The evening sun played across her dark hair as the breeze stirred it loose from its ponytail, tugging it in different directions and wisping small strands into her face. Staring out across the water, she didn't seem to notice, and the faraway look in her eyes made him wonder.

"Do you miss Earth?" he asked at last, following her gaze out over the vastness of the sea. Who wouldn't miss this, after all? So different from the harsh sands of his own homeworld, her planet was green and lush even here in this place that she called "desert". A desert next to a body of water so wide he couldn't even see the other side--it was almost inconceivable.

"Yeah," she said with a smile, turning at the sound of his voice. "But not enough to leave Elisia."

"I would not wish you to stay somewhere you were unhappy," he said reluctantly, knowing that was untrue. He wanted her to stay with him forever, no matter what other people or places laid claim to her.

Her smile turned into a gentle laugh, and she reached out to put her hand over his. "I could never be unhappy while I'm with you," she told him. "You know that. Earth is just the place where I was born--home is wherever you are."

He smiled, content with that reply. "And as long as I am with you, I am also home."

"Am I interrupting?" Jenna's voice asked from behind them.

He looked up, his smile coming to rest on the team's weapons expert. "Not at all. Please join us."

"Thanks," Jenna said, flashing a brilliant smile at them both. She slid into the chair next to Cassie at a table meant for four, and he noted with amusement that she positioned herself so she could see the ocean out of the corner of her eye as well. "I love your planet, Cassie. It's beautiful!"

Cassie laughed, and the happy sound chased off the lingering air of solemnity that hung around them. "I can't take any credit for that, but I think so too. I'm glad you all finally got to see it."

"After we've heard so much about it I can't believe it's taken this long," Jenna agreed, leaning back and draping one arm across the back of her chair. "Maybe we should stay for a few days so you could show us around."

He looked at her sharply, but she stared idly out at the water, avoiding his gaze.

Cassie glanced at him briefly before shaking her head. "I'd love to," she admitted, "but you know the treaty talks start the day after tomorrow."

Jenna shrugged a little, still gazing out at the ocean. "Actually, I was just thinking about those. Eltare put those off for almost two weeks last year, if I remember right."

"Thirteen days," Saryn muttered, a flash of annoyance surfacing at the thought. "It disrupted trade negotiations with several Border planets and put crop rotation behind schedule throughout the northern hemisphere."

Jenna made a noncommittal sound. "I remember. You know, it would really be a shame if you were unavoidably detained here on Earth. Significant personal matters, League relations, that sort of thing."

Cassie put her chin on her hand and followed Jenna's gaze. He could see her doing her level best not to smile. "It would be a shame," she said thoughtfully. "Things like that happen too often, really. In fact, that sounds almost familiar."

"Mmm," Jenna agreed. "It should. Tobin's 'significant personal matter' held up the routine talks last time with no explanation or apology at all."

He tried to frown at them, but he didn't have the heart. "I am sure the Eltaran Rangers had a justifiable reason for the delay."

"Oh, you are not!" Jenna exclaimed. "You want revenge too, admit it!"

"It's not like it's going to screw up *their* crop rotation," Cassie pointed out mildly.

He glanced over at the Red Turbo Ranger, leaning over Laura's shoulder at a nearby table. "I am not entirely convinced we would be welcome here for an extended period of time," he murmured. He hadn't meant to say it aloud, but Cassie turned to regard the Turbo Rangers as well.

Laura and Justin were hunched over some sort of electronic game, paying no attention to the rest of the "Beach Club". The rest of the people at the hangout were, to a great extent, ignoring them as well, which Saryn had been warned was somewhat unusual. In fact, one of Matt's greatest reservations about the evening had been that the "alien" Rangers were unprepared for the public interest they would receive.

As far as Saryn was concerned, that fear had been unwarranted. He found Cassie's people to be both friendly and courteous. They seemed perfectly willing to let him and his teammates have relative privacy in such a public location, and there had been nothing to offend even hot-tempered Kris since they arrived.

Of course, he acknowledged, it was possible that some of their apparent discretion was due to the distraction provided by the Kerovans. Andros' teammates were unwilling or unable to blend in, and the attention didn't seem to make them at all uncomfortable. In fact, watching their antics, he wondered if some of them were enjoying it.

"It isn't Matt I'd worry about," Cassie said at last, returning his focus to the Turbo Rangers. "But I don't think even Carlos would ask us to leave. I'm still technically a citizen of Earth, and you're all Rangers. What can they say?"

"It is not Ranger policy to outstay one's welcome," he reminded her gently.

Jenna shook her head, her blonde curls dancing with the exasperated gesture. "One person's jealousy isn't a reason to pack up and leave. And it doesn't have anything to do with us."

He sought out the Green Turbo Ranger with his eyes automatically. He found Carlos and Ashley still seated at their own table, near their teammates but separate. They were talking quietly, both pointedly ignoring the commotion the Kerovan Rangers were causing on the other side of the Club.

"I wish I could remember more," Cassie whispered suddenly.

He glanced over to find her watching at the two Turbo Rangers. He nodded without a word, knowing what she meant. Ashley and Carlos seemed wrong to him too, but he couldn't remember why or how. All he knew what that Ashley and *Andros* did seem right--and the Red Astro Ranger obviously felt it too. The boy was incapable of speaking a single sentence around her without stammering.

"What's this with Andros and Ashley?" Jenna asked, careful to keep her voice low. "Why does he blush every time he looks at her?"

"They were together, in the vision," Cassie murmured, sweeping her gaze across the rest of the Club. She paused when she found Andros, sitting alone in the sand just above the high tide line. "Only I think... she was chasing him, instead of the other way around."

She looked at him for confirmation, but he only shrugged. "I do not remember enough to say."

"He obviously does," Jenna remarked softly, gazing down the beach. "That must be hard, to know something like that and not be able to say anything."

"Oh, he could say something," Cassie said with a sigh. "It just wouldn't mean anything to her."

"And that is worse," Saryn offered, not sure why it mattered so much. It did, he felt that, but he didn't know why. "It might be better if he had forgotten the vision as well, the way she did."

Cassie gave him a thoughtful look. "So you think they forgot?"

"What else could it be?"

"Maybe they didn't see it at all," she offered. "I know," she added when he frowned, "it seems strange, but can you really imagine forgetting something like that?"

He hesitated, but he couldn't and she knew it. "No," he admitted at last. "I can not."

"I'm going to talk to him," Jenna announced suddenly.

He gave her a surprised look, and all he could think to say was, "Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, really. Why not?"

He had no answer for that, and he and Cassie watched her get up and make her way through the tables toward Andros.

***

*Are you sure you're okay?*

He smiled a little, watching the sinking sun play across the water. His friend's comforting mental voice was reassuringly familiar in a strange environment, an anchor in the midst of this sudden upheaval. *Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks.*

*Sure?* Zhane pressed, from his position at the Kerovans' table. *You're being dull and broody again.*

He snorted quietly. *I don't feel like turning myself into a public exhibition for the shock value, thank you.*

He could hear the amusement in Zhane's thoughts when he spoke again. *I think it's funny. Who'd have thought there was a planet that didn't believe in same-sex partners?*

*Just because they're backward doesn't mean we have to make a scene about it,* Andros retorted, inexplicably irritated by his teammates' attitude.

*You just don't want that A-girl to think you're strange,* Zhane told him. His tone was more accusatory than amused this time.

He didn't answer, not wanting to admit the truth of his friend's words. It hadn't taken Leigh and Rill long to notice the predominance of opposite-sex partners at the Beach Club, and they had started asking questions. Ever since someone had told them that Angel Grove was a mostly "straight" city, the girls had been hamming it up like never before.

Normally, their lack of inhibition didn't bother him, though he knew he was one of the most reserved members of the team. As far as he was concerned, public outrageousness was their department, and they were good at it. But here, now, he found himself wishing that they could be just a little bit subtle for once.

"Hi, Andros," a voice said from behind him.

He tried not to jump. "Do you like sneaking up on people?" he asked, keeping his eyes focused on the water.

"Actually, yes," the Elisian Ranger answered, dropping to the ground beside him without being invited. "But you're facing away from everyone, so it's hard *not* to sneak up on you."

He didn't answer.

She craned her neck and remarked, "You're friend's coming over."

*Bored already?* he asked, not bothering to speak so the girl could hear. He wasn't feeling very polite right now.

*Yeah,* Zhane agreed unrepentantly. *Kerone and Kaeth left to study, and I have nothing to do.*

"Hi," Zhane said aloud, crouching down next to Andros. He nodded to the Elisian Ranger. "Nice evening."

"It is," she said, a smile in her voice. "I'm Jenna. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Zhane," his friend answered, sounding just the slightest bit surprised. "Same here."

He had left the gathering by the tables to be alone, not to be surrounded by more pointless conversation. Slightly exasperated, he pushed himself to his feet. "I think I'm going to head back to the Megaship."

"Andros, wait," Zhane said quickly, holding out his hand. "I'm coming too."

Andros grabbed his friend's hand and hauled him to his feet, feeling slightly guilty at doing this to Jenna. She had only wanted to be friendly, but he just wasn't in the mood. Still, he couldn't just leave. "I'm sorry," he said awkwardly, giving her an apologetic look. "I guess I just don't feel like talking right now."

She shook her head, unruffled. "That's all right. I won't pretend to understand, since I don't even understand what *my* teammates saw. But I do think--you probably can't run away from something like this."

He looked at her in surprise, then shook his head. "I'm not running away," he muttered, his fingers clenching on Zhane's.

Jenna shrugged, turning to look out across the water again. "Good night, Andros."

He exchanged glances with Zhane. His friend rolled his eyes, and the irreverence made him feel better. His lips quirked, and he held out his free hand. Zhane triggered the morpher on Andros' left wrist and the world washed away into familiar and comforting swirls of white-tinged red.