Can't Let Go

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

Pinkrangerfan: Yeah Andros has had it pretty hard hasn't he? Don't worry Ashley will help…when he let's her. I think Zhane will be back soon, I like him too much.

JasonLeeScottFan: I ick on Andros and Zhane a lot don't I? Oh well, makes for good entertainment. Lol!

sunflowerlily: Yay you're back! Hope everything works out for you. Yeah Zhane left, hecouldn't take all the happy couples.

CJS: That's okay. Thanks for reviewing now! Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 13: Starting Over

Megaship

It had been nearly two weeks since they had left Zhane with the people of KO-35 and Astronema had yet to attack them again, which only meant that she was planning something.

Ashley finished brushing her hair just as her door slid open. "Hey Andros." She called without looking.

"Hey." The door slid shut behind him. "I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch with me on Earth."

She turned and noticed that he was wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of black denim jeans. Andros had been distant ever since Zhane left, but she figured he had pretty good reason and didn't try to bother him about it. "Sure. I was gonna go to the Surf Spot anyway." Ashley wore a yellow tube top with denim Bermuda shorts.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go." She walked out of her room but stopped when she noticed Andros wasn't behind her. "Andros?"

He quickly stepped out of her room. "Yeah?"

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing." He smiled and walked ahead of her. "Let's go."

Ashley frowned at his back but followed him anyway.

Dark Fortress

"The red and yellow rangers are alone on Earth." Ecliptor informed.

"Perfect." Astronema turned to Ecliptor, handing him a large glove with sensors on the palm. "Put this on. All you have to do is touch the rangers' foreheads and the glove will send the information back to the dark fortress. Then we can down load the information into our projects."

"As you wish princess." Ecliptor teleported from the dark fortress.

Astronema turned to the five motionless dark figures lying on the tables before her. "Soon, you all will be ready. And the power rangers will be no more."

Angel Grove

After Ashley and Andros finished their lunch, Andros suggested that they go for a walk in the park. Ashley knew he wanted to talk to her about something, but she couldn't tell what it was. "Andros, are you okay?" Ashley questioned.

"Yeah I'm fine." He was trying to put what he wanted to say into words but he couldn't quite manage it.

"You know that you can talk to me, right?"

Andros knew he could. He just hoped he knew what her reaction would be. He stopped and turned to Ashley, who mimicked his actions. He took her hands in his. "I just wanted to apologize for being so withdrawn lately. I've kind of been having a hard time dealing with Karone and Zhane being gone again."

"I know. And its okay."

"No, it's not okay." He looked into her eyes. "I want us to start over. And this time I was hoping to not be a jerk. That is… if you would have me back."

Ashley smiled at him. "I would."

"Then you wouldn't mind wearing this again?" He pulled the necklace he had given her for her birthday from his pocket.

Ashley beamed nearly as bright as the gem in her necklace. "Is that what you were doing when I left my room?" He nodded sheepishly. "I'd love to wear it again." She turned and pulled her hair out of the way so he could fasten the clasp.

He smiled when Ashley turned to face him again. "Thank you for giving me another chance."

Andros was about to kiss her when Ecliptor appeared right beside them. Andros didn't react fast enough and Ecliptor capitalized on the moment and shoved Andros away, causing him to fall backwards against a tree, rendering him unconscious.

"Andros!" Ashley yelled. She made a move to go to him, but Ecliptor caught her and pressed a gloved hand to her forehead. She felt like something was downloading her brain. When he finally released her, she slumped to the ground, her head spinning. She watched helplessly as Ecliptor put his hand to Andros's head. "DECA," Ashley said into her communicator. "We need help." She collapsed in the grass.

Megaship – Medical Bay

Ashley woke up in the med bay. She sat up slowly and looked around. When she saw Andros on a bed next to her, she relaxed a little. But she tensed again when she realized that the other rangers were there too, but they looked dazed and tired. "Guys, what happened?"

"Ecliptor happened." Carlos stated lazily.

"So he got to you guys too?" Ashley questioned.

"Yeah, but the side effects didn't affect us as much because we were morphed." TJ answered.

"I still wanna know what he did." Cassie stated.

"I think he was reading our minds or something." Ashley suggested. "At least that's what it felt like."

"You may be right." TJ responded. "I felt the same thing."

Ashley looked over at Andros again. "Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine." Cassie answered. "The bump to the head plus the mind thing Ecliptor did have him out longer, but DECA said he'll be okay."

Ashley nodded and hopped off of the bed. She stood at Andros's bed side and took his hand in hers. She closed her eyes and tried to reach him. Andros?

Ashley? The voice was weak, but it was Andros. He started to shift in his sleep.

You don't have to wake up yet. You need your rest. She could feel him calm.

Okay.

I'll be here when you wake up. She knew he had to be exhausted to be so compliant. She released his hand and turned to her friends. She nearly jumped back when she saw that they were all staring at her. "What?"

"Were you just talking to him?" TJ asked amazed.

Ashley frowned. "Yeah. Why?"

"Is he alright?" Cassie asked.

"He's fine. I just wanted to hear it from him. And besides, DECA said he would be okay."

"We know." Carlos responded. "We just thought you sensed something DECA didn't."

"That would be highly unlikely." DECA interrupted, causing the others to laugh.

"Maybe you should go to bed too Ash." Cassie suggested when she stopped laughing.

"I'm just gonna stay here until he wakes up." Ashley climbed back onto the bed she woke up on. "I'll be fine." She watched her friends leave and turned onto her side towards Andros.

When Andros woke a few hours later, Ashley was the first thing he saw. She woke up a couple of seconds after him. "Hey."

She smiled at him. "Hey." Ashley got off of the gurney and moved over to Andros. "How are you feeling?"

"A little disoriented but I'll live." He sat up with his legs hanging over the edge and Ashley standing in front of him with her hands on his shoulder. She softly stroked his face. He could feel the emotions building up in her: fear, relief…and love. "Are you okay Ash?" She answered by pressing her lips to his. Andros groaned and parted his lips when Ashley's tongue begged for entrance. He laid back pulling her onto the bed with him.

Ashley finally forced herself to stop and pressed her forehead against his. "I was so scared." She had been holding this in, but she couldn't anymore. "When I saw you lying there in the park, for a second I couldn't feel you and I thought…" She trailed off not wanting to finish. "I couldn't take it if anything happened to you."

Andros reversed their positions so that he was on top. He wiped a tear from her face and kissed her cheek. "It's okay. I'm okay." He couldn't believe how much she loved him and he couldn't believe he had hurt her so much in the past. "I love you, Ashley."

"I love you too." She pulled him to her and kissed him again, wrapping her legs around his waist.

It was him who pulled away this time. "Are you sure? Someone might walk in."

"DECA seal all doors." Ashley commanded. They heard the locks slide into place. "Yes I'm sure." He kissed his neck. "I need you Andros." She whispered against his skin. "Right now."

Andros claimed her lips again. Who was he to deny her when he needed her just as much?

Dark Fortress

"The downloads are complete princess." Ecliptor addressed Astronema.

"Excellent work Ecliptor." She smiled and turned to the dark figures before her. "Rise my dark warriors." The five figures stood. "What is your mission?" She questioned them.

"To destroy the power rangers." They all responded.

"They're perfect." She turned back to Ecliptor. "The rangers will never know what hit them, and neither will Dark Specter."

(A/N: Can you guess what's coming next? Bet you can't! Lol! Hope you liked it. Please read & review.)