Disclaimer: I own Tempest, Ryan, Damien, Aidan, Jenny, and Marieke. Aura is Starhawk's. The rest is the property of Saban or Disney.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: You wanna like Tempest the best? Okay, I'll see what I can do... Oh, this is going to be fun:P

Mz. Daydream: Yeah, I made them all brothers and sisters. I don't remember why, but I think I had a reason for it. I'm okay on Mirror, Mirror for now, I just haven't had time to work on it much. I know what you mean, the Astro Rangers should be proud of themselves, too. :P

Juzblue: Thanks. You'll be seeing a lot of these rangers, and don't worry, you can love them, I promise I won't kill them off. :P

the-power-of-love: Thanks. Here's some more.

DizneeDol: Thanks.

Jenny: Keep breathing. That's a good thing to do. Especially if you're going to finish Forever Light someday... Of course I voted for you! Here's more, so you'd better be hard at work on the story. :P

Chapter 6

"Sorry, you guys," Ashley said apologetically as she unlocked their front door. "We've only got one extra room, so unless one of you wants to share with the kids, you'll all be in there together."

"We don't mind," Ryan said. "Auntie only had two bedrooms for the seven of us. We're used to it."

"If that's what you want," Ashley said, leading them into the kitchen. "Feel free to eat whenever you like. The Synthetron's in that corner, or you could experiment with the stove, if you don't burn the place down."

"We'll stick to the Synthetron," Ryan said quickly, shooting a warning glance at Tempest, who only grinned innocently.

"The spare bedroom is upstairs," Ashley said, motioning for them to follow her as she continued the tour. Obediantly, they trooped up the stairs, and down the hallway that held Aidan and the twins rooms to the bedroom that was currently a guestroom but would become a nursery soon. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Ryan said, stepping into it. There were only two beds, but Ashley assured them that there would soon be a cot in there.

"Mom!" Aidan shouted, rushing up to Ashley. "What's going on? Who're they?"

"These are the Power Rangers," Ashley said, wrapping the boy in a hug despite his efforts to inch away.

"I thought you and Dad were the Power Rangers," Aidan said, eyeing the strangers warily. "What happened?"

"Aidan, you know I can't fight anymore," Ashley reminded him. "And with Aunt Cassie and the others living on different planets, Dad and Aunt Karone and Uncle Zhane decided that they didn't want to fight with four people that they didn't know. Besides, this is what Tykwa wants."

"But Mom -"

"Mommy!"

"Jenny!" Ashley exclaimed, scooping her daughter up in her arms. "Were you a good girl at Cerys's?"

"Uh-huh," Jenny said, nodding convincingly for good measure. "I didn't even call Aidan any names."

"You didn't?" Ashley repeated. "That's very good of you... Jenny, say hi to these people. This is Ryan, Damien, and Tempest."

"Hi," Jenny whispered, struck shy for one of the first times in her four years. She looked away, hiding her face in her mother's neck as her sister walked up to the three unfamiliar people bravely. For a moment, Ashley wondered if she had the wrong twin. Jenny was the wilder, outgoiong of the two, while Marieke was the quiet, sweeter one.

"My name's Marieke," said the twin on the floor, dispelling Ashley's doubts as she reached for the hand of the redheaded girl, completely ignoring the red and black rangers. "Come see my room. I have to share it with Jenny, but you can stay there too."

Ashley stifled a laugh as the yellow ranger was led away. Jenny struggled out of her arms and ran after her sister, who was contemplating all the possible ways to adopt Tempest. "Looks like Marieke found a big sister."

"Looks like Tempest found a younger one," Ryan replied, amused. "This'll be interesting..."

"She can keep her," Aidan muttered. "And she can have Jenny too!"

"Aidan," Ashley said sternly. Her son pouted at her, and shrugged.

"You should love your sisters," Ryan said suddenly, bending down to look the boy in the eye. "You might not always have them."

"Are you the new red ranger?" Aidan asked, glaring at the young man in front of him. Ryan nodded, and Aidan's glare grew even stronger. "I'm supposed to be the red ranger!" he shouted, and tore off down the hall.

"Aidan!" Ashley exclaimed, but the boy slammed shut his bedroom door. Ashley sighed, deciding to leave him alone to cool off. Sighing, she turned to Ryan. "Sorry..."

"Nah, it's okay," Damien said. "We've said much worse to him."

"They have," Ryan assured her. "It's all right."

"TJ and Cassie will be here in the morning," Andros announced, joining them in the hall, his arm automatically going around Ashley's shoulders. "Carlos and Aura too."

"I can't wait to see them," Ashley said, eagerness in her eyes. "Even if this isn't exactly the vacation they had planned."

"We won't be working the entire day," Andros reminded her. "You'll still have time to catch up with Cassie."

"I know," Ashley said. "You'll be working mostly with Carlos, Damien, and maybe Aura."

Damien stifled a yawn. "Sorry."

"Sleep," Ashley said firmly, pointing to the room behind them. "You'll need it, trust me."

"Ash, can I talk to you?" Andros asked, pulling her down the stairs to the couch.

"All right, what's wrong?" Ashley demanded, making herself comfortable.

"We're alone down here, right?" Andros asked softly.

Ashley shrugged. "Ryan and Damien are sleeping. The twins stole Tempest, and Aidan's sulking, so pretty alone. Why?"

"I heard what Aidan said to Ryan earlier," Andros said, suddenly looking guilty.

"You didn't tell him that he'd be the red ranger, did you?" Ashley asked, groaning inwardly.

"No," Andros said quickly. "I said maybe, but I think he took that as a yes."

"It's all right," Ashley said with a sigh. "He'll get over it... What's bothering you?"

Andros hesitated. "It's really nothing," he admitted. "I just wanted to know how you felt."

"About what?" Ashley prodded gently as he stalled.

"It's stupid, really," he muttered. "But everything that was ours doesn't belong to us anymore."

Ashley sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's not stupid," she said. "But if you're feeling all this resentment, it's not going to help when you're trying to train them."

"It's not resentment," Andros assured her. "It's just that... the Astro morphers were ours. The Megaship is ours. It was my home for three years."

"Andros?" Ashley said. "That's called resentment. It's not even the same Megaship, remember?"

"It looks the same," Andros muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and staring hard at a nonexistent spot on the wall as Ashley laughed softly. She must have seen the look on his face, and quickly apologized.

"For what it's worth, I feel the same," she added softly, slipping on of her hands under his elbow to clasp his hand. "But Andros... there's nothing that we can really do about it."

"I know." Andros sighed but gave her a slight smile and pulled her into his arms. Ashley relaxed against his chest, her head leaning against his neck as Andros rested his hands on her stomach, feeling for the child sleeping inside of her. "I've got nothing against them, and I promise, I won't act resentful. I just need a few days to get used to it."

"You'd better get used to it fast, though," Ashley said, squeezing his hand.

"Ash?" Andros asked hesitantly. "What exactly are we supposed to do with them?"

"See what they can do, and then help them," Ashley said, shifting slightly to face him. "It was different for us... we were already rangers when you gave us the morphers, but it still took some getting used to. If the Overlords are as bad as Tykwa says they are, we want them used to it way before they actually are expected to fight."

"Do you think we can actually do this?"

"Andros, it can't be any harder than being rangers ourselves," Ashley pointed out. "Don't worry, we'll be fine, and so will they. Ryan will be a good leader. He's even a little like you, back when you were too serious."

"Back when you thought I was a lizard, you mean," Andros corrected her, watching as Ashley's cheeks darkened to match the bright red T-shirt he was wearing.

"See?" Ashley said. "You've changed a lot... I like you better this way."

"You'd better," Andros said, pulling her close enough to kiss her gently. "You're stuck with it."

"Fine with me," Ashley said, settling back into his arms. "I don't mind."