"Oh, my god..."

Her whisper seemed impossibly loud in the quiet room, but Andros didn't stir. As her awareness drifted back from the edge of sleep she found herself curled up against his bare chest, her fingers around his wrist as she hugged his arms close to her. When she shifted incrementally, she could feel his skin against hers under the covers.

"Oh my god," she breathed again, eyes widening as she realized what had happened. She felt a smile threatening to split her face, and she bit her lip in a futile effort to contain it. She couldn't think past the lazy delight that welled up in her as the memory of the night before came rushing back.

Finally she dared to lift her head, heart racing as she wondered what she might see in his eyes when he opened them. But he was still asleep, and she had a few moments to enjoy the expression of utter peace on his face. Rarely did he look as vulnerable as he did when he slept, and the fact that he shared that with her never failed to warm her heart.

She lifted one hand and laid it carefully on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath her fingers. She suppressed a giggle as she remembered his laughter the night before--he was ticklish in places she would never have expected, and she would never forget the way he had shared himself so completely. She would never forget that first time, when he had held nothing back and she had known beyond a shadow of a doubt that they *knew* each other.

"I love you," she whispered, keeping her eyes on his face as she settled back against his pillow. *I know you, and I love you.*

It was that knowing that made the night before so special, really. She had to admit, if only to herself, that sex wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But seeing the unshuttered emotion in Andros' eyes when he kissed her, being able to touch him without reservation and say anything without worrying how it sounded... those were things she wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

*Love you, too,* Andros' voice answered, and she felt a smile spreading across her face again.

His eyes opened slowly, focusing on hers with an endearing certainty. "Morning," he whispered, as though afraid to disturb the quiet.

"Hi," she said softly.

She saw an answering smile begin on his face, a slow, unconcerned look of happiness that spread across his features as he studied her. His expression was as open as it had been the night before, hiding nothing from her, and as she watched his eyes stare back into hers she knew it was going to be all right.

With a contented sigh, she snuggled a little closer. "I like this," she murmured, tucking her head against his shoulder.

"Me too," he said quietly. His fingers brushed her cheek, and she let her eyes slide shut as she savored the sensation.

She smiled a little then as it occurred to her that this was the true victory. No matter what Cetaci had said the day before, this was what they had really been fighting for: the right to live and love in peace.

"It is six-thirty in Angel Grove," DECA's voice interjected, and she started a little as the lights brightened.

Andros smoothed her hair soothingly, but she couldn't help sighing. "I forgot about school," she mumbled, not wanting to move.

"Thanks, DECA," Andros said, still stroking her hair. "I wish you didn't have to go," he added more quietly, addressing her this time.

"I wish I didn't have to go *anywhere*," she said with a small smile. She squirmed away from him enough that she could stretch, blinking her eyes hard in an effort to rouse herself from sleepy indolence.

She felt him shift beside her, and she caught her breath as he trailed his fingers across her skin. "You're beautiful, you know," he murmured.

She turned her head to gaze up at him, smiling at the look in his eyes. He had propped himself up on one elbow, hair spilling over his bare shoulders as he stared down at her. "Don't say that," she teased gently, touched by his sincerity. "Or I really won't go at all."

"You're beautiful," he repeated without hesitation. He leaned down and kissed her mouth softly, whispering, "I've never known anyone more beautiful than you."

She closed her eyes, letting him kiss her again and wondering if it was really that important to graduate from high school after all. Who cared about classes when she could lie here with her boyfriend, on his spaceship, for the rest of her life?

She was vaguely aware of the commotion in the hallway, but it didn't register as unusual until Andros pulled away with a rueful chuckle. "I should have known he'd pull something like this," he muttered.

She opened her eyes, straining to hear what was going on. It was Zhane's voice that she was hearing, she realized; that must have been what made Andros laugh. He was out in the corridor with... TJ, it sounded like. The both of them were carrying on loudly enough to be heard through the walls, pounding on doors and just generally making enough of a ruckus that it would be easier to get up than to try to ignore them for any length of time.

Andros' room was at the very end of the corridor, but it appeared that just because he didn't have to go to school didn't mean he would be allowed to sleep in. It was Zhane who banged on the door, yelling, "Rise and shine, Andros! Get out of bed and help us get these kids off to school! Come on, no rest for the weary!"

Ashley rolled over, muffling her giggles with Andros' pillow. "If only he knew," she managed, between giggles.

"Oh, he will," Andros said dryly. "You don't think you're going to be able to get out of here unnoticed with that going on in the hallway, do you?"

She shook her head, trying to contain her mirth. Leave it to Zhane to get everyone going on the most anti-climatic of days. "No," she admitted, hugging Andros' blanket around her as she struggled to sit up. "But since they all think we've been sleeping together for weeks anyway, I guess it doesn't really matter."

"Do you mind?" he asked quietly. His expression was suddenly serious as he watched her fish around on the floor for her discarded clothes. "DECA could teleport you back to your room, if you wanted."

T-shirt in hand, she hesitated. "I don't mind if you don't," she said, watching him carefully.

He shook his head once, and she couldn't help smiling. "Good," she said, a little relieved. "That makes it easier."

This time it was TJ's voice that intruded, and she could hear him banging on her door across the hall. He was yelling for her to get up and get some breakfast, and she had to giggle when she caught Andros' eye again. She waved to warn him, then shouted, "I'm coming already! Sheesh, TJ; chill!"

There was an abrupt and very obvious pause from the hallway, and she bit her lip in an effort not to laugh. Andros' eyes danced, and then Zhane's voice came from right outside the door. "I can think of several very bad jokes right now, and if you two don't move it you're going to hear all of them!"

Ashley stuck her tongue out at the door just as she felt the flicker in her mind that was Andros saying something she wasn't meant to overhear. But Zhane had no such compunction, and his reply came through loud and clear. *Then hurry up!*

She giggled, not needing to ask to know a threat when she heard one. She let go of the blanket a little self-consciously and started to scramble into her clothes as quickly as she could. It wasn't long, though, before Andros sidled up beside her and put his hands on her still-bare shoulders. Pushing her hair to one side, he kissed her neck gently and murmured, "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, relaxing a little. She turned her head and he kissed her again, letting go of her hair before he slid off the edge of the bed to disentangle his clothes from hers.

She paused, forgetting that she was only half-dressed herself as she watched him. As gorgeous as he was, there was something in the way he moved that made him magic to look at. She didn't know what it was, exactly, but she thought it had to come from the inside.

Before she realized it, he was settling down on the floor to wait for her. She blinked, trying not to blush as she pretended she hadn't been staring. She pulled her t-shirt over her head, shrugging her shoulders to wriggle it into the right place. She made a face when her hair wouldn't stay out of the way, and Andros laughed at her, handing her his brush without a word.

She did her best without a mirror, knowing she'd only mess up her hair again when she changed later. Finally she jammed her feet into her sneakers and stood, ducking to avoid the top bunk and reaching down to help Andros up.

"Thanks," he said easily, taking her hand and letting her pull him up. She was struck by an eerie sense of déjà vu, the day they'd first met springing into her mind with vivid detail. She could see him remembering too, and as their eyes met they shared a smile.

"Thank you," she said suddenly, squeezing his hand. "Thanks for--last night."

He looked torn between amusment and confusion. "Why are you thanking me?"

She shrugged, fighting not to blush again and failing miserably. "I don't know," she murmured, not taking her eyes off of him. "I just wanted to."

He smiled again, looking a little relieved. "Good. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't some Earth custom I didn't know about." Then he surprised her by pulling her into a hug and whispering, "Thanks for last night, Ashley."

She hugged him back, smiling to herself.

Then a clattering in the hallway reminded them of why they were up at all, and Andros let her go reluctantly. "I guess we'd better go keep them from destroying something," he said with a fondly exasperated look. "Ready?"

She nodded, leaving her hand in his as they headed for the doorway. She glanced back once to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, and then the door opened and she could only laugh at the scene that greeted them.

Someone--presumably Zhane or TJ--had brought the meal cart up from storage in the holding bay, and it was covered with breakfast for what looked like twice their number. There were bagels, pancakes, Carlos' cereal and her favorite kind of muffin, juice, cream cheese and butter and even ketchup for TJ.

"Well, look who decided to join the rest of us," Zhane called, lounging next to Kerone outside her door. He was clearly enjoying making a spectacle of them despite the fact that they weren't the last to arrive in the hallway.

"Morning," Carlos offered, a knowing grin on his face as he poured a glass of juice. He offered it to Ashley with a wink, and she wrinkled her nose at him.

"We just--" Andros began, but Zhane cut him off.

"No," Zhane said loudly. "We don't want to hear about how you didn't sleep together, Andros. Just eat your breakfast and be quiet."

Ashley tried to swallow her juice before she laughed, knowing only Andros could appreciate the true humor of their situation. She managed not to choke but she couldn't suppress a wide grin, and Carlos shook his head.

"Have a muffin," her friend said, with an amused look in his eye that said "don't tell me; I don't want to know."

His expression reminded her that he was now eminently teasable as well, and she asked slyly, "So Carlos, did you have fun last night?"

"Not as much fun as you," he replied with perfect composure.

Any retort she might have made was interrupted by the opening of Saryn's door down the hall. Cassie emerged first, looking strangely together for quarter of seven in the morning. In fact, she looked exactly as organized as Saryn didn't when he followed her, yawning, a moment later.

"Cassie," TJ greeted her, dripping ketchup onto one of his pancakes. He took one look at Saryn's disheveled clothes and tousled hair and added, "You're rubbing off on him."

Cassie dropped her backpack by the door and reached back to run her hand suggestively across Saryn's chest. "More than you know," she agreed, smirking at TJ.

Ashley stifled a giggle, and TJ held up one hand to ward Cassie off. "Too much information!" he exclaimed, pretending not to listen. "I come all the way from Earth to bring you bagels, and this is what I hear!"

Cassie caught her eye and winked, and Ashley grinned. She didn't mean to look over at Andros, but she couldn't help it. *This really is what we fought for,* she thought again, reveling in the banter and caring of her second family. *This is why we're Rangers.*

Andros looked up at that, obviously overhearing, and she heard his wry suggestion in her head a moment later. *Because it keeps us off the streets?*

She struggled not to laugh, knowing he knew what she meant. He shrugged innocently, and she couldn't help thinking there was no way she would make it through seven hours of school without him. Skipping looked more appealing every minute.

Only a hundred and sixty six days till graduation, she thought with a rueful sigh.