Disclaimer: The Power Rangers are not mine.

Chapter 13

Andros took a deep breath and forced his attention back to the ball twisting and turning lazily in midair. His eyes refused to stay in one place, promptly wandering back up to Ashley's face. She either didn't notice him staring or just didn't care, continuing to glare stubbornly at the telekinesis ball until it turned a little faster.

He smiled slightly at her determination, vaguely remembering a time when he had felt the same frustration. Honestly, he was surprised that she showed potential but it pleased him to a degree that he didn't understand. He was enjoying this far more than he had expected to.

Ashley scrunched up her nose in concentration. Andros felt his smile grow a little wider at her expression. He opened his mouth to tell her how pretty she looked like that and caught himself just in time, mentally kicking himself. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea...

But she'd agreed to let him take her out, after all, so maybe she wouldn't mind. Andros frowned, his face growing hot. He'd half expected her to laugh at his invitation; he'd hardly had a clue what he was doing and he knew that it had shown. But she had accepted and now he had even less of an idea what he was supposed to do.

Ashley's shoulders slumped a little and Andros pulled his thoughts back to the telekinesis lesson he was supposed to be giving her. "You're trying too hard," he murmured, not wanting to break her concentration. "Take a deep breath."

Ashley opened her eyes all the way, exhaling slowly as her shoulders relaxed. She smiled at him and Andros swallowed hard, extremely irritated that his face still burning. He rubbed his palms dry on his pants but he just kept sweating, uncomfortably warm all over.

Andros pulled the ball out of the air and looked away quickly, annoyed to find his hands trembling as he collapsed the ball. What's wrong with you?

"That's enough for now," he said quietly, his eyes still trained firmly on the ball. "I know it's only been a few minutes," he continued before she could protest, "but you don't want to strain yourself too hard. Mental exhaustion isn't something to take lightly."

Ashley accepted that, and he was relieved. He had to get out of here. As anxious as he was to flee back to his room, it was Ashley who climbed to her feet first. She offered him a hand up and he reached for her before he remembered how his palms were slick with sweat. He couldn't think of a way to pull his hand back without making himself look like a complete fool, so he caught her hand and let her pull him to his feet.

"Thanks for teaching me," she told him.

Andros could only nod. She was smiling again and his stomach was doing backflips like crazy.

"You can keep this," he said abruptly, offering her the telekinesis ball. Her fingers brushed his lightly when she took it from him and he swallowed hard, fighting hard not to shiver at the soft brush of her skin against his.

"Thanks," Ashley said again, still smiling.

Andros looked away again, his eyes following the ball in an arc as Ashley tossed it onto her bed. It landed next to her pillow, nestling against an unidentifiable object. He looked at her curiously, pointing at what looked like a misshapen lump.

"What's that?"

"Haven't you ever seen a teddy bear before?" Ashley laughed softly and reached past him to pull whatever it was out from beneath her pillow and cradle it lovingly in her arms. "This is Bear."

"What?" Andros just stared at her.

"You've never seen a stuffed animal before?"

"You're saying that that's an animal?" He shot her an incredulous look before his gaze dropped down to the thing she clutched in her arms.

"Of course not," she said. "He's... a toy, I guess. I've had him since I was a baby."

That would explain it's appearance, he thought. The red bear was fuzzy and worn, the yellow and green striped ribbon around its neck frayed, but it was clean and it was clear that Ashley cared for it a great deal.

"Oh," he said finally. "That's... nice."

"You really never had a stuffed animal?"

"No," he said stiffly. "I never needed one."'

"Really?" Ashley looked at him suspiciously. "Or are you just saying that?"

"Really," he confirmed, still staring at the bear and not at her. "Why do you still have him?"

"Because," Ashley shrugged, "he makes me feel safe, even if I'm not."

"Why?"

"I brought him here to make this feel more like home," Ashley explained slowly, as if she were figuring out for herself at the same time. "This was something totally new to me, and just having him here makes it seem a little more familiar."

Andros nodded slowly, feeling a sudden surge of envy as Ashley held the bear close to her chest. That was all that it took to make her feel safe. He frowned as a faint picture formed before his eyes, him on KO-35 as a small child.

A house... a gray house. His house? Andros squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to shake the memory free. He couldn't see the outline of the building clearly, but a child's laughter rang in his ears from behind him. Karone? Some playmate of his?

He held something bunched in his hands... not a stuffed animal, but a... blanket? Was that it? Then it was gone, and he opened his eyes unhappily.

"Andros?" Ashley's hand rested on his arm as she watched him worriedly. "Hey, are you all right?"

"I'm fine..." He frowned at her, staring hard at the bear still tucked under her arm. "I think I was remembering... I had a blanket, or something like one."

Ashley followed his gaze to the bear, and then her confusion lifted. "Instead of a stuffed animal?"

He nodded slowly, then remembered where he was and blood rushed to his cheeks. "Sorry," he murmured sheepishly. "I didn't mean to--I just don't remember much."

Sympathy touched her face. "From when you were a kid, you mean?"

Andros nodded. "From before I was twelve, really. There are a lot of blank spots."

Ashley stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug, her arms holding him tight. He relaxed against her, his eyes closed in one last attempt to remember what it had felt like to be that innocent little boy. He couldn't do it and let out a defeated sigh as the memory slipped away completely.

It was probably for the best, he told himself. He'd be fighting soon, and he didn't need to be distracted by elusive flashbacks of a life that hadn't been his for eleven years.

"Hey," Ashley whispered. Her hands rubbed small circles across his shoulders, soothing him. "Will you be all right?"

"I'm fine," he said, forcing himself to let her go. "Deca, how much longer?"

"ETA is half an hour," Deca replied, and he nodded.

"We should get to the Bridge," he told Ashley. "Who knows what's waiting for us."

"That's a cheery thought," Ashley muttered, but she nodded. "You're right. Let's go."


The Bridge was empty when they arrived, and Ashley slid into her seat with a sideways glance at Andros. His eyes had that unfocused, faraway look again, and she knew instantly that he was struggling hard to remember whatever it was that he had almost seen in her room.

She opened her mouth to ask him if he was okay when she heard the Megalift open behind her. Ashley glanced over her shoulder and froze.

"Um... Cassie?"

"Yeah? Oh." Cassie grinned sheepishly when she noticed Ashley staring at the man beside her. "Meet Phantom Ranger."

"Oh... um, hi," Ashley said, a little unsettled by his sudden appearance without his armor, but smiling nonetheless.

He was good-looking enough for her best friend, Ashley decided. Now if only he'd stop acting like a jerk...

"Hello," he responded, smiling faintly at her. "Call me Arietis, if you wish."

"Arietis," Ashley repeated. "Cool name."

"Isn't it?" Cassie caught her eye with a bright smile. "And where've you been for the last two hours?"

Ashley's eyes strayed to Andros. Absorbed into studying the scanner readouts, he was unaware of her watching him. She smiled at his back, blushing at the knowing look on Cassie's face.

"I've been busy," was all she said.

"Uh-huh." Cassie nodded, still grinning. "You've just been--"

Cassie's smile vanished as the alarm shrieked, and Andros snapped back into reality. Ashley spun her seat back around to face the weapons control panel while Cassie ran around to Andros's other side and threw the shields to full.

"Deca, everyone on Bridge now," Andros ordered. "Ashley, charge the Megalasers. Whatever that was won't miss us next time. Cassie, find out where that thing is."

"Velocifighters," the Pink Ranger responded almost instantly. "Two of them. My guess is that they came too close and saw through our cloaking."

Andros nodded. "You're probably right."

"What's going on?" TJ and Carlos sprinted onto the Bridge, Zhane just behind them.

"Velocifighters," Arietis volunteered, as another attack distracted Andros. "They seem to have breached your cloaking mechanism."

"I can't get a clear shot," Ashley announced, frustrated. "They're weaving around each other."

"I know." Andros looked at her. "Just keep trying. Take a shot if you can."

She nodded distractedly, eyes on her console as she struggled to catch one of the Velocifighters within the range of the Megalasers. The Velocifighters pulled up out of reach, and Ashley balled her fists in annoyance. They no longer registered on the scanners, and a quick glance up at the viewing screen confirmed that they were out of sight.

"They're gone," she reported, frowning to herself.

Andros touched her shoulder briefly. "It's all right," he said quietly, already focused again on his own work. "But keep an eye out for them."

Ashley nodded, and let out a sigh to clear her head. She shot a sideways look at Andros. He was looking back at her, and she bit her lip with a smile as he quickly glanced away. She watched him flush red and grinned. It was all she could do not to giggle.

There was something so... innocent to Andros. Ashley couldn't quite grasp what it was, and she knew that it had to be an illusion. He was the Red Ranger, after all, and it made her heart ache to compare her childhood to what his must have been. He'd had to be strong.

But somehow, his strength only intensified the urge she felt to wrap her arms around him and make his pain go away. He'd walled off so much emotion to survive. Now those walls were crumbling, and Ashley couldn't help thinking that Andros was too strong--he'd suppressed so much feeling that now he wasn't quite sure what to do with it all.

"I'm not used to feeling this way," he'd told her only a few hours ago. Ashley chewed her lip thoughtfully, wondering if maybe she shouldn't have agreed to go out with him. A girlfriend was probably the last thing he needed. But he'd been the one to ask her and she liked him so much... Ashley sighed silently to herself. She wasn't going to do anything to change that now.

Ashley snuck another quick glance at Andros, unsurprised to find him lost in concentration. He really did work too much. She wouldn't push him for anything, she decided, remembering suddenly that she was supposed to be scanning for Velocifighters. Andros wasn't anything like any of the boyfriends that she'd ever had before, and Ashley firmly resolved to let him make the first move. She could wait. Even if she would have kissed him a week ago if he had been anyone else.

Her mind made up, Ashley turned her full attention back to scanning, and not a moment too soon. Five blips appeared on the screen, and her head snapped up.

"Um... guys?" she said nervously, as another three ships were picked up. "This isn't looking too good."

Andros glanced over her shoulder and cursed. "They're waiting for us."

"Those two Velocifighters?" Carlos asked, and Andros nodded.

"Shields at full," he ordered. "Charge the Megalasers, and be prepared to divert all power to the thrusters if this doesn't work."

"We're going to be making a quick getaway," Zhane agreed, adding darkly, "if we get that far."

The Megaship shuddered without warning, and the Rangers glanced up in alarm. "Where'd that come from?" Ashley demanded. "Those eight ships haven't fired on us."

"I'd say there are some cloaked ships surrounding us," Andros said grimly.

"They're here to keep us busy," TJ said from behind them.

"Divatox will be already preparing to leave with Zordon." Arietis sounded annoyed rather than worried. "How long can we afford to chase her across the galaxy?"

"Worry about that later," TJ said shortly. "How are the shields holding?"

"Ninety-eight percent," Cassie reported. "Minor hit, but there will be more."

"There's something behind us," Ashley shouted suddenly, as the screen before her lit up far too brightly. "It's firing!"

"Everybody hold on," Andros called over the thud of impact. "TJ, Carlos, all power to the thrusters now."

"It's not working," Carlos said anxiously, half a moment later. "I don't know where we're hit, but we're going to blow up in about a minute if we don't do something now."

Andros growled something under his breath, slamming a fist into his console as the lights flickered. "We have to land," he said suddenly. "We can try to lose them in the atmosphere."

"How likely is that to work?" TJ wanted to know.

Andros hesitated. "It's our best shot," he said finally, and Ashley winced. That did not sound good.

She braced herself against the console as the Megaship bucked against another wave of attack. Her hands gripped the edge of her control panel tight, but the next jerk tossed her out of her seat. She was blissfully weightless for an instant before she landed hard, losing consciousness as the lights went out.


Author's Note: So sorry for the wait! The plotbunnies from hell have the worst timing... On the bright side, I do have the beginning of an idea for a potentially fluffy story. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter, even with the cliffy. The chapter was supposed to have one more scene but I wanted to get it up before I got buried under last minute stuff for school. Next chapter should be up in a week or two. Hope you liked it; please review!