Disclaimer: The Power Rangers are not mine.
TrueRomantic: It seemed less traumatic than having him blow her head off. He'll be all right eventually, with Ashley's help.
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Nope, Andros isn't blind. Just a really cute idiot. :P
Juzblue: You'll find out a lot here.
Maresia Eterna: Andros will get a hug, promise. Kale will get his butt kicked, but I need him for parts 2 and 3, so he'll have to stick around awhile longer.
Mz. Daydream: Thanks. Here's some more.
Jessica01: You'll find out in the next chapter.
Jenny: It'll be in the next chapter.
Funky In Fishnet: Things will get better, promise, just not quite yet.
hmmart: Not just Ashley's safety...
Chapter 23
The quiet knock at his door was all it took for Andros's fingers to tense on the trigger. He had the blaster aimed squarely at the door before he thought to ask, "Who is it?"
"It's just me," came Ashley's voice, and he let his breath out slowly. "Can I come in?"
"Deca?" he asked quietly. "Is she alone?"
"She is alone," Deca confirmed. "Do you wish for me to open the door?"
"Yeah," he said, his blaster still trained at the door. "Let her in."
"Hey, Andros," Ashley said cheerfully, her steps careful until her eyes had adjusted to the dark. "We were just going to--"
"Ashley, get in here," he snapped, grabbing her arm to pull her the rest of the way into the room as the door slid shut behind her.
"Andros, what--"
"Shh," he hissed, his fingers tightening involuntarily on her arm. "Ashley, where are the others?"
"They're..." Ashley's expression suddenly grew wary, and he cursed silently, realizing her eyes had adjusted to the dim light just enough to see the Astroblaster he still held clenched in his hand. "Andros, what..."
"Ashley, you have to listen to me," he said quietly, quickly lowering the weapon. "Where are the others?"
"They're on the Simudeck," she told him, her tone guarded now. "Andros, what's wrong?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But Kale... I never told you how Zeah died, did I?"
"No," she said, her expression softening as she laid her fingers over his. "What's this have to do with Kale?"
"He knows."
"How she died, you mean?" When he nodded, she sighed. "Andros, there are ways he could have--"
"I never told anyone," he whispered, fists clenching. "He shouldn't know, but he does."
"Oh." There was a brief pause before Ashley spoke again. "What does it mean, then? That he saw it all?"
"He had to have seen us," Andros said quietly, surprised by the utter lack of emotion that followed his words. "All I ever told Zhane and Karone was that Zeah was dead."
"And what does that mean? That he was following you?"
"I don't know," Andros nearly shouted in frustration. "But he knows. And he shouldn't."
Ashley sighed quietly. "You should tell the others, then," she said finally. "Even just Zhane and Karone."
"No," he said harshly. "I shouldn't."
"Andros, if what you've just told me is true, the best-case scenario is that he followed you around for months," Ashley said sharply. "Zhane and Karone deserve to know that much."
"I know," he admitted, his voice diminished to a near whisper as he watched Ashley's face soften with sympathy and understanding.
"They love you, you know," she said quietly. "They would never hate you, Andros."
"You believe that."
"Yeah," she said, her vehemence startling him. "And you should too. Do you really think they haven't noticed what you've done to yourself over the past two years? They know something's wrong, they just don't know what, and they have no way of knowing if you keep yourself away from them."
"I don't want them to know," he informed her with a coolness that startled him. "They don't need to know. They don't want to know."
"Of course they do," she retorted. "They want to know what you've been keeping from them. Everything you've been keeping from them. Andros, Karone's your twin sister! Do you really think she'd hate you for anything?"
Andros felt his teeth clench before he could answer, anger bubbling up within him. It wasn't much, but it was there, and it frightened him as much as finally confessing to Zhane and Karone what he'd done. This was Ashley, who had held him as he cried only three days before, who had stood up to Kale when he hadn't defended himself. He shouldn't be angry with her. And he wasn't, he realized slowly. He was angry with himself.
Ashley sighed softly as conflicting emotions tore across Andros's face, confusion being the one that stuck. Not knowing what else she could do, Ashley stepped forward and drew him into her arms, hugging him hard.
"They won't hate you," she promised in a whisper. "Andros, they just want you back."
"Are you sure?" he asked before he could help himself, his tone anxious. He winced as he heard himself, but Ashley simply rubbed at his shoulders soothingly.
"I'm sure," she said firmly. "Just trust me."
"I do," Andros whispered.
He wasn't surprised to realize that he did, but his eyes widened almost in alarm at just how much he did. He believed every word she spoke, no matter how hard he tried to deny them at first. Andros could see now that he had tried to deny everything at first, and swallowed hard, finding it all he could to do keep himself from clinging to her just to make sure she would be with him always.
He needed her, he could admit to himself now. The rangers often said that Ashley was the heart of their team; their hope when they had lost everything else. It was true enough, but didn't do her justice. She had done more than give him hope; she had made him want to remember what it meant to live.
Andros closed his eyes and pulled her as close to him as he could, his heart aching badly. He doubted that he would ever have the courage to tell her so, and knew that even if he did, he would never have her. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair as his mind ran though the long list of his faults, from everything as trivial as his hair to the fact that he had killed the last girl that he had loved.
"Andros," Ashley murmured in his ear, startling him so badly he leapt away from her. "Andros, what's wrong?"
"N--Nothing," he stammered, reaching out to her cautiously. "I didn't mean to do that."
"It's all right," she assured him, letting him draw her into another hug. She wasn't sure exactly why he was holding her, but Ashley couldn't think of a reason to pull away. She was safe, she realized slowly, feeling his arms tighten briefly. She was safe when she was in his arms, and the lazy drowsiness that accompanied the revelation was a welcome sensation, one that she hadn't felt in far too long. It had been months since Ben had just hugged her... 'He's still your boyfriend,' she had to remind herself, the urge to just bury her face in Andros's shoulder suddenly overwhelming.
"Ashley," he whispered suddenly. She jumped slightly, glad that he couldn't see her blush in the darkness. "Ashley, will you come with me?"
"To talk to Zhane and Karone, you mean?" she asked gently, unsurprised as he nearly crushed her in his arms. "Of course I will."
"Thank you," he muttered, taking a deep breath before he could change his mind. "But not just Zhane and Karone."
"I'll be there," she said firmly, her tone softening as she added, "I'm glad you'll tell the rest of them. They'll be your friends, Andros, if you'll let them."
"I know," he admitted, not sure any longer that he didn't need the rest of them as well. "But I don't know if I can."
"They'll understand," she assured him. "They'll wait until you can... Are you ready?"
"Yes," he whispered, even as his mind cried, 'No!'
"Then let's go," Ashley said, pulling away to tug on his arm. "Andros, it'll all be okay."
He nodded uncertainly, but there was nothing he could do but trust her. There was nothing he wanted to do but trust her, he marveled as he followed her out into the corridor, temporarily blinded by the brightness of the light.
"Ashley," he said quietly, pausing just outside his door. "Thank you," he said again. Words weren't nearly enough to thank her, but they were all he had.
"You're welcome," she said just as quietly, a small smile on her face as she studied his expression. He didn't look sullen any longer, she realized. He looked more frightened than anything else. Ashley squeezed his fingers and sighed, wishing for the right words to ease his anxiety. Her mouth was opened in an attempt to reassure him when the Megaship plunged into darkness, and the sound that emerged from her mouth was a soft cry of surprise.
Andros's fingers across her mouth muffled the noise, and Ashley swallowed hard, strangling the cry completely. "Shh," he whispered in her ear. "Quiet."
Ashley nodded her head stupidly, realizing too slowly that he couldn't see her. She reached for his hand as she felt her way along the bulkhead, her heart thudding with fear. Every instinct Ashley possessed told her that this was no accident, and from the way Andros's fingers nearly broke her own, she could tell that he was just as frightened as she was.
