave up hope he would have to give into a life without her. He was not able to live with that reality. Living without Ashley was not an option. He would just have to wait. And when she did come back to him, as he truly believed she would, he would not withhold his feelings any more. Pretending and denying that he loved her was slowly killing him, he decided. Andros turned his thoughts back to Ashley; to praying she would return soon.
Though it was weak, she could feel his presence near by. "He cares for me." She realized and tried to wake up but she was so tired. 'Hold on.' She murmured, trying to encourage the discouraged boy by her side as she slid back into a deep sleep, powerless to help him.
"How are you holding up?" TJ asked bringing the red ranger his dinner. Not that he expected Andros to eat it, he had barely eaten in three days; but TJ had to try.
"I'm not." Came the unexpected reply. TJ hadn't really expected Andros to answer; he hadn't spoken much since Ashley had been in the medical bay. He pulled up a chair and sat next to Andros and observed the girl who lay so still and unaware of everything going on around her.
"How's Cassie?" Andros wondered, his concern for Ashley's best friend and his teammate proving how much he had changed in the last few months. Even the last few days. Despite his own grief, he could still reach out to others.
"I managed to talk her into a sedative. She needs some rest." TJ replied calmly. As the former leader of the turbo rangers he knew the pressure being a leader could be. At the beginning he didn't know if Andros could be the leader they needed. But since then, he had slowly proved to the rest of them that he could be.
"It's not her fault." Andros commented aloud. "She knows that, but she won't believe it until Ashley gets better." TJ responded softly.
"I hope it's soon." The Kerovian muttered, dark shadows around his eyes evidence of the long days he had spent by the yellow ranger's side. Alpha had said she would wake up when she was ready, but he was afraid that she would never be ready. What if her injuries were too much to overcome? Her beautiful face was marred with bruises hidden by the unexplainable burns. Bandages covered up her arms while tubes and wires ran from them, connecting her to the life sustaining machines.
"It's too quiet around here." The blue ranger remarked, ignoring the hum of machines echoing in the background. Gone were the sounds of the girls squealing, of Ashley practicing her cheers or fighting with Carlos.
"I know I always joked to tell her to be quiet, but I never meant it. It's hard to get used to the quiet." He continued on as he stared into nowhere. TJ realized that there was much more to Ashley than what most people thought, sometimes even the other teammates. Despite her constant cheerful demeanor, TJ thought Ashley was one of the most thoughtful, compassionate people he knew.
"I'll never get used to this quiet." Carlos admitted entering the room and getting comfortable on the couch in the corner; joining in on sharing memories of past times. "Remember the time…" Carlos began as the three fell into easy conversation.
Cassie struggled against the drowsiness of the sedative TJ had given her. No matter how tired she was she couldn't get the image of Ashley fading away out of her memory. Sure she had saved her, but had it been too late? Ashley was now lying in the medical bay fighting for her life. If only she had gotten to her sooner… Tears streamed down her face as her eyes finally closed in exhaustion.
"Then we both may have gone down…" a soft voice wafted into Cassie's subconscious as familiar brown eyes and curly brown hair came into focus.
"Ashley?" She whispered in disbelief straining to find the yellow ranger through the foggy sleepiness that was trying to overcome her.
"Don't give up on me yet Cass…" was her only answer as the image of her best friend faded. Her words of encouragement prodded Cassie from her light sleep and coerced her out of bed.
"It doesn't seem real." Andros suddenly acknowledged. "I mean we all know the risk we're taking everyday, but you never expect it to happen." He spoke up in disbelief.
"No, but it does." Another voice added, increasing the group to four. "And yet you still go out there the next day knowing those risks; just hoping that today isn't the day you don't return from battle." Zhane commented wisely.
"How do you do it? How can you not give in?" Carlos wondered remarkably, curious as to how Zhane had continued on fighting even after his two years imprisoned in sleep.
"You just keep fighting." Came Zhane's passionate reply. "If you don't fight for something, why live?" He queried poetically.
"Ashley's not a quitter." A voice announced through the doorway. "Cassie." TJ said her name in shock. "You should be in bed." He rebuked her gently.
"No." She insisted not so gently. "I'm exactly where I should be. Supporting my best friend instead of hiding away guiltily in my room." She declared dropping next to Carlos. The black ranger reached over to pull her into an embrace.
Sad voices filtered through the fog in her mind, trying to pull her back to consciousness. 'Why am I still here?' she complained bitterly. She couldn't see anything; only hear the voices around her. She had to figure out how to get back. How much longer could she stay in limbo? Stuck in a place where she didn't belong? She was restless as she knew she couldn't stay in between for much longer, eventually she would either return to where she had been or move on to somewhere she was too young to go.
The silver ranger paced around the room. Glancing at the somber faces around him, he shouted, "It looks like you guys have already given up on her." "Have patience and some faith." He comforted them less annoyed. No one noticed the sudden jumping of the monitors that were attached to Ashley.
"I already went through this with Karone and then you Zhane. I didn't think I'd survive it, but now I have you both." Andros whispered. "If I lose Ashley, I don't think I could make it." Tears streamed down his face. His confession brought the others to tears as well.
She felt the tears wet her face at his words. 'I need to be there.' She decided as the fog started to clear, revealing the faces of her friends cramped in the small room. 'They're waiting for me.' She realized suddenly. Using all of her strength she tried to push her way back. 'I'm coming.' She whispered, desperate to return to them.
"You won't lose me." She whispered so softly it could have been a ghost.
"Ashley?" Cassie said hopefully, rising from the couch only to be stopped by TJ. No one wanted to tell her that it couldn't have been. They wanted it just as much as the pink ranger. Andros could have sworn he had heard Ashley a few times himself in the last few days but ignored it because of his over exhaustion.
"Cass, she isn't awake." TJ kindly reminded her, wrapping his arms around her to offer comfort. "She can't hear us, and we can't hear her."
"Not true." Karone's voice broke the somberness of the group. "Victims in comas respond positively to the voices of loved ones." She informed them as she moved away from them to stand by Ashley.
She was quiet for a few moments. "Her cheeks are wet." She observed slowly, moving to tenderly wipe the tears off. "She knows we're sad, and she's sad too." She continued on slowly. "She wants to come back to us, I can sense that she's real close." She remarked hopefully keeping Ashley's cool hand in hers and looking back to give confidence to the others.
"How can you be so sure?" Andros worried fearfully torn between believing his sister and fear that his heart would break if Ashley didn't come back.
"Trust me." A quiet voice persuaded.
Andros stumbled as the voice he knew as well as his own broke into his presence. Zhane looked at his best friend in concern, but Karone kept the silver ranger from going to him.
"I do." He whispered back, hope refilling his soul as he hurried to her side. "Ash." He spoke affectionately, brushing the hair off her bruised face. "I love you." He declared honestly, raising her hand to his lips, his eyes closing to picture her face when it was awake and unbruised, praying she would return to him soon.
Was it just his imagination or did he feel a slight squeeze? He glanced down just in time to see her eyes flutter open. A sigh of relief escaped him as he gazed down into her brown eyes.
"I love you too." She whispered hoarsely, gripping his hand tighter as if to never let him go, as the monitors around her beeped her return.
"Ashley." Cassie shouted gladly tearing herself away from TJ. "You're back." She said relieved joining Andros at her bedside while the others gathered close.
"I was never gone Cass." She reminded her. Reminded all of them. "And I'm never going to leave either." She stubbornly declared, her fiery spirit returning quickly. Only the pale skin covered with bruises and the fatigue gave evidence to the ordeal she had just awoken from.
"Thank God." Andros murmured as he lost himself in just holding her. "I'm never going to let you go." He vowed only for Ashley to hear. She smiled shakily as tears filled her eyes and she struggled to sit up.
"Take it easy." Andros rebuked her gently. "You need to rest." He stated firmly. The other rangers wished Ashley well and quickly left the pair alone as he carefully placed her back in the bed.
"So you love me?" She teased him lightly, not wanting to scare him off. but desperate enough that she needed to know if he was telling the truth.
"I do." He replied sincerely. "So much it hurts sometimes." He confessed softly. "I'm sorry I was afraid to tell you until there was a chance you might never hear me tell you." She grabbed his hand to comfort him and to encourage him to go on. "I was so afraid of being hurt…" he continued.
"Andros, I'd never hurt you." Ashley promised, even as she interrupted. "I know." He agreed. "Now." He amended quickly. "But I realized that it hurts much worse to pretend that I don't love you, and even more that I could have lost you."
"So this is for real?" she questioned hopefully, clinging to that happy thought as sleep threatened to overcome her.
"Yes, Ashley. I love you. And I will spend every day of the rest of my live proving that to you." He guaranteed.
"Good." She mumbled sleepily, as her eyes closed. Even as her body relaxed, her grip on his hand didn't. Finally Andros relaxed as well, knowing she was going to be fine. And he would do whatever it took to keep her that way.
A/N: Thanks for your patience with this story. Should I continue? Or is this a good ending? Please review. Thanks!