Disclaimer: Ya know Disney? They own the Power Rangers, not me.

Jenny: Yeah, Tawny's spoiled. I guess I felt sorry for her... Yay, you're working on the Christmas special! And Forever Light... Just write!

Mel: Some girl from LA wound up at your school? I gotta try that... I hadn't even seen The Lion King when I wrote that chapter. :P

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Haha, they stole your blood... Um, okay... I'll talk to you tomorrow, I swear! Then you can see more random parts of chapters and thoughts. :P

Chapter 13

"All right, Andros, you win," Ashley muttered, glaring into the darkness. It was past eleven, but Ashley knew her brother's study habits, and they rarely involved sleeping before one in the morning or being awake before noon now that he had had time to settle into his routine. "I'll go see Jeff."

She sighed, and reached for her phone, dialing the familiar number in the darkness, careful not to wake Tawny, who was asleep in her arms. Slowly easing herself onto her other side, facing away from her daughter, Ashley waited patiently for Jeff to answer, overcome with a sudden jealousy.

Jeff had helped her whenever she needed it - everyday- and he loved Tawny, but she wasn't his child. Jeff could come and go as he pleased without worrying about who would be home to babysit. He was a senior in college, and Ashley hadn't even applied. She couldn't just leave Tawny with someone else for that many hours. She already felt as though she'd neglected her daughter for her entire life.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jeff," Ashley said. "Um, I... I'm sorry I hung up on you last time."

"Don't worry about it, Ash," Jeff assured her. "Are you all right?"

"Not really," Ashley admitted. "Jeff? How busy are you right now?"

"Not busy at all," Jeff answered immediately. It was a lie, and Ashley knew it, but she needed her brother.

"Would you mind coming to the Megaship for awhile?" Ashley asked. "I'll explain everything."

"Sure," Jeff agreed. "Now?"

"Yeah," Ashley said. "I'll have Deca teleport you in."

"Okay," Jeff agreed and hung up the phone.

Ashley sighed and eased herself out of bed, pulling a yellow sweatshirt over her head, shivering. "Deca, can you teleport my brother Jeff here?"

"Certainly."

"Thanks, Deca," Ashley said, exhaling slowly as her brother materialized in front of her. "Hey, Jeff."

"Ash!" Jeff exclaimed softly, pulling her into his arms. Ashley stiffened, and he let her go, concern darkening his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Feel like a walk?"

Ashley started towards the door, leaving Jeff to follow her. In the brighter lights of the corridor, he saw that Ashley didn't look well at all. Her normally sparkling eyes were dull and pain filled and cast down at the floor paneling, as if she was afraid to meet his eyes. Jeff wondered if she was. One glance told him that Ashley was thinner than she had been three weeks before, and his mind began whirling with possible explanations for her appearence. Several scenarios played out in his mind, none reflecting too favorably on Andros.

"Andros," Ashley said, halting in surprise as she led Jeff into the observatory. A lone figure was laying on the couch, his face turned heavenwards, searching the stars for something, anything, even the smallest hint that his misery wouldn't last for always.

When he heard her voice, he bolted upright, his eyes shining as he saw her even as they grew dark with sadness. "Hi, Ash," he said quietly, standing up slowly. His eyes fell on her brother standing beside her, and something unreadalbe flittered across his face. "Hi, Jeff."

"Hi," Jeff said, somewhat cooly. His tone was not lost on Andros, and he glanced at Ashley, who was busy avoiding him gaze.

"I'll get out of here and let you two talk," Andros said quietly. His gaze lingered on Ashley for a moment, and he added softly, "Good night, Ash."

"Good night," Ashley whispered. Jeff saw Andros stare sadly at Ashley for a moment longer before he turned and slunk away.

"What was that about?" Jeff asked before it occured to him that it was probably none of his business.

Ashley sighed. "I don't want to talk about that."

"Then what did you want to talk about?"

"Sit down," Ashley said wearily, sinking down onto the couch Andros had vacated only a moment before. "This will take a long time... Jeff, when you first heard from Mom and T-Terry that I was pregnant, what did you think?"

Jeff sighed heavily. "You want the truth?"

"Yes," Ashley said softly.

"It didn't sound like you," Jeff said. "The sister I knew didn't sleep around, but the sister I knew didn't run away for five months without a word, either. Mom was drunk when she told me, and at first I thought she was confused, or angry enough to make it up, but then I saw you, and well..."

"I was eight months pregnant and it was obvious that Mom had told you the truth," Ashley finished for him, and Jeff nodded.

"After you came back..." Jeff hesitated, before taking a deep breath, and plowing forward, praying that she would forgive him for keeping quiet. "I kept wondering what had happened, but you wouldn't say anything, so I just thought you'd made a mistake... slept with a boyfriend of yours. It wasn't until Tawny was a year old and starting to talk that I realized something. She called me 'Dada' for months, Ash, and I couldn't explain to her that I was her uncle, not her daddy. Hearing her trying to ask for her daddy, it made me realize that for her to have been... who was the boyfriend you'd had then?"

"Scott," Ashley whispered.

"For her to have been Scott's baby," Jeff continued sadly, "Tawny would have had to be at least three months older than she was... and there was no one else after Scott, at least no one that I knew about."

"There was no one after Scott," Ashley confirmed. "Not until Tawny was already born."

"I'm sorry, Ash," Jeff said. "I didn't want to believe it, and when you acted like nothing was wrong, I believed you, and what you wanted me to believe."

"You're not angry at me?" Ashley asked. "For not telling?"

"I can understand why you didn't," Jeff said. "But I really wish you had."

"So do I," Ashley said with a heavy sigh.

"Do you know who-"

"Yes," Ashley answered, interrupting Jeff's hesitant question. "I don't want to talk about that."

"But if you know, why don't you go to the police?" Jeff asked. "I know you must've been scared-"

"I don't want to talk about this," Ashley repeated, more forcefully. With his eyes, her brother was asking her why she'd kept silent, and she couldn't answer. She sighed, and added, more quietly than before, "I'd always known what happened, but it never really hit me. Not until I was telling Andros, and then it all came crashing back. It's just barely sunk in, Jeff. I can't deal with going to the police yet."

Jeff nodded, not completely understanding, but knowing that Ashley would do what she wanted, when she was ready. He decided it might be a good idea to shift the topic of the conversation. "Was this why you stopped singing?"

Ashley looked at him, startled, overwhelmed by memories again, but this time, the remembrences were of a happier nature. Ashley had a beautiful singing voice, and she'd always loved showing it off... until she became too ashamed to look people in the eye, much less sing in front of them.

"Yeah," she said sadly. "I guess it was."

Maybe that's why she had become such close friends with Cassie; because Cassie had what Ashley had lost. It was both an interesting theory and a probable one, but Ashley didn't particularly care at the moment.

"Ashley," Jeff said. "I'll always be here for you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Ashley said with a small smile. "I know."

She stifled a yawn, and Jeff stood up. "You should get some sleep now."

"Probably," Ashley admitted ruefully. "Jeff... thanks."

She wasn't sure what she was thanking him for, exactly; she only knew that she should. Jeff nodded, smilling at her, and she knew that he'd understood. Jeff walked her back to her room, a comfortable silence between them, telling Ashley that everything was all right between them once again.

Ashley stopped short as they reached her room. "Andros!" she exclaimed softly, her voice a near wail. "What are you doing here?"

Jeff looked past his sister to see his niece wrapped up in Andros's arms, sobbing her little heart out. The Karovan looked up at Ashley, his face a mixture of helplessness and uncertainty.

"She woke up screaming," he explained, trying to pry Tawny loose, but she seemed content crying into his neck. "Did I - did I do something wrong?"

"No," Ashley whispered, sitting down beside him, gently pulling Tawny away from Andros and into her own arms. "Tawny, what's wrong?"

"Mommy?" Tawny snuffled, now crying into Ashley's neck. "Monster kill me."

"No, sweetie," Ashley said gently, rocking her back and forth. "There's no monsters here."

"Monster," Tawny shrieked, still sobbing. "Monster get me."

"There's no monsters here," Ashley repeated. "And I'm not letting any ugly monster get you, I promise."

"No monster?"

"No monster," Ashley said firmly.

"You lying," Tawny said, eyeing Ashley reproachfully. "There monster!"

"Tawny, there's no monster," Ashley said weakly, looking from Andros to Jeff, her expression completely lost. "I promise, there's no monster."

"Your mommy helped make all the monsters go away," Jeff said, kneeling down to look his niece in the eye. The instant Tawny spotted him, she shrieked happily, her nightmare forgotten.

"Uncle Jeff!"

"Oof," Jeff grunted as Tawny threw herself down into his arms, nearly knocking him off balance. "You've grown in the last few weeks, haven't you?"

"Mommy say so," Tawny told him proudly.

"Your mommy's right," Jeff said, ruffling her hair affectionately. Tawny giggled, squirming away as she tried to hide a yawn. Jeff grinned and swung her back up into Ashley's arms. "I think it's way past someone's bedtime."

"Not tired," Tawny insisted, her voice muffled by another yawn.

"Go back to sleep, Tawny," Jeff said firmly. "I'll come see you again tomorrow, if it's all right with your mommy."

"You know it is," Ashley said with a genuine smile. "You're leaving now?"

"In a minute," Jeff said, his gaze sliding to Andros, still sitting silently on a corner of Ashley's bed. "I want to talk to you."

If Andros was surprised by the request, he hid it well, and simply nodded his head. Jeff saw his eyes flicker towards Ashley for the briefest second, and the nervousness that suddenly sprang up into his sister's face did not escape his notice.

The two men walked side by side in an uneasy silence for quite some time before Jeff began to translate his thoughts into words. "This is really none of my business, but are you and Ashley still together?"

"No," Andros answered after a long pause, his voice deceptively calm. "And you're right, it is none of your business."

"All right, I'm sorry," Jeff said hastily, his curiosity satisfied. "But Ashley and Tawny are my business. They're my family."

Andros nodded. "I know they are. I'm not keeping them from you."

"That's not what I meant," Jeff said defensively, although his train of thought hadn't been a far cry from that.

"What did you mean, then?" Andros asked, his voice even but still challenging.

"Look, I just want to know..." Jeff ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and sighed heavily. "I don't really know what I want to know, all right? I'm just used to looking out for them, and now..."

"I understand," Andros said after a brief pause. "Don't worry, they're safe here. Tawny's happy, and I think Ashley's as close to it as she's able to be right now."

Jeff nodded. "I wish I could help her somehow..."

"You already have," Andros said. "I don't think that Tawny could be who she is without you."

"Tawny was born happy," Jeff said with a fond smile. "No matter what happens, she'll always be all right. It's Ashley I'm worried about."

Andros made no comment, but the flash of emotion in his eyes caused Jeff to start wondering again. He knew that there was a lot Ashley had chosen not to mention to him, and he suddenly realized that whatever it was she was keeping from him, Andros knew.

"You know," Jeff breathed, stepping closer to the former red ranger. "You know who did this to my sister."

"Yes," Andros said simply, his voice a shocking contrast to the burning hatred smoldering in his hazel eyes.

"Who was it?" Jeff demanded.

Andros shook his head. "That's a question for Ashley."

Jeff narrowed his eyes at the resignation he heard. "You want to tell me, don't you?"

"Yes," Andros said again, his true emotions beginning to seep out of his eyes and heart and into his tone. "I want her to tell someone. I want to kill him myself. If I ever meet him, I probably will."

"Then why don't you tell someone? If the story came out, Ashley wouldn't deny it."

"I promised her I would never tell," Andros said bitterly. "That was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done. I agreed, and now she's here, safe, but she's keeping herself a prisoner up here while he's still down there."

"You have to make her tell someone," Jeff insisted. "If she keeps quiet, it's not just about her anymore. What if he does it again?"

Andros's eyes widened slightly. "I never thought of that. I don't think Ashley did, either."

"That's why she's got to tell someone," Jeff said. "It's not going to be easy for her, but she's just got to."

"I'll talk to her again in the morning," Andros said finally. "But I can't promise you anything."

"Thank you," Jeff said, breathing a little easier. "I should go now."

"Wait," Andros said. He unfastened the communicator from his left wrist and handed it to Jeff. "I'm not keeping them from you."

"Thank you," Jeff said again, securing the cool metal around his own wrist.

"Good night," Andros said, turning and making his way slowly down the hall. Jeff watched him walk away, wondering what he was missing.

"Deca, teleport me to my room at home."