Disclaimer: As much as I would like for it to be, Power Rangers is not my creation.

JasonLeeScottFan: Yes, Karone and Zhane are a couple. Andros and Ashley will be very romantic. It might take a while but they will be.

Ch. 24 Returning the Favor

The next two weeks passed quickly and it was obvious to everyone that Andros and Ashley were getting closer. They were all currently on Earth having a picnic. Brytan was sitting between Andros and Ashley telling them jokes. Suddenly, there was an explosion behind them and they all jumped up. It only took a few seconds for the Quantrons, Ecliptor, and a new monster to come their way.

"DECA!" Andros shouted into his communicator. "Get Brytan out of here!" The two-year-old disappeared quickly, leaving the rangers to their job. "Everybody ready? Let's Rocket!" They took on the Quantrons first and occasionally Ecliptor attacked Andros and Ashley. Once the Quantrons were gone he ordered, "Ashley and I will take care of Ecliptor. You guys take care of the monster." Everyone nodded and charged their enemy.

"Ah, Red Ranger," Ecliptor began, "how nice to see you again." Andros tried to keep his anger under control but it was getting harder and harder to do. "Oh, I see you've picked the Yellow Ranger this time. Better tell her to be careful or she'll end up like your last Pink Ranger." This time Andros wasn't able to contain his anger and he charged at Ecliptor without warning. Surprisingly, Ashley had no trouble keeping up with him and even complimenting his out of control fighting. Andros snapped out of his rage when Ashley was knocked to the ground.

"Ashley!" he yelled. "Are you okay?" Ashley nodded but by the way Ashley was cradling her arm he knew she was lying. He helped her stand and they went back to fighting. Andros did his best to protect Ashley so that she didn't get hurt anymore but when Ecliptor knocked him to the ground she was left to fend for herself. Ecliptor tool full advantage and struck her with some of his strongest attacks. He laughed as she fell to the ground and demorphed. He and the monster disappeared, knowing that they had done their job. "Ashley," Andros whispered as he demorphed and kneeled down beside her. "Come on, Ash. Wake up." She stirred slightly but didn't wake up. "We need to get her back to the ship."

When they teleported back to the Megaship Andros carried Ashley to the Med bay as fast as he could. The others followed behind him and when they walked in they got the supplies he would need. Andros quickly ran the scanner over Ashley and waited impatiently for the results to be displayed. He sighed in relief when he read that nothing was broken. She had a sprained wrist and a mild concussion. He took a bandage Karone handed him and wrapped Ashley's wrist then placed a small ice pack on the bruise on her head.

"Is she okay?" Carlos questioned and Andros nodded.

"She should be fine within a couple of hours," he replied. "You guys can go rest, I'll let you know if anything changes." He pulled a stool over and sat down. Karone waved the others away and then turned back to her brother. "Karone, I know what you're going to say. Yes, I do care about her. Do I love her? I don't know. All I know for sure is that I like her a lot and so does Brytan. Maybe one day we might be more than friends but for now I'm happy with being just friends."

"Well, you were right," Karone stated. "You did know what I was going to say. I just don't want you to get hurt okay? And I definitely don't want Brytan to get attached to someone and then they just walk away."

"I would never do that," a strained voice whispered. "I don't care if nothing happens between Andros and me, my relationship with Brytan will never change."

"How are you feeling?" Andros asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'll be fine," Ashley replied. "Just a few bruises." Andros nodded but then the scanner beeped, "What's it say?"

"Nothing different," Karone told her. "I guess my brother was just trying to make sure he didn't miss anything, I'll come back to see about you later."

It wasn't long before Brytan was asking, "Who hurt?" He looked at his father and then at the person on the bed. "Ashley?"

"She's hurt, Bry," Andros explained. "Don't worry she'll be better soon."

"Then she play with me gin?" he questioned.

"Yes," Ashley replied. "I will play with you again after I get better." Brytan seemed happy with that answer and left the room. "So, when are you going to let me out of here?"

"I'll let you go right now," Andros stated. "I was just waiting for that second scan to come back. But I would suggest that you take it easy for a couple hours. Trust me I know."

"I figured you were telling me from experience," Ashley laughed. "I'm starting to think that you're the most likely person to get injured on this team."

"Only because every evil being in the universe is hell bent on killing me," he answered. Ashley laughed again and sat up, grasping the bed when she felt dizzy. "You okay?" Andros asked as he helped steady her. She started to nod but when her feet touched the ground she swayed again. "Maybe you should rest in my room," he suggested. "I'll be there to get you anything you need and if you feel like playing Brytan will be right there."

"Alright," Ashley agreed. "I guess no one really needs me falling down and getting hurt worse." Andros smiled slightly and supported her as they walked to his room.

"She better?" Brytan asked as soon as they walked through the door.

"Almost," Ashley told him. "Your Daddy brought me in here so I could rest some more and play with you." Brytan smiled and dug in his toy box until he found the perfect toy for Ashley to play with. He hid it behind his back until he made it back to the bed.

"We play Ower Angers," he explained happily. "You be you and I be my Daddy."

"What about me?" Andros questioned and Brytan went back to the toy box. Andros groaned when he saw what Brytan had brought him and Ashley just laughed. "Why do I always have to be Uncle Zhane?"

"Cause I say," his son replied, sighing as though the answer should have been obvious. For the next hour they played and they were all having a great time. It wasn't until Ashley yawned that they decided to stop.

"Brytan," Andros began, "I think we should let Ashley rest." Brytan pouted but nodded and allowed his father to carry him out of the room. When he returned he couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of him. Ashley had already fallen asleep on the bed and in Andros' eyes she looked like an angel lying there. He brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face and his smile grew as she leaned into his touch. 'Jenna,' he thought, 'I hope you're happy about this. I need you to know I will always love you but you always told me that you wanted me and our son to be happy and Ashley makes us happy.' He quietly climbed up to the top bunk and quickly fell asleep with a smile on his face.

A/N: Please Review!