Disclaimer: Nothing's changed in the last few days, so Power Rangers still isn't mine.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Of course she'll lose Ben. She's just waiting for the right time. :D

TrueRomantic: BB is getting really annoying, isn't he? Oh well, he'll be gone soon enough, I hope. Andros should be very sweet once he works through all his emotional stuff.

Mz. Daydream: He's gone for a few chapters, but they haven't broken up yet.

Funky In Fishnet: As soon as Ashley gets unblinded, she'll ditch him.

Maresia Eterna: I love angst and drama too, as long as there's a happy ending. :P I'm pretty sure someone's going to punch Ben sooner or later, and I'm definitely sure that Ashley's going to make sure Andros is all right.

Isinha: Only sometimes:D He shouldn't be around much longer.

C.C.C: Hope you have a fun vacation. At least I didn't end the last chapter with a cliffy. :P

the-power-of-love: Thanks, here's more.

hmmart: Here's more. Andros and Ashley will keep growing closer, don't worry.

Jenny: Plot? What plot:D Actually, stuff starts happening again here, sorta, but the most actual action won't happen until Part 2. I think she should just break up with him too, but I know how I want it to happen. No idea if it'll work or not, but I've got it planned.

CSIMel: Ashley will come to her senses soon enough, and in the meantime, she and Andros will be growing closer.

Chapter 19

Ashley pulled away much too soon for his liking, and Andros let her, taken aback by the sudden, strong urge to just crush her in his arms. She didn't leave the bed, though, and instead rearranged herself alongside of him.

"Did you stay in here all day?" she asked gently, slipping an arm around his shoulders.

"Yes," he muttered, tensing. He could already picture her dragging him out of the room, forcing him to interact with the other rangers, or worse, other teenagers from Angel Grove High that he couldn't function around at the best of times.

"I'm not going to make you leave," she said softly, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "It probably helps to be alone, for awhile at least. You just can't hide here forever, Andros."

"I know," he admitted. "I just... don't want to talk to anyone. Not yet."

"You don't have to talk to anyone," Ashley assured him. "But if you ever wanted to, Cassie and TJ and Carlos would be there for you."

Andros nodded slowly and sighed. "Ashley?"

She said nothing, but squeezed his hand gently, sensing that there was more to come. She was right.

"Is it... is it wrong... that I... don't want to think about them?" he managed to stammer.

"No," she soothed him. "It's not wrong. It's probably better, not to dwell on something like this for too long."

He nodded, and she sighed to find the guilt in his eyes, though it was really no less than she had expected. With another sigh, she pulled him back into her arms.

"Not thinking about them for a few days doesn't mean that you don't love them," she told him gently. "Do you think that they'd want you to hole yourself up in your room for the next month or so and blame yourself for their deaths?"

"No," he whispered, his voice steady once again. "They'd want me to be happy."

"Yeah." A small smile graced Ashley's face as she took his hand. "You think you can do that? Even for a little while?"

"I don't know," he said uncertainly. "I think I--"

"There is an incoming transmission," Deca interrupted him. "From Centaur B."

"Centaur B?" Ashley repeated, glancing at Andros quizzically. "Isn't that where KO-35 evacuated to?"

He nodded, letting the air out of his lungs in a sigh. "Is it Kin Won again?"

"No," Deca informed him. "It is your brother."

"Kale?" Andros's head snapped up, his fingers clenching around Ashley's before he could stop himself.

"Yes."

"Andros?"

"I'm fine," he said through clenched teeth. "I have to go."

"I'm coming with you," Ashley announced, standing to let him climb out of bed. "Unless you don't want me to."

"It's all right," he muttered as he headed out the door, too distracted to really hear her question. He did hear her footsteps following him down the corridor, and was surprised to discover how reassuring the sound was. It wasn't enough, however, to banish the anxiety that bubbled up within him the moment he stepped onto the bridge.

"Hello, brother."

"Kale," he said curtly, careful that his expression betrayed no emotion.

From behind his mask, he examined his brother carefully. Dark curls, the

same brown of Andros's hair, framed his face. Blue eyes glittered without both the warmth of Karone's and the laughter of Kieran's. His skin was considerably darker than it had been two years before, but all in all, Andros decided his brother had changed very little in terms of his appearence. He didn't dare hope that he had changed at all in other ways.

"Kin Won told me that Mom and Dad are dead."

Kale's voice brought Andros back to the present, and he nodded slowly. "They are," he said quietly.

"What happened?"

Andros could hear the accusatory note in his brother's voice clearly, and despite everything Ashley had told him in the last twenty-four hours, he couldn't help the feeling that he had deserved it. Letting his shoulders slump forward, he drew in a deep breath, praying his voice wouldn't fail him now.

"Cosmos and Lyra killed them."

It was all he could do to keep himself from flinching as Kale exploded. "What's wrong with you? You're supposed to make sure things like this don't happen, aren't you? How many people are you going to let die? How many have you let die? Four? Five?"

"Six," he mumbled, his head bowed.

"You've killed six people?"

"I didn't kill them," he protested, his voice weakening. "Zyanya and Kir and Renn were already dead."

"Maybe, but somehow I don't think Mom and Dad were," he snapped, adding lightly, "And I know Zeah wasn't."

This time, Andros couldn't keep himself from flinching. "I--I didn't..."

"Didn't what?" Kale sneered. "Didn't kill her? Didn't kill them? Didn't kill all of them? We both know that's a lie. It doesn't matter who killed them, you're their murderer, Andros. You're--"

"Shut up!"

Andros started in surprise as Ashley, who had hovered near the doorway throughout the conversation, suddenly stepped forward to stand beside him. Her brown eyes flashed dangerously enough that he nearly shrank back himself.

"You weren't here," she said coolly. "You don't know what happened. You have no right to talk this way."

"No right?" Kale repeated, unfazed. "My parents are dead and all because he didn't--"

"And how do you know what he did or didn't do?" Ashley snapped. "How do you know he didn't do everything he could to save them?"

"I know my brother," Kale said calmly. "And he's proven himself to be completely incompetent when it comes to saving lives."

"Then maybe you don't know him at all," Ashley retorted.

Kale smiled suddenly. His expression was distinctly amused as his gaze fell back to Andros. "Hiding behind your lover now, brother?"

"She's not my lover," he mumbled, not quite able to keep his eyes from flickering towards Ashley. She didn't look pleased.

"A good thing, too," Kale laughed. With a smirk, he added, "If you'd like to keep her alive."

"What do you want?" he finally burst out, his hands balling themselves into fists. "I'm sure you have better things to do than stand here and talk to me."

"I have nothing better to do while my ship is being refueled," Kale said with a shrug. "I'll be arriving in the Sol system sometime tonight."

"What?" Andros finally looked up. "You're coming here?"

"I'd like to say goodbye to my parents," Kale said coldly. "You've managed to preserve their bodies, at least?"

"Yes," he muttered, finding himself dangerously close to choking up. "They've been frozen."

"You're capable of something, then," Kale observed. "I'll see you tonight, brother."

The viewing screen went black as Kale cut the connection from his end. Andros let out a shaky breath, jumping as Ashley rested an arm across his shoulders. He shifted uneasily, but didn't pull away, blood rushing to his face as he remembered Kale's assumption that he and Ashley had been lovers. He swallowed, finally forced to admit that despite all the effort he'd put into keeping her at a distance, she had somehow gotten close. Too close. He couldn't push her away now if he wanted to, and what was worse, he found he didn't want to.

"Andros?"

"I'm all right," he mumbled, unable to look her in the eye. "Kale's been worse. Much worse."

"That doesn't mean you're all right," Ashley said quietly. "Andros, you know it wasn't true, don't you? You didn't kill them. It's not your fault they died."

"My parents, maybe it's not," he said finally, his voice choked. "But all the others, it is."

"No, Andros," she said gently. "Zhane told me what happened on KO-35. You didn't kill them. Cosmos and Lyra did."

"Not Zeah," he muttered. "I killed her."

So this is who he meant. Ashley sighed silently, remembering the night of Adya and Kieran's deaths. Zeah must be the one Andros said he missed, the one who he had struggled so hard not to cry for.

"You loved her, didn't you?" she said softly, pulling him into a gentle hug.

"Yes," he whispered. "And I killed her."

"Andros--"

"Lyra is attacking Angel Grove." Deca interrupted them for the second time in half an hour, earning herself a healthy glare from Ashley.

"Where's Cosmos?" the yellow ranger demanded, releasing Andros in order to flip open her morpher.

"There is no sign of him," Deca reported calmly. "I have alerted the other rangers."

"Let's rocket!" Ashley shouted, her vision flaring gold for an instant as her suit appeared. "We'll finish talking later, Andros. Deca, teleport me to the battle scene."

Ashley vanished from the bridge amid a shower of yellow sparkles, and Andros glanced up just in time to watch her appear on the viewing screen. He sank down into his seat slowly, the lump in his throat threatening to choke him. He let his shoulders slump forward as the battle raged, unable to watch another fight from the sidelines. He couldn't stand it any longer, not when he knew he was supposed to be one of them.