Disclaimer: The Power Rangers are not mine.

Chapter 24

Slowly and without a word, Andros unzipped his sweatshirt and shrugged it away from his shoulders. His eyes closed as he eased the fuzzy red fabric away from his body and set it to the side, opening again as he sighed. Ashley bit her lip to see the anxiety that shone clearly on his face, wanting to just fling her arms around him and hold him and tell him that it was okay.

He turned until his back was to her, straightening his shoulders. With his right hand he reached across to push back the cloth away from his left shoulder, his back rigid.

"Can you see it?" he asked quietly.

She leaned closer, resting one hand on his arm without thinking. He tensed and she pulled away immediately, silently kicking herself. Andros didn't say a word and she took another look, sucking her lower lip between her teeth as she saw it.

"Two circles?" She ventured a tentative guess, not entirely sure what she was looking at but knowing that it couldn't be anything good.

"No." Andros straightened up and looked away from her, his fists clenched in his lap. "It's easier to see in the light--it's the emblem of the Meh'ean system."

"I--I don't understand," she said slowly.

"The two habitable planets in the system were Viton and Jenzan," he explained calmly. Too calmly. "Both were well-known as slave worlds."

"Oh." It hit her an instant later, her eyes widening as the air was sucked out of her lungs. "Oh."

He nodded his head slowly. "They put it on all of us. It's permanent, just in case we ever ran away."

Andros lowered his head in a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest protectively. "My escaping wasn't exactly legal."

Ashley balled her hands into fists to keep herself from reaching out to him again. "Is that why you always cover it up?"

"Would you want to explain to strangers off the streets?" he demanded, his eyes fixed firmly on the wall opposite him. "But, yeah, it is. Legally... I belong to Baldric of Viton. Or his wife now, maybe. Darkonda told me that he died."

"Wait... what?" Horrified, she could only stare at him. "But... you're the Red Ranger."

"It doesn't matter." Andros finally looked at her, his pained face a total contrast to the bitterness of his words. "Unless I am set free, most of the universe sees me only as a slave, or they would if they knew."

He said all that so calmly, and all the while she just gaped at him in disbelief. "That's why that guy attacked you?"

His expression darkened as he slowly nodded his head. "Yes."

"But..." She couldn't wrap her mind around that, that he could just be captured and hauled off back to who-knew-where. "So someone can just come take you and put you back to work, and no one can do anything about it?"

"More or less. Though I doubt they would just put me back to work," he added darkly. "They wouldn't be so kind."

"What--what would they do to you?" Truly afraid of the answer, she let out a deep breath when he shook his head.

"You don't want to know."

She probably didn't. Ashley sighed, leaning forward again for a better look. "How old were you when they did this?"

Her fingers brushed lightly against his shoulder before she thought better of it, and he tensed at her touch. "Six," he muttered.

"Six," she repeated hollowly. "You were just a little boy."

"And a safe bargain," he said bitterly. "Darkonda sold me so cheaply... if I survived, I would have been a valuable commodity. If I didn't... well, then they were only out the price of a few drinks."

"That's horrible!" Ashley just stared at him, not quite able to wrap her mind around the reality of his words. That someone could do that to another person was just so despicable that she could hardly believe it was true, but it only took one look at Andros to convince herself that it was.

"Yeah," he said softly. "It is--and I'm one of the lucky ones."

Her stomach turned. She didn't know what he meant and wasn't so sure any longer that she wanted to, but if Andros was one of the lucky ones... Ashley repressed a shiver.

"I'm glad for you, then," she said awkwardly. "That it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

"Me too." Andros smiled a forced smile and let out a long sigh.

Ashley looked down at her lap, biting her lip as she tried to reign in the urge to run her fingers over the mark. She doubted he would like that, but she just wanted to touch him, hold him. Before she did something she would later regret, she pulled her hand away.

"One more thing I should show you..." He looked at her uncertainly, his mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out.

"Okay..." Ashley frowned when he suddenly looked like he wanted nothing more than to just curl up and hide. "But... only if you want to."

"I have to," he said, sounding as though he were trying to convince himself just as much as her. "Because I--I can't keep falling for you if you can't love me how I am."

Stunned into silence, Ashley only nodded. Had Andros just told her... He loves me?

If he hadn't meant to tell her that, he didn't seem to notice the slip. He was too preoccupied with toying with the hem of his tank top as he stared miserably at his feet, uncertainty and plain fear dancing across his face.

Ashley was silent as she watched him. Whatever it was that he was going to show her, he looked half a moment away from changing his mind and she didn't want to push him either way.

He closed his eyes with a sigh and just dragged his tank top up over his head. He dropped it on top of his sweatshirt before he turned stiffly towards her, his arms falling to his sides as he let her look at him.

His head ducked, and Ashley felt her heart break. There was nothing she wanted more than to take him in her arms while swearing to him that he was the most gorgeous guy she'd ever laid eyes on, scars or no scars. It was with an effort that she restrained herself.

"I don't see what's so bad," she told him honestly. Thin white lines crisscrossed his chest, but he was hardly hideous.

"They don't bother you?" Andros glanced down at himself with a frown, clearly puzzled when his gaze met hers. "But--"

"Andros," she cut in quietly, "I told you once that it didn't matter to me if you had scars. I meant it; what bothers me is that someone did this to you, not that you have them."

"I believed you." He offered her a faint smile and a self-conscious shrug. "There's just so many of them..."

"More?"

"Yeah." He nodded, fidgeting with his hands. An expression halfway between sadness and pained amusement crossed his face as he explained, "I wasn't a very good slave."

Ashley almost laughed at that, fighting back the insane urge. "No," she agreed. "You're too stubborn."

"I wasn't always... and when I was, they would have called it disrespect," he said with a sigh. "They did, actually..." He winced at the memories, his eyes flickering up to meet hers. "They didn't like being disrespected."

"Andros..." Ashley hesitated. "Can I hug you?"

"Just one more thing," he whispered, and slowly turned until his back was to her.

Ashley gasped softly in horror, hating herself for the soft sound when she saw him flinch but she couldn't help it. The skin of his back was a twisted mess of scars on top of scars, some old but so many of them recent.

"Andros..." Try as she might, Ashley couldn't make herself look away. "Can I still hug you?"

Andros shot a quick glance over his shoulder. Ashley smiled at him hopefully when he turned to face her, gathering him into her arms when he nodded. He returned the hug this time, holding her tightly to his chest as he buried his face into her neck.

She touched his hair as she drew away, unable to keep from smiling at him. "Andros?"

He shot her a questioning look as she scooted away from him. Ashley let her eyes drift down his chest a little, drinking in the sight. Beneath the scars that she felt the strangest impulse to kiss, his muscles were toned and very well-defined. Her fingers itched to run across them down to his stomach, and she felt herself blush faintly when she met his eye.

"You," she said softly, "are gorgeous."

He bit back a smile as he blushed, but his voice was uncertain. "Am I?"

"Yeah," she said vehemently. "You really are. Not to mention handsome and--" She reached up to twist some blond hair around her finger, tugging playfully. "Very, very sexy."

The blush in his cheeks spread halfway down his neck, and Ashley couldn't help giggling softly. "And also very cute."

He smiled back at her openly this time, seeming to welcome her hug. Ashley rested her chin on his shoulder and smiled to herself, her eyes widening as she remembered.

"And Andros?" she added. She squeezed his middle hard, feeling beneath her fingers the uneven skin of his back as she summoned up the courage to say the words aloud. "I love you."


"May I speak with you?"

Cassie was instantly glad that her back was to him. She grimaced at his words and sighed to herself before she turned around and nodded.

"Is everything okay?" she asked softly. "You've been sort of busy the last couple of days."

That was something of an understatement; she'd hardly seen him for half a week, and he was always distracted when she did.

"I had... work to do," Arietis said slowly, arms folded over his chest.

"Oh." She tugged awkwardly at the ends of her hair. What was she supposed to say? "Forget about saving the world and go on a date with me?" Yeah, right.

"Cassie, I... I--Eltare wishes that I take a more... proactive approach to finding Zordon," he said, traces of bitterness on his face. "I should go as they ask."

"Oh," she said again, and sighed. "Yeah. You should."

He nodded slowly, looking not quite sure of what he meant to say. "I'll come back."

"I know," she murmured, and she did. She really did. "But when?"

"As soon as I can." It wasn't much of an answer, and they both knew it. "Cassie."

"Look, Arietis..." She was proud of the way her voice stayed strong. "We're both Rangers, and that should come first. People are depending on us."

"Yes." Slowly, he nodded his agreement, though he didn't look any happier than she felt. "Cassie?"

"Hmm?"

"Take this," he said softly. "If you want to, that is."

"What is it?" She took what he offered her, turning it over in her palms. It closely resembled their communicators, but she couldn't figure out why he would give her one of those.

"It connects directly with my ship," he explained. "Also with my personal communicator, if you ever need to speak with me."

"Oh..." Her voice trailed off as she smiled at him. "Well... thank you."

He smiled back, slowly closing the gap between them. "Will you wait a little longer?" he asked softly.

Cassie sighed. Her eyes fell from him to the communicator in her palm, a smile on her face as she looked back up at him. "Yeah," she said. "I will."

She should have wanted more, she thought, feeling a brief flash of irritation with herself. It shouldn't have been enough.

But for now, it was.


A peaceful smile was on his lips as he opened his eyes. Andros yawned and stretched slightly, feeling a flash of panic when something shifted next to him. It took him only a split second to remember that he was in Ashley's room and letting out a slow, deep breath, he forced himself to relax.

She was still asleep, her head tucked into his chest and one leg draped across his waist. Andros was certain that they hadn't fallen asleep like that and shifted uncomfortably, trying to squirm away from her. She twitched and he sighed, not wanting her to wake just yet.

He took a long moment just to watch her, surprised at how pleasant it was waking up to find her in his arms. Her body was warm and soft against him, her chest rising and falling evenly with her steady breathing. Tentatively, Andros touched her hair. She didn't move.

She still didn't wake when he ran his fingers over the soft skin of her cheek, across her jawbone... He caught himself and drew his hand away guiltily. If she was awake, he might not have felt the need to. Asleep, she couldn't tell him to stop and he would never risk hurting her.

He let out a quiet breath as he watched her and shook his head, wondering what he'd ever done to deserve someone so... beautiful. In every way possible, he thought, his smile widening. He'd never thought that he'd feel the way that he did now, and he'd never dreamed that someone like her could love him... He still could hardly believe that she'd said those words, or that he'd managed to say them back.

"I've never said that to anyone before," he murmured aloud, keeping his voice low. "No one's ever said that to me before."

Or if they had, he didn't remember. Andros lowered his head as sadness swept over him, for a moment desperately wishing that he could remember his parents.

He tried to shake off the feeling a few minutes later. His parents were dead and gone, and had been for years. He hadn't seen them for twelve years, and he couldn't remember them much from the first six years of his life. It shouldn't hurt so much, then, he told himself, squeezing his eyes shut. He shouldn't ache so much for them, for the little brother he'd never even known.

But he did, and he didn't know how to make it stop. He could have driven himself crazy wondering if his parents would have been proud of him. Whether they would have seen all the good that he had tried to do instead of the mistakes he'd made doing it.

Had it really been almost three years? Andros sighed and closed his eyes, but all he could see was KO-35 in ruins, all those people dead because of him...

He had been so, so stupid.

Ashley shifted in her sleep, her breath hot on his skin as her face pressed against his shoulder. Andros let out a deep breath and tried to focus on being here with her, pushing KO-35 as far from his mind as he could.

He felt himself reach for her another time, unconsciously moving to push her hair back from her face. She stirred against his hand and he froze, silently cursing himself.

"Go back to sleep, Ash," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Her eyes blinked open for a moment, then closed again. Andros drew in his breath when she snuggled closer, tensing as her body shifted against his. Her hand slid across his chest and he turned his face into the pillow, ordering himself to ignore how nice that felt. She was asleep, she didn't know what she was doing to him, and he shouldn't be thinking what he was.

"Hi..." Her voice was sleepy and muffled by a yawn, but still brought a smile to his face. "You're still here."

"Where else would I be?" Andros looked back towards her, allowing himself to breathe again when she put some room between them.

"Silly," she murmured. "I'm just glad to see you."

She yawned widely and stretched before curling up against him again, her head tucked against his shoulder. Andros let out a soft sigh when she draped her arm across his chest, for a moment almost wishing that he were braver.

"I think I had a dream about you..." Ashley's voice dissolved into another yawn. "We were dancing."

"I don't dance."

"You were good at it." Ashley propped herself up on one elbow, her back arching as she stretched. "We should go sometime."

"Must have been a dream, then." Despite himself, Andros felt his lips twitch into a smile. "I can't dance."

"I'll teach you," she said, and he just knew that sooner or later he'd find himself dancing with her. "It would be fun."

He doubted it, but Ashley's eyes dropped to his chest then and it slipped from his mind. "Andros?" she asked softly. "Can I..."

He saw her fingers hover just above his skin and swallowed, slowly nodding his head. "If you want to."

Ashley smiled faintly, kissing his lips before trailing her fingers across his skin, tracing the scars on his chest. "You're perfect," she murmured in his ear. "I've never known anyone as gorgeous as you."

He felt himself blush, but impossibly, he knew that she meant the words with all her heart. He didn't understand how or why, but he couldn't bring himself to question it right now. Not when her fingers were trailing slowly over his chest, her touch light as she stared at him with that same look on her face that he had seen the night before when she'd told him that she loved him.

Andros closed his eyes again, letting the feel of her hands on his skin consume his whole world. He rather liked the feeling, he found. Her fingers were soft and warm as they wandered over his upper body, and the feeling was almost soothing.

Her fingers slid across his ribcage and he squirmed away instinctively. Ashley paused, her concern fading into glee when he flushed.

"Ticklish? You?" Her eyes lit up when he shook his head, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "Really?"

"No," he muttered. "I'm really not."

"You are." Ashley giggled at him. "You really have no idea how cute you are, do you?"

Andros yelped in reply when she ran her fingers lightly over his ribs another time, batting her hands away. She grinned in delight as she realized just how sensitive he really was, and he squirmed uncomfortably.

"It is time to wake up now."

Andros let out a breath of silent relief when the lights went on and Ashley drew away.

"Deca," she complained, pouting, "you have the worst timing."


A/N: Well, there's the next chapter. I'm not sure when the next one will be up--last three weeks of school and I've got some studying to do that I actually need to do this time. But at least no cliffy this time. ::grins:: Please tell me what you think!