AH/AY: I'm going to kill them eventually, but I need them right now, mainly so Andros can vent some anger.

Phantom Rogue: I wish I would have came up with it sooner too but it just hit me while I was writing the chapter and it really seemed to fit right in.

SpookyandLumpy: Here's more!

Disclaimer: As much as I would like for it to be, Power Rangers is not my creation.

Ch. 24 Proposal

She ran as fast as she could into her room, if you could call it that. She could hear the sound of the shoes pounding up the stairs and prayed that this time someone would stop them, but she knew, like always, no one would. She curled up in the corner of the closet and closed her eyes. The shadows were soon upon her and she opened her eyes just a little, all she could see was a fist.

Ashley shot up in the bed, sweat and tears running down her face. "DECA, where's Andros?" She swung her legs to the side of the bed and stood up, knowing that she would never get back to sleep without his protective arms around her.

"Andros, is presently on his way here," DECA answered, and Ashley could've sworn she heard concern in her voice. Just as she walked over to the door it slid open and she jumped.

"Hey," Andros began gently, seeing the terrified look on her face, "it's just me." He pulled her into his arms and he felt her relax. "Come on, the others are worried about you."

"You told them?" she questioned, glaring up at him.

"Yeah," he whispered, looking down at his feet, "I was hoping that you wouldn't mind. They're all happy for us and they're ready to be aunts and uncles." He saw a smile begin to form on her face as he glanced up at her but it quickly melted away. "What's wrong, Ash?"

"Before you got her I was having a nightmare," she began. She knew that he already knew where this was going but she also knew that in order for her to get over it she had to face it herself. "It was about my parents." She paused, taking a long look into his eyes and finding nothing there except for love and concern. "It was my fifth birthday and some friends of mine had insisted to have me a party. I told them that my parents wouldn't let me but they wouldn't listen. They came over that day and surprised me with presents and a cake. It was the first time I had ever gotten anything for my birthday. My parents weren't happy and I knew it. I just kept praying that the party would never end and that I would never be alone with them again but it didn't happen. As soon as everyone had left I ran up to my room and hid in my closet. I kept hoping that my brother, Jeff, would get home from his friend's house or that anyone would come and stop them but nobody did." She stopped, fighting back the tears long enough to finish her story. "They hit me until I passed out and then they rushed me to the emergency room telling the doctors that I was like that when they got home from work and that they didn't know what had happened. I could tell then that the doctors didn't believe them and I actually told one of the doctor the truth. That was a mistake. The lawyer couldn't prove the case and I was sent home with them. After that I wasn't allowed out of my room for three months unless it was to go to school." By now she was crying and clinging to Andros much like he had done to her so many times in the past.

"It's okay now, Ash," he whispered gently. "I won't let them touch you ever again." As he held her he couldn't imagine who would want to cause her harm. She was always so nice to everyone, especially him. 'I won't ever let anyone hurt her again,' he vowed silently as Ashley began to pull away from him. "Do you want to talk to the others? I know they'd really like to see you."

"Okay," she whispered, wiping the remaining tears off her face. "When are we going to tell my parents?" Ashley could tell that he wasn't in a rush to tell them and neither was she but she would rather get it over with now then wait until it was obvious that she was pregnant.

"When ever you want to," Andros answered and she looked away from him. "But you have to promise me that you won't go down there alone." When she didn't answer, he forced her to look at him. "Ashley, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you or our children. Please, promise me."

"I promise," she replied launching herself into his arms once again. "I love you so much, Andros."

"I love you too, Ash," he replied and they walked hand in hand to the Work Bay.

"Hey, guys," Ashley greeted, appearing much happier than she had been just minutes before. "So, you're actually happy for us?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Cassie asked, running over to hug her best friend. "We might not agree with the timing but we're still your friends." Soon the rest of the group had joined the hug, all except for Carlos.

"What's wrong with you?" Ashley asked, walking over to her former boyfriend. She had a suspicion that it wasn't the fact that she was pregnant, just who she was pregnant by.

"I still don't agree with this, Ashley," he replied. "I mean you guys aren't ready to be parents and your parents aren't exactly going to allow you to move out and live up here are they?"

"They don't have a choice, Carlos!" she yelled. "I'm eighteen and just because I'm not pregnant with your babies doesn't give you any right to talk to me this way!" With that she stormed out of the room. Just as Andros was about to follow Karone and Cassie stopped him.

"I think she needs sometime with the girls," Cassie explained and he nodded, turning his attention to Carlos.

"I thought you were okay with this, Carlos," he stated.

"I thought I was too," he answered. "I guess I'm still jealous that you got her instead of me." He glued his gaze to the floor as he continued, "I'm sorry. I really am happy for both of you but it's going to take some time for me to get over this."

"Don't apologize to me," Andros replied, as he pointed down the hall. "Go apologize to her." Carlos only nodded his head and took off in the direction the girls had went a few minutes before. As soon as Carlos was out of the room Andros shank down onto one of the empty stools, placing his head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Zhane asked, sitting down next to him.

"When I went to get Ashley she told me about a nightmare that she had and it just made me upset," he answered, refusing to look up at Zhane or T.J. "I just hate thinking about what they did to her. She didn't deserve it."

"No child deserves it, Andros," T.J. interjected. "Not Ashley, not you, not anyone. Just as long as you two stick together I don't think anyone will ever hurt you like that again."

Although their little discussion had made him feel better, Andros was wide awake that night thinking about what Ashley had told him. Sure, his father had never liked him but his mother had always done everything in her power to protect him, at least until she turned against him too. He couldn't imagine what his life would have been like if both his parents would have hated him from the beginning, he really didn't think he would've been able to stand it. Ashley was sound asleep beside him, but even the rhythm of her breathing wasn't enough to get him to sleep. He slowly climbed out of the bed, careful not to wake Ashley. He dressed quickly into a pair of pants and a tee shirt and headed for the Work Bay.

"DECA," he began, "you don't know where I've gone, understood?"

"Yes, Andros," the AI answered and he slid down his jumptube. He landed in a secluded park that was only a few blocks from Ashley's house. She had shown it to them on one of their many dates and he had even noticed then that she seemed a little edgy when they walked by but he hadn't pushed her. Now, as he stood outside the house he could almost hear her screams of terror and he knew that he needed to do something about it. Slowly, he approached the house and he knocked softly on the door. A man about six inches taller than him answered the door and Andros immediately assumed the man to be Ashley's father, Frank Hammond.

"Are you Mr. Hammond?" he asked just to make sure. He had met Jeff on a couple of occasions but couldn't remember exactly what he looked like.

"Yes," Frank answered. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Andros," he stated slowly. As soon as Frank heard the name he had Andros by the shirt collar and pulled him into the house. It didn't take much for Andros to see that this visit wasn't going to end well for him.

"Well, what do you want?" the older man interrogated harshly.

"Ashley's pregnant," Andros answered. He knew the blow was coming but didn't take the time to prepare himself. He had always been taught not to use his skills against other people but he knew that if he didn't do something he was going to end up dead. Frank quickly had him on his back and was kicking him profusely. Finally, Andros had enough. His children needed two parents and he wasn't going to let them down. Using his telekinesis, he knocked Frank to the ground and sprinted for the front door. Once outside he raised his communicator to his mouth and gasped, "DECA, teleport me to the Megaship."

Without his knowledge, DECA had alerted the other rangers of his trip and they were all waiting for him as the Megaship materialized in front of him. Zhane and Ashley quickly ushered him to the Med Bay were they bandaged his injuries.

"What did you think you were doing!" Ashley shouted as she paced around the room. Andros only lowered her head as she glared at him. "Well, are you going to answer me or not?"

"I was just trying to protect you and the babies," he tried to explain. "I knew that if we both went down there they would separate us and I wouldn't be able to help you. I can't live without you, Ashley." He pulled her into his arms and something jabbed into his leg. He carefully pulled away from her enough to stand and then get down on one knee. He pulled out a small box and looked into her eyes. "Ashley Hammond, will you marry me?" Ashley looked like she was going to faint at any second and Andros rushed to support her.

"Andros," she began, "of course I'll marry you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips.

"Careful," Zhane warned. "That's how you ended up in this situation to begin with." He barely had time to dunk as several pillows came flying out of the cabinets. "Hey! I was only kidding!"

A/N: Please Review.