Disclaimer: As much as I would like for it to be, Power Rangers is not my creation.
Star Fata: He won't be denying for much longer.
Jessica01: He's actually starting to open up to Ashley here and it won't be long before he trust the others just as much.
Slytherin-Angel44: Sorry for such a long wait but the good news is I have two new, healthy baby cousins and now that they're doing a lot better updates should be kind of regular again.
Rotem: I hope you like it.
Ch. 26 Falling Hard
Five months had passed since Andros had given his teammates their morphers and each day he was falling more and more in love with Ashley. He tried to tell himself that he didn't love her that she would never love him back but he knew it was a lie. He could see it in her eyes every time she looked at him, every time she comforted him after a nightmare, and every time they were just having a good time with each other. Every night he dreamt about Akako and she was telling him to move on, to be happy with Ashley, to let her go. Andros would wake up in tears and rush for the comfort of Ashley's arms. She didn't push him to tell her about his dream she just let him cry knowing that he needed to let it out. One night it was particularly bad and he couldn't help but tell her about Akako.
Andros thrashed around on his bed, sweat and tears pouring down his face as his mind forced him to relive the worst days of his life. It started out with the random beatings from his parents to both himself and Karone. Soon came the day of Karone's kidnapping, then Akako's death and Karone's second kidnapping. The scenes kept replaying in his mind and he was forced to watch by some unknown presence. To his surprise a new scene played out in front of him, one that had yet to happed, Ashley's death. DECA had called Ashley after Andros failed to wake up to her call and now the Yellow Ranger was staring worriedly at the frail boy lying on the bed in front of her.
"Andros," she whispered, shaking his shoulder roughly, "you have to wake up. It's just a dream." Her words did nothing to wake him and he began to fight away her hands. Ashley wrapped her arms tightly around him as he began to fight harder and harder, determined to see him through this nightmare. "Come on, Andros. It's just a dream." Finally, her words seemed to sink in and he began to calm down and soon he opened his red, puffy eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" She knew it was a fifty-fifty shot with Andros but she had to ask, just in case. Surprisingly, he nodded his head and as he sat up she reached a hand up to wipe away his tears.
"It was all the horrible days of my life in one dream," he whispered, fighting the urge to break down and cry. "I saw when my parents beat me and Karone. I saw when she was kidnapped. But worst of all I saw the day Akako was killed." His eyes opened wide when he realized what he had told her but he couldn't take it back now. "She was my first love. She was pregnant and we were going to get married but the attacks grew worse everyday. I told her not to come down, I did." He looked up at Ashley to make sure she believed him and the love that shone back at him nearly caused him to cry. "But she saw a little boy that had wondered onto the field. We tried to get to him but couldn't and then she came down and...Darkonda killed her." The last of his hard won composure slipped and he found himself once again crying in Ashley's arms. She could tell that there was more he wasn't telling her but it wasn't her place to push, at least not yet. "And then I saw him killing you," Andros whispered through his tears, clinging to her even more. Ashley rubbed soothing circles on his back, hoping to calm the sudden surge of fear that ran through both of them.
"Nothing will happen to me, Andros," she promised. "I'll always be here."
After that night Andros made a conscious effort to be kinder to everyone, especially Ashley. He had been planning to ask her out for a while but he didn't know how Earth's dating traditions differed from KO-35 so he wisely decided to wait until he could find out more. He had been surprised when Cassie had told him about a birthday party they were having for Ashley. Among the simple mention of the word his mind drifted back to his and Karone's sixteenth birthday. He quickly shook his head, clearing the images, and pretended not to know what a birthday party was. Cassie quickly explained and told him that it would be nice if he would come. He said yes, of course, and he already had the perfect present.
After Cassie left the room Andros rushed to his room and began digging through his drawers looking for what he was planning to give Ashley. He found it hidden in the drawer where he kept all of his reminders of Akako.
"I'm doing this for you, Akako," he whispered and quickly dressed for the party.
A/N: Please Review!