Disclaimer: Last time I checked, Power Rangers was owned by Disney, and as far as I know, I'm not Disney... sigh.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Who else would I dedicate it to? You three are my own saving angels. :P

Jean: Well, here's more, and I hope you like it.

Chapter 2

It was almost eleven by the time Ashley teleported herself back onto the Megaship. The halls were empty, as she had expected them to be. Andros had made it clear that they all had an equal share of the Megaship, and were more than welcome to stay if they wished, but TJ and Carlos had taken to sleeping in their own homes again. Cassie, on the other hand, had moved in almost completely, needing a place to get away from her mother, and their tumultuous relationship, until she could afford to get an apartment of her own.

There had only been one thing that had kept Ashley from moving in as well, although she still snuck out of her house when her mother and Terry had fallen asleep. Here on the Megaship, with Andros, she was safe.

Ashley jumped as Andros's door opened. He stepped out of his room, oblivious to the fact that she was three feet behind him until she touched his shoulder gently.

"Hey," she greeted him quietly. He offered her a smile in return, and kissed her.

"Hi," he whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"Nightmare," Andros mumbled, concentrating hard on the ground, wishing that the floor was more intricately designed into something with which he could distract himself more convincingly.

"Your parents again?" Ashley asked, gathering an answer from the way his entire body stiffened. She pulled him into her arms, holding him close as he began to relax.

"I don't know why it even bothers me anymore," he muttered, speaking directly into her ear. "It was years ago, and they're not here. I should be used to it, but I... It was the way they looked at me. I would have given anything to hear just once that they loved me, or that they were proud of me, but if they had just looked at me with something besides hate in their eyes, I would have been okay."

"Some things don't go away," Ashley said, not thinking just of Andros anymore. "No matter how much time passes."

She had never been beaten the way Andros had, but the feeling that accompanied the knowledge that you were worthless to everyone who you could ever possibly hope to meet was something that Ashley identified with all to well.

"Are you going to be all right?" she asked.

He nodded. "I was just going to get something to drink. Come with me?"

"Sure," Ashley agreed, suppressing a yawn. She might be dead tired after running around all afternoon, but she had never managed to find it in her heart to refuse Andros anything that he'd asked of her, especially when he looked at her the way he was right now, gazing at her imploringly with his eyes only seeing her. There was nothing that he could ask her for that she wouldn't give, and that scared her.

Andros reached for her hand as they walked in silence to the holding bay, where the main Synthetron was located. Ashley smiled as she felt Andros tighten his grip on her hand for the briefest second before they entered the room.

"Sit down," Andros said gently, Ashley's exhaustion not escaping his notice, and he suddenly felt guilty for asking her to stay with him. "I'll get you something."

"Thanks," Ashley said gratefully, sinking down onto a stool. They lapsed into silence again as the Synthetron whirred, concoting two drinks seemingly out of nowhere. Ashley considered asking him what he'd done since she'd last seen him, but decided against it. It would be an invitation for him to ask her how she'd spent her own afternoon, and that subject was definately not one she wanted to discuss, not now, and not ever.

"Here you go," Andros said, setting a mug down in front of her. He smirked as she lifted it to her nose, sniffing it cautiously before glancing up at him. "This isn't anything strange, I promise."

Ashley hid a smile as she took a sip. Andros and Zhane had gotten in the habit of slipping her drinks from a variety of different worlds, some delicious, and others nauseating.

Zhane had been amusing himself by talking her into trying the various specialties of Onyx Tavern, until Andros had happened to walk in on Ashley gagging on a particularly vile drink. Ashley hadn't minded too much; Zhane had been immediately apologetic, and she'd laughed once she'd washed down the taste with several glasses of water, but she'd suspected that Andros had had a 'talk' with Zhane.

"It's hot chocolate," Ashley said, surprised, taking another sip. Andros was watching her, clearly amused.

"I told you it wasn't anything strange," he said, draining his glass of water. He watched her for another minute before asking, "What did you do today?"

Ashley choked on her hot chocolate, nearly dropping the mug as she tried to get her breathing under control. Andros watched her for a moment before reaching across the table and gently prying the mug out of her hands, handing her a napkin. Ashley wiped her face off, and tried to mop up all the droplets that had splashed onto the table, feeling her face burning as she did so.

"Sometimes it helps to swallow before you try talking," Andros said, his expression and tone perfectly serious. Ashley stuck her tongue out at him and he smiled innocently. "You didn't burn yourself, did you?"

Ashley shook her head no. "Just my tongue, I think," she said, carefully pressing her tongue against her teeth, feeling for the burned patch. It was large, and she knew that nothing would taste right for a few days.

Andros watched Ashley stifle another yawn, her eyelids slowly closing. "Let's go," he said, standing up. "Unless you want to finish your drink."

Ashley gave him a rueful smile. "I don't think there's enough left of it to finish."

Andros slipped his arm around her waist as they exited the holding bay. The Megaship now seemed almost eerily silent and empty, the wide halls motionless, and the only noise besides that made by their feet against the floor the soft humming that drifted through the ship, originating in the engine room.

Andros's room was the door before Ashley's, and he stopped, releasing her with more than a little reluctance. "Would you like to come in?" he asked without meaning to, but hoping that she would say yes. Ashley hesitated, and he added, "Just for a minute or two, but if you're too tired-"

"I'm not that tired," Ashley said, following Andros into his room. The lights were as dim as they always were, and she stopped, trying to orient herself in a space less familiar then her own. There were few differences, but she didn't want to trip.

"Oh, sorry," she heard Andros say from somewhere off to her left, and a moment later the light swelled, leaving the room much brighter. "Better?"

"Yeah, lots," Ashley said, blinking slightly against the sudden change. Andros settled himself on his bed, and motioned for her to join him, which she did, but not without reservations. Andros definitely wasn't the type to push her for anything, but she couldn't help but feel that she was walking right into something that she should be running from.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Andros asked as she settled herself cross-legged across from him. "I was wondering if you'd want to..."

Ashley was already shaking her head, and he let his voice trail off.

"I can't," she said apologetically. "I'm busy."

"Oh," Andros said awkwardly. "Okay."

Ashley found herself suddenly wanting to cry. "Andros..."

"It's all right, Ash," Andros assured her, completely missing her expression. "We can go some other time."

"I really am sorry," Ashley murmured, startled when Andros laughed softly. She glanced up at him, and saw that the expression on his face was much more mischievous than she'd ever seen on his face before.

"If you feel that bad about it, you can make it up to me," he said, somehow managing to sound both teasing and shy.

Ashley laughed, and shifted, her mind alternating between urging her to move closer to him and screaming at her that this was a bad idea. All her doubts vanished, however, or at least faded temporarily when Andros brushed his lips over hers, leaving her to either deepen the kiss or pull back. Without hesitation, Ashley leaned into him, her arms going around his neck. For the second time that day, the world around her slipped away as Ashley let herself tumble carelessly from reality...

The darkness surfaced much more quickly this time, and Ashley jerked back, pushing Andros away at the same time, shoving him over onto his pillows. She closed her eyes, a movement that only served to further her nightmares, and her eyes snapped back open just as the line between reality and nightmare began to blur, and for several seconds, Ashley was seeing two faces, overlapping each other; one Andros's, and the other the one she had tried so hard to forget.

"Ash, what's the matter?" Andros asked, reaching out to her. She shrank back from his touch, and he dropped his hand. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not," Ashley said, looking up at him. Her voice was low and choked with tears, and Andros stared at her helplessly.

"Ash, ever since we got back to Earth, you've been acting a little strange," he said. He had a feeling that he was making things worse instead of better, but he couldn't pretend that there was nothing wrong any longer.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice," Ashley muttered, and Andros sighed heavily.

"Ash," he said softly, "I know something's been bothering you. If you don't want to tell me -"

"Then there's nothing you can do about it," Ashley snapped defensively. Andros stared at her, a look of helplessness on his stunned face, and Ashley doubted he'd be more hurt if she'd slapped him instead.

"Ash," Andros whispered. "I..."

His voice trailed off, and he wondered if Ashley was trying to break up with him. She'd become so distant in the two weeks that they'd been back on Earth, always having an excuse ready when he asked her to go somewhere with him, always avoiding him whenever he tried to talk to her... But when she was with him, everything just felt so right that he couldn't make himself believe that Ashley didn't want to be with him anymore.

"I'm sorry," Ashley muttered, not looking at him, hoping he wouldn't notice the tears that had gathered in her eyes, but he did, as she'd known he would. He stared at her for a long minute, and Ashley knew that he was trying to decide whether or not she'd attack him if he hugged her.

"Ash," Andros said softly, touching her shoulder. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," Ashley said impatiently. "I already told you."

"Then why did you yell at me?"

Ashley groaned inwardly, dragging her sleeve across her eyes as she tried to think of a response that was almost the truth. She hated lying to him, and she hated herself for lying to him, but there was no way she could tell him the truth. As sweet and caring as he was to her, Ashley had her doubts that he would stay with her if he knew, and she'd lose the rest of her friends as well, for having kept it a secret from them for so long.

"I guess I'm just tired," Ashley said finally. "I didn't mean to shout at you, Andros."

Her answer didn't sound any more convincing to him than it did to her, and Andros's face showed it.

"I'll go out with you tomorrow, if you really want me to," she offered apologetically. Andros shook his head.

"You said you couldn't go," he reminded her. "If you have something else to do, then you should do it."

"I'm sorry," Ashley muttered. "We'll go some other time, okay?"

"Sure," Andros said quietly, staring at the ground. "Whenever you want, Ash."

"I promised my family I'd spend some time with them tomorrow," Ashley said desperately, seeing his face. She couldn't remember ever seeing him look so hurt. "My mom wants some help, and I haven't seen her in forever."

"It's all right," Andros said distantly. "You should spend time with your family."

"Andros, don't do this to me," Ashley cried. "It's nothing to do with you."

"Can I meet your family sometime?" Andros asked her suddenly. Ashley flinched, and he wondered if he hadn't seen fear in her eyes for a split second. "What?"

"They... Don't take this the wrong way," Ashley pleaded. "But when they found out where you're from, they decided that we shouldn't be together."

"Oh," Andros said, looking away. Ashley was hating herself now more than ever, for lying to him, and for choosing lies that hurt him. "Never mind, then."

"It's not just you," Ashley said quickly. "They don't like TJ, Cassie, or Carlos, either."

"Why?" Andros asked her with a hint of curiosity, but asking mostly just so he wouldn't appear sullen.

"Because TJ's black, Carlos is Mexican, and Cassie's Asian," Ashley said. That part was true, at least. Terry was decidedly racist, and her mom had begun to adopt his beliefs. He would definitely hate Andros, if Ashley ever let his name slip. She was careful not to.

"Good night, Ash," Andros said, and Ashley took the less than subtle hint.

"Night, Andros," she said softly, leaving his room as quickly as she could without actually running.

"I love you," Andros whispered aloud, staring sadly at his closed door. "Ash, I love you."

He sighed heavily, and leaned back against his pillow, shoving his dual-toned hair roughly out of his eyes. She was lying to him, and he knew it. Everything that Ashley had just said to him was at best half-true. He could tell by the way she glanced away, staring at something just over his shoulder instead of at him.

Maybe I should just go back to KO-35, he thought glumly. Ashley doesn't want me here.

And he didn't want to go back to KO-35. He wanted to stay here, with Ashley, for as long as she wanted him, but he was scared that she didn't anymore. It was obvious why he needed Ashley, but he'd often wondered why Ashley would need him, someone so radically different than her in all possible ways.

"Good night, Andros."

He heard Ashley's voice sound in his mind, and a small smile formed on his face despite himself. He'd been attempting to teach Ashley telepathy and telekinesis, and while she'd made much more progress with the telepathy, it was still too difficult for her to use comfortably.

Andros knew why Ashley was using it now; she was trying to apologize without actually having to admit that there was something wrong. Andros sighed heavily, wondering if she'd ever just tell him what was wrong.

He wasn't a complete idiot, and he'd picked up on how she had, so far somewhat successfully, avoided discussing her family. He wondered if that was it, if there was something terribly wrong in her family.

But if she was unhappy there, why didn't she just tell him, or move back onto the Megaship? He'd told her everything about his family, all the terrible details that he would have much rather forgotten, because he felt worse keeping it from her.

He sighed again, and lay down, wondering if he was ever going to get to sleep, and realized that he'd never answered Ashley. He considered ignoring it completely, but he didn't have it in him.

"Good night, Ash."