"So, let me get this straight," Karen said, eyeing Kristet skeptically. "You don't remember, like... anything I told you yesterday?"

"I remember what you told me," Kristet told the mirror, holding up a long-sleeved blouse in front of her and eyeing the effect critically. "I don't remember when you told me, no."

"The longer you know her, the less she knows about you," Ashley called from behind the curtain. "That's what I find, anyway."

They were on a shopping trip in the middle of some city Karen had never heard of, which included every city on KO-35 except Keyota, and they were supposed to be finding clothes for tonight's party. Or at least, that was the excuse that Ashley had given for the excursion. Between her and Kristet, they'd dragged her into almost every building lining the street where they'd parked, and not all of them had sold clothing.

"I know plenty about you," Kristet was saying. "You're lucky I have journalistic scruples."

"Yeah, right!" Ashley's voice exclaimed. "You're the least scrupulous reporter I know! That's why we hired you, remember?"

"No," Kristet replied, still studying her reflection in the mirror. "If it didn't happen today, you'll have to tell me again."

The curtain slid out of the way and Ashley stepped out, striking a pose that was apparently meant to be dramatic. "What do you think?" she asked with a giggle. The disturbing part was that the drama was absolutely perfect on her, like she couldn't look ridiculous even when she tried.

Kristet had turned around to inspect the dress. "I think you have enough people falling over themselves with jealousy when you wear your uniform," she announced. "That dress is only going to make it worse."

"Really?" Ashley brightened. "So I should get it, right?"

Kristet smiled, shaking her head. "You should definitely get it," she agreed, turning back to the mirror with a different blouse.

"Deeper colors," Ashley called over her shoulder, turning in a circle to admire her new dress from all directions. "What have I told you about deeper colors?"

"I have no idea," Kristet answered wryly. "What have you told me about deeper colors?"

"Sometimes she really can't remember," Ashley told Karen. "Other times she just pretends she can't because she knows we can't tell the difference."

"Do you know how much I know about fashion?" Kristet asked, as though Ashley hadn't said anything. "I know what other people are wearing. That's it. And that's usually enough. You don't have to look spectacular to be a reporter. You just have to look as good as the best-dressed person you're interviewing."

"Which means you have to look as good as me, right?" Ashley gave her a disarming smile, and Karen couldn't help but laugh. "What? You're the only one who could outdo me, and we have totally different styles."

This last was clearly directed at Karen, who held up her hands in surrender. "I was just laughing to see your designer sense come out again. I think you have to worry more about Kerone than me."

"I don't think Kerone's going tonight." Ashley's cheerful expression dimmed a little, a thoughtful look settling over her face. "Ty offered to watch Kae, but I don't think she's going to take him up on it."

"It's better to have Ty in the spotlight than Kerone," Kristet remarked, eyeing the dress Ashley held out to her with skepticism. "I don't think a dress is the most practical choice."

"If you find one you like, you won't care," Ashley replied.

"After months with the Power Rangers, haven't you learned to fight in whatever you're wearing?" Karen wanted to know. "Seriously, they could have Ranger competitions for who can look the best after hand-to-hand combat."

"With different categories for starting appearance and number of opponents," Ashley agreed immediately. She paused. "Hey, maybe we should have special sparring sessions where we work out in nice clothes! It'd be more realistic, right?"

Kristet was looking from one to the other oddly. "You're not expecting an attack tonight, are you? Something else I've forgotten?"

"No," Ashley assured her with a laugh. "Just trying to come up with new ways to drive Andros crazy, that's all."

"You're the one who said a dress wasn't practical," Karen reminded her. "What are you expecting?"

"I'm expecting a KPD social," Kristet said with a sigh, "which will involve intense memorization on my part just before it starts while I try to catch up with everyone's changing titles and latest projects and accomplishments."

"Try the dress on," Ashley prompted. "The more stunning you look the less people will notice if you forget something, and I say use any advantage you have."

"So, wait." Karen frowned at Kristet. "You can memorize all that stuff, but you can't remember... what can't you remember? I don't get it."

Kristet and Ashley exchanged glances. "It's not that I don't remember," Kristet said at last. "It's just that I don't remember in the right order. I remember people's names and titles... but I don't have any way of knowing which of those names and titles are the most recent."

"So the more she knows about you the less she can remember," Ashley repeated. "Like, she knows that three people have taught me telekinesis, but I bet she doesn't remember which of them is doing it now."

Karen glanced at Kristet, who shrugged. "I could find out," she said, taking her dress and retreating behind the curtain.

"Sure, and she's way more organized than any of us," Ashley said with a laugh. "She doesn't tell many people 'cause she doesn't have to. Her filing system is, like, an extension of her brain."

Karen caught the unspoken warning nonetheless. "Well, I sure wouldn't have known," she said, abandoning the topic. "Anything else I should know not to mention tonight?"

"Kae." Ashley was playing with her hair in front of the mirror, lifting it off her shoulders and pulling it away from her face. "And basically the less any of us say about Ranger policy, the better. You're lucky that way, you can just say you don't know and everyone will believe you."

"Because it's true," Karen said, rolling her eyes. "I have no idea what you guys are up to around here."

Ashley grinned impishly at her. "See? You really are lucky."

"Yeah," Kristet's voice called from behind the curtain. "They don't know either, but at least you're saved the stress of having to make something up as you go."

"I thought that's why we had you," Ashley called back. "To cover for us!"

"Was that in my contract?" Kristet's voice asked.

Ashley winked at Karen. "Yes," she answered, and the innocence in her tone was clearly feigned.

"I'm sure there was some sort of loophole that allowed for access by other Rangers," Kristet remarked. "Not to mention residential guests. As I recall, Ty's sister was a lot more informed than I would have liked."

Ashley sighed, a look of amused resignation on her face. "The other problem with her memory is that she doesn't remember which things she agreed to let go." This last was directed over her shoulder at the curtain behind which Kristet was changing.

"For all I know, that could have happened yesterday," Kristet retorted. "And it was a serious thing. People care who your friends and family are, Ashley. Just because they're not allowed to interview you in your time off..."

"Yeah, I know." Ashley made a face. "I promise, you gave us this lecture before. Several times."

The curtain slid back and Kristet wanted to know, "Did you listen?"

"Ooh..." Ashley studied her outfit as though she hadn't even asked a question. "That's really nice. You could even go a little smaller, if you wanted to."

Kristet gave her an incredulous look, although whether for her evasion of the question or the statement it was hard to tell. "This is fine. I'll hear it from my husband for making him look bad as it is."

"I don't think that'll be his first reaction," Ashley said cheerfully. "So we're all set, right? Karen, do you want to keep shopping? You could use way more clothes than either of us."

Karen gave her head a decisive shake. "I'm pretty much over clothes shopping, thanks. I could go for some food, though, if there's anywhere around here to eat."

"Sure!" Ashley was already reaching for the back of her dress as she headed for the privacy curtain. "Kristet, you look great," she added. "Take the dress."

Kristet looked torn. "Do you know how expensive this is?"

"I told you this trip was on me," Ashley reminded her. She disappeared behind the curtain, but she didn't stop talking. "By the middle of the afternoon, everyone in the city will know we were here, and by tonight, they'll know exactly who designed that dress and where to get one of their own. Trust me when I say you're doing the woman a favor by letting me get it for you."

"She's not even here," Kristet protested, glancing toward the screens that gave their fitting area a measure of privacy. "What if she didn't want to sell this one?"

"Then she wouldn't have left it for us," Ashley called. "The only reason Laura's not here is because I didn't know we were coming until this morning. She's an awesome designer, she knows what I like, and you can have the dress. Okay?"

Kristet still hesitated. "If she left it for you, are you sure she'd want--"

"Yes," Ashley interrupted, loudly enough that she drowned out the rest of Kristet's question. "You don't see Karen having a crisis about her clothes, do you?"

"She's a Ranger," Kristet pointed out, glancing at her.

Ashley peeked out from behind the curtain, rolling her eyes at Karen. "You'd think we'd never gone shopping together before," she complained.

"Nowhere this..." Kristet trailed off, still looking around.

"Private?" Ashley suggested helpfully, disappearing again. "Fancy? Exclusive?"

"Exclusive," Kristet repeated. "I don't have personal designers, Ashley."

From behind the curtain, Ashley laughed. "She's a personal designer, not my personal designer. I'm going to ask her to send things to your house if you don't stop arguing."

No one could stand against an irresistible force like Ashley for long. "Fine," Kristet said with a sigh. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ashley answered immediately, as though the thanks had been anything other than grudging. But Karen saw the way Kristet looked at the mirror, and the small smile on her face as she turned away, and she guessed that Ashley knew what she was doing.

"No Girls' Day Out for you?"

She'd been expecting the voice that filtered down from the open hatch at the top of her zord cockpit. She and Kae had watched Zhane approach on the forward screen, and the boy had even played with the magnification controls to improve their view. He was startlingly quick--but no matter how expected Zhane was, he still twitched at the Silver Ranger's sudden presence.

"I don't need any more clothes," Kerone answered, keeping her voice quiet and soothing as she stepped back toward the hatch. Lifting her face to stare straight up, she smiled at Zhane's expression. "I'm surprised you didn't go with them. You like the acquisition process."

"Yeah, for other people," he said lightly. "Besides, someone has to run the world while they're out buying it up."

"Oh, is Andros handling that, then?" She blinked up at him with pretended earnestness, and he grinned back.

"Five," a childish voice interrupted.

Zhane looked surprised but Kerone turned back to Kae quickly, having learned what that particular word preceded. "Okay," she said lightly, putting her hands on her shoulders to warn him. "Time for a change of scenery."

"Five," he insisted, in a louder tone. "Five!"

"Magic, we're going outside," she told her zord. "Zhane, we'll meet you on the hillside."

"But isn't he--"

The rest of Zhane's reaction was drowned on by Kae's shriek. "Five!" he screamed. "Five! Five! Fi--"

The violet glow of teleportation surrounded them, and the cockpit disappeared. The hillside reformed around them a moment later. Kae cowered against her, his hysteria gone in split-second as he mumbled, "Five," before hiding his face.

Zhane swung down from behind Magic's ear a moment later, pretending to stumble over the cat's paw as he joined the two of them in front of her zord. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized, somewhat comically, giving the cat a rakish grin.

Kerone smiled indulgently. She patted Kae's hair soothingly, absently, watching Zhane's show of embarrassment and wondering what she had done to merit his performance today. She didn't mind; he was funny when he was "on." But it was a deliberately assumed facade, from his supposed clumsiness to his pretended rue when addressing the zord. Maybe it was just the mood he was in.

"So," Zhane said cheerfully, turning to her and Kae. "Math's not going to be your favorite subject, huh?"

Kae didn't budge, face still hidden, giving no indication that he'd heard.

"It's not the actual number," Kerone offered, looking down at the boy who clung to her. "Or if it is, I can't figure out where he's getting it from. That's the third time today, and I don't know why it's happening."

Zhane frowned, following her gaze. "The third time he's said 'five', you mean? Has he said anything else? That's the first time I've heard him say anything that sounds like a real word. In our language, anyway."

"He starts by just saying it, but he ends up screaming and banging on things," Kerone said with a sigh. "I hate to scare him, but this is the only way I've been able to calm him down."

"Bringing him outside?" Zhane asked, lifting his eyes to hers. She felt guilty just looking at him, knowing how much he would hate the equivalent shock treatment for himself.

She nodded slowly. "Is it..." She hesitated, but he didn't finish her sentence for her. "Cruel?" she asked at last.

She dreaded his answer, but he just lifted his chin to indicate Kae and said reasonably, "He's not exactly comatose with fear, is he. Would you slap a hysterical person?"

Kerone's eyes widened. "No!"

To her surprise, Zhane chuckled. "Well, I would. Have, when it was Andros."

She tried to picture Andros hysterical and found she couldn't do it.

"I think you know him better than any of us," Zhane continued, and she understood him to mean Kae this time. "If this calms him down, I say go for it." He smiled a little, but she thought she saw a hint of melancholy behind it. "Maybe he'll even get over his fear of open space."

The opposite fear was something Zhane had never conquered, and she knew it bothered him. She patted Kae's hair again, wondering what to say. It was true... he didn't react as strongly as Zhane did, and she wondered if maybe he was just afraid instead of phobic. But afraid of what, exactly? And why? How were they supposed to help him when they didn't know anything about him?

"Kae," she said quietly. "Do you want to go back to Magic?"

Apparently that was the question he was waiting for because he twisted around her and pulled them both back toward the zord. He slipped between Magic's paws, keeping his hand firmly in hers as he pressed his back up against the cat's chest. She tried to squeeze in beside him, and Magic obediently shifted one paw to make room.

Zhane tapped the other paw, glancing up at the giant cat head that rested on it. "Do you mind?" he inquired.

"Now you ask," Kerone teased, leaning back against the paw that had moved. Kae was staring straight out between them, with a better view of the valley than she would have wanted if she was terrified of large places. "I bet you weren't invited when you were sitting on Magic's head, before."

"I was," Zhane said defensively. "I know how to ask permission!"

"I though you just knew how to apologize," Kerone murmured.

Zhane's indignant expression melted into a charming smile. "Yeah, well. It's almost the same thing." He climbed up on top of Magic's paw and patted the zord's side affectionately. "Thanks, Magic."

She watched Zhane settle himself, leaning back against Magic's chin and staring out over Keyota. He was mimicking Kae's gaze, she thought, glancing down at the child beside her. She didn't know if that was on purpose or if the view was just a natural focus for attention.

"Are you going to adopt him?" Zhane asked suddenly.

Kerone looked up in surprise, but he was still gazing down into the valley.

Zhane turned his head when she didn't answer right away. He gave Kae a significant look, and there was no pretending she didn't know what he meant. "Who else does he have?" she asked softly.

She searched Zhane's expression for some kind of answer, some clue as to how he felt about Kae and his uncertain future. She did feel responsible for the boy her double had saved from the perils of another dimension. But she felt far less certain of her own ability to do anything good for him. If Zhane didn't think Kae should stay... well, she would have a hard time arguing with him.

Zhane smiled, looking away again. "I'll work on Andros," was all he said.

There was another moment of quiet. Kae started banging on Magic's paw. It wasn't the irrational flailing of a hysterical child... for once. It was just an idle gesture, maybe a curious one. What happens if I do this?

She said nothing as he clambered to his feet and started banging higher up. Magic's eyes opened, or at least the one nearest them did and since that was the only one they could see Kerone assumed they had both done so. Her eye glowed briefly as she assessed the situation, then faded but remained open, apparently deciding that whatever Kae was doing was all right with her.

Kae kept banging, shooting hesitant glances at Kerone as he took a single step forward. She stayed where she was, smiling reassuringly at him when their eyes met. He flinched. She kept her smile in place, sighing inwardly. What had they done to this child?

Kae took another tiny step toward the front of Magic's paws, freezing in place when Zhane remarked, "We should see what Kristet knows about adopting someone who doesn't legally exist."

Kerone kept her voice quiet and calm when she replied, and Kae seemed to relax a little. He took another step forward as she said, "She probably has all sorts of ideas to make it seem normal for him to be here, too."

"She's good," Zhane agreed, and there was admiration in his tone but it was the admiration of equals. Or at least, that was what Kerone heard. Zhane was just as good at making people see what he saw with his words alone.

Watching Kae edge his way between Magic's paws, she wondered, "Do you think we'll be Rangers forever?"

Zhane shifted, and she thought he was about to answer. But he said nothing. She glanced over at him and found him frowning at her thoughtfully. "What a strange question," he said at last.

She should be offended, but with Zhane she just couldn't be. Something about the way he said it made her smile. "Is it?" she asked noncommittally.

"Yeah..." The word was drawn out, and his frown deepened for a moment. "Only I can't figure out why. Because--it's obvious that we won't be, or because it's obvious that we will be?"

Kerone nodded slowly. "That's just what I was thinking."

"Because of Andros, right?" Zhane's frown vanished and he seemed to shrug without moving. "He won't always be a Ranger. And I guess if he won't, then we won't either."

She studied him curiously. "What makes you so sure?"

He didn't have to ask which statement she was questioning. "Because he gave it up once. Twice, really. He's not... sometimes I think he's not really as attached to it as we think he is. It's just who he is, that he throws himself into everything he does--and this is what he does now. Someday... I think it probably won't be."

She nodded again, accepting his intuitive knowledge of her brother. If Andros wasn't going to spend his entire life as a Ranger, then neither would they. It was a strangely reassuring thought.

"Why'd you ask?" Zhane wanted to know, echoing her thoughts without realizing. "Got other plans?"

Kerone looked around as Kae moved out of her direct line-of-sight for the first time. He was creeping around Magic's left paw, keeping his back to the zord, moving cautiously but moving, and it made her smile to see him exploring, no matter how tentatively. There was a long moment while she just watched, before she realized that Zhane was watching her in turn.

She caught his eye with a small smile, aware that he probably knew more about the answer to that question than she did. "Maybe," she admitted. If someone needed her? Kae banged on Magic's paw again, and she looked over her shoulder automatically. "Maybe I do have plans."

"Fancy parties."

Andros didn't move, but the corner of his mouth quirked at the derision in those words. The Red Kerovan Ranger was leaning on a balcony railing, watching pilots, commanders, and some of the higher up militia types mingle on the floor below. His own team was out there too... some of them, and some more conspicuous than others. He himself saw no reason to socialize at an event that had little purpose beyond genuine relaxation.

"Not enough hay bales for you?" he asked over his shoulder, certain that Ty still lingered there. The Black Ranger had agreed to come on the assumption that Zhane would be here, Andros was sure. Zhane had changed his mind at the last minute, choosing instead to stay at the hangar with Kerone and Kae.

"I'm just saying," Ty remarked, joining him at the railing. "It's not really a party until you have a bonfire. At least one... the best parties have more."

Andros tried to picture burning anything inside a facility like this. They were on the Quon base, one of the biggest KPD installations on the continent, and consequently in what could be the best military function hall available. And Ty wanted to burn things.

"It would liven things up," Andros mused, careful to keep his words quiet.

He felt Ty's surprised gaze on him. "And here I thought you'd disapprove," the other Ranger said after a moment.

"I don't think this is the best place for it," Andros admitted. He continued to stare out at the crowds of chatting, sometimes dancing, people. "But Zhane would probably tell you that this isn't the best place for me, either."

There was another quiet moment. When Ty spoke, it was his turn to surprise Andros. "You should come to Chessa Brook sometime," he said casually. "Good bonfires. Plenty of hay bales, too," he added, in what had to be a deliberate afterthought.

Andros gave him an amused look, and was surprised when Ty turned at the same time and caught his eye. The gold eyes, Andros thought inconsequentially. They really were startling sometimes. "Sounds more exciting than this," Andros muttered, bracing one foot against the bottom of the railing as he looked away again.

"It is." Ty's cheer didn't sound forced. "But then, a lot of things are."

Andros felt his a smile tug at his expression again, and he tried to suppress it. That was usually Zhane's role: disparaging comments designed to make him feel better about not enjoying whatever activity they were currently engaged in. It was disconcerting to hear it from Ty, and it was disturbing to think that Ty might not be as subtle about it as Zhane could be. They really didn't want to offend anyone here.

*I see you've found a kindred spirit.*

It was Ashley's voice in his mind, and he scanned the floor in an effort to locate her. It wasn't hard, no matter how crowded the room or brightly dressed the people. Ashley exuded energy--it drew people and attention in equal measures, and he found her with his eyes in a matter of seconds. She looked up just as his gaze settled on her and she smiled.

He had to smile back, even as someone else drew her attention away from him again. Ashley thrived in a place like this, where she could be the center of attention all night long and never tire of the idle gossip being exchanged all around. He found it overwhelming, annoying, and ultimately unnecessary. Yet here he was.

"Would you tell me to mind my own business if I asked you how many people you can talk to like that?" Ty's voice reminded him that he wasn't the only one who was happier around a few people he knew rather than a hundred he didn't.

Andros gave him a sideways look, frowning a little. "You're very good at that."

Ty didn't pretend to misunderstand. "You don't have to make it sound like an accusation," he said evenly.

Andros wasn't sure he hadn't meant it as one. "Should it be?" he asked bluntly. "How do you do it?"

Ty shrugged. "Maybe I'm just more observant than most people; I don't know. I didn't realize it was so uncommon."

Andros considered that. How many people did he know who would actually call him on telepathic conversations if they noticed them? How many people did he know who had telepathic conversations, giving him an opportunity to notice or not himself? "Maybe it isn't," he muttered at last. "I've just never had anyone point it out to me as much as you do."

There was a moment of silence. "I don't," Ty said. He sounded somewhat bemused.

"You don't what?" Andros asked automatically.

"Point it out," Ty answered. "To you, anyway."

With those words, Andros realized what he was doing. "You point it out to Zhane," he said aloud. "That's what I meant."

"Yeah," Ty said after a moment. He sounded wary. "I guess I do. Didn't realize you'd noticed."

He didn't have to explain. He did anyway. "Whenever it's me, talking to him, I know when you distract him. That's all."

"You can tell who he's with?" Ty sounded skeptical. "That's kind of... detailed."

He was already regretting the explanation. "You have that kind of selective telepathy too, then," he guessed, trying to redirect the conversation.

"With my twin." Ty's response was so quick that Andros didn't question it right away. "You?"

Andros shrugged uncomfortably. "Zhane."

"And Ashley," Ty prompted. "Right? What about Astrea?"

Andros frowned down at the floor, straightening up from where he stood at the railing before he turned to face Ty. "Kerone," he said deliberately, and immediately wished he hadn't. He really wasn't trying to pick a fight here. "Is a telepath. A real telepath. She can talk to anyone that way."

Ty didn't look intimidated. "Is it genetic?" he wanted to know.

Andros opened his mouth to snap at him, caught himself in time, and in the space of a second changed what he was about to say. "You tell me," he said, watching Ty's expression.

Ty blinked. "Yes," he said after a moment. "Yes, it is."

Andros felt the corner of his mouth twitch, and he turned away with a shrug. Leaning on the railing again, his eye sought Ashley. He found Karen instead, and he wondered what she thought of this sort of formal socializing. If he'd had to guess, he wouldn't have said it was her style, but she had been enthusiastic about coming here tonight.

"You're a telepath," Ty repeated. He had hitched one hip up against the railing so that he was still facing Andros, even though Andros wasn't looking at him. Zhane wouldn't have done it. He would have either followed Andros' example or turned in the opposite direction. The distinction was somehow comforting.

"Not really." He realized belatedly that Ty was actually waiting for an answer, and it almost surprised Andros into looking at him. "Don't spread it around, because if anyone asks I'll tell them no."

"Okay." Again, Ty surprised him by agreeing immediately. Then, more predictably, he asked, "Why?"

Andros just shrugged. He was allowed to be mysterious, right? They all got on him for not talking enough. Might as well use it to his advantage when he could.

The truth was that he had no use for telepathy. He had never been very good at it, and that was fine with him. He had enough trouble understanding people who were speaking to him. He didn't want any of them in his head. With the notable exception of--

Andros frowned. Had Ty said he could only talk to his twin? "What about your husband?" Andros asked abruptly, shooting a sideways glance at the other Ranger.

Ty went very still, but there was no change in his tone when he answered. "You don't have to understand someone to love them."

"No," Andros agreed after a moment. He knew what Ty was saying, all too well.

He thought that would be the end of the conversation. Ty had made him uncomfortable, he had made Ty uncomfortable. They were even. They had a silent understanding, lately, that neither would push the other too far. It kept the peace, and it kept them talking. It was more than they'd been able to do last year.

"How do you know?" Ty asked suddenly. "I mean... is it different?"

Andros waited.

"You could talk to me, right?" Ty had turned, finally, to lean on the railing again. His position made it less obvious, from the perspective of anyone on the floor, that they were talking about anything serious. "Telepathically? But it's different from what it would be like with Zhane."

Ty hesitated, then added, "For you, I mean. It would seem different for you, to talk to me instead of Zhane."

He had started out with a question. He seemed to think he had answered it for himself, yet he was still waiting for Andros' confirmation. And it would have been easy enough to say yes--it was technically the truth. Everyone's thoughts were different.

That wasn't what Ty was really asking, though. Andros' ability to share Zhane's thoughts was independent of his genetics... right?

Slowly, Andros shook his head.

"No?" Ty echoed. "It would seem the same?"

This time Andros didn't answer. He wasn't sure why he was admitting this to Ty, of all people. Kerone must know, or at least guess, but if she did she had never brought it up. Outside of his sister, no one had reason to think he had anything other than the deepest understanding of the two people he loved most.

"So how can you tell?" Ty persisted. "How can you tell that you share their thoughts because of who they are, not because of who you are?"

When Andros still didn't say anything, Ty asked quietly, "Can you tell?"

"No," Andros muttered, straightening. He folded his arms across his chest, keeping his eyes on the people talking and dancing below. "I can't."

Ty didn't move, and out of the corner of his eye Andros could see him idly contemplating the floor as well. His silence was somehow more accepting than anything he could have said. Andros found himself relaxing a little.

"When we were younger," he said softly, "everyone thought we were so special. That Zhane and I could talk to each other in our heads--it surprised everyone. We would be the best of friends, they said. We had to be. They thought we must be so much alike..."

When he trailed off Ty pointed out, "You are best friends, aren't you? Does it matter why?"

Andros' fingers clenched on his arms. "You know why I won't tell anyone, Ty? Because that's all telepathy is to me. It's just another way to lie."

Ty stood up, turning around restlessly and leaning back against the railing. "Ryse wasn't from the colony," he remarked, seemingly at random. "He was from Calijyt. I don't know if you knew that."

Andros nodded wordlessly.

Ty must have seen it, because he continued, "I always told myself that was why we didn't have that kind of connection. The kind I have with my sister."

"You know it's not that common," Andros muttered.

Ty shrugged. "I guess we want the uncommon things more than the common ones," he said quietly.

After a moment, Ty pushed away from the railing entirely and took a step toward the stairs. "I'm going to get a drink," he tossed over his shoulder. "You want anything?"

Andros shook his head without thinking about it. "No. Thanks."

"Sure." Ty kept going.

"Ty." Andros stopped him at the top of the stairs, and Ty looked back inquiringly. "I'd have some water. If you're going down anyway."

Ty nodded once, his expression lightening a little. "You got it."

In retrospect, setting up the paint in Zhane's room had probably been a good idea. It had seemed natural at the time, since he was the one who had the paint, and Kae still didn't like spending long periods of time in the cavernous open space of the hangar proper. The fact of where the paint might end up had been less of a concern, but as Zhane surveyed the handprints covering the floor he decided that seeing them all over the downstairs might not have endeared them to their teammates.

"I think it adds charm," Astrea remarked, as she walked into his room and joined him by the windows. She sat down on the sill, considering the smudged and still sticky prints that hadn't been remotely contained by the huge sheets of paper they had put down on the floor.

"Like I need any more of that," Zhane countered absently. "There'll be so much charm in this room that there won't be any space for me."

He could almost hear her smile. "Interesting prediction. Anything you want psychoanalyzed?"

Zhane sighed, leaning back against the sill with her. "Not really. I didn't mean anything by it."

"I know." She touched his arm gently, and he glanced sideways at her. "Thanks for... hanging out, tonight. It was nice not to be alone."

He smiled, reaching out to put his arm around her shoulders. "It was nice not to be in a crowd."

He felt her tilt her head at that, knew she was looking at him. "Tired?"

He knew what she meant. "Kind of. Just... having a down day."

"You're entitled," Astrea said softly. "It happens to the best of us."

"I wish..." He couldn't think of any way to continue that sounded good.

"You wish what?"

She wouldn't mind, he thought. "I wish people didn't think I was so great."

Astrea leaned her head against his shoulder as she thought about that. "I've never gotten that impression from you before."

He smiled ruefully. "No... you're right. I like having people notice me, think I'm great, all that. I like to be the center of attention."

"It shows," she agreed. There was no judgement in her voice.

"Sometimes I just think they're wrong," he admitted. "And I wish I didn't think they were going to find out."

"It doesn't matter," Astrea said with quiet assurance. "It doesn't matter what people find out or don't find out. Because the only one in your head is you, and other people's opinions can't change what you really think of yourself."

"Yeah, and you know--" He let out an half-irritated, half-amused sigh. "Some days I think that's good, and other days I think it's just damned annoying."

Her arm wormed its way around his waist, and having the hug returned made him feel a little better. "Me too," was all she said.

Finally he shifted, giving the floor a half-hearted glare. "I don't suppose you could do something about the floor," he said, wishing he didn't sound quite so whiny.

For answer, Astrea lifted her free hand and waved it in the air idly. The resulting lightshow was slow and swirling, but no less dramatic for its unusual lack of zip. The painted handprints melted away as though they had never been. "That one too?" she asked, pausing to point at the doorframe.

He opened his mouth to say yes, then changed his mind. "Nah. That one's kind of cute." Kae had gotten away from them several times, but only once had he failed to keep his hands to himself--or the floor. Green fingertips distorted an otherwise blue print, surprisingly clear considering the speed at which their owner had been traveling at the time.

Astrea just nodded and let her hand fall, as though she had expected him to say that.

He really didn't want to interrupt this moment. Unfortunately, the windowsill wasn't the most comfortable choice of seating, and awkwardness was winning out over ease of conversation. "You want to move?" he suggested. "Sit somewhere more designed for sitting?"

As he expected, she turned this into an activity ender. "I should go check on the zords," she said, giving him another half-hug before letting go. She stood up before he could stop her.

"Stay and talk to me," Zhane said. "Or let me come with you. Either one."

She took his hand and pulled him toward her, away from the window. Wrapping her arms around him wordlessly, she let him know that she understood. And that was enough. He hugged her fiercely in return, moving back to kiss her when their embrace loosened.

They kissed gently, easily, and there was nothing but companionship behind it. Zhane sometimes wondered what that meant, whether she had kissed anyone else differently or if this was just what she always expected, and why it didn't bother him the way it used to. Right now, though, he just appreciated it for its simplicity.

"I'll stay," Astrea murmured eventually, "if you'll let me talk about something strange."

"Name your topic," Zhane promised, smiling at her.

She bit her lip, not smiling in return. "Death."

"Okay. Seating preference?"

Now she did smile. "I love you."

"It's mutual," he told her, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

She picked his hammock, which told him two things. One, it was going to be a long conversation. And two, she'd been thinking about it for a while, because she was comfortable enough with the topic that she had bothered to pick a location to discuss it in the first place. If it was recently on her mind and still in the early stages of uncertainty, she would have been too distracted to choose.

They arranged themselves on the hammock with a lot of difficulty and giggles, which as far as he was concerned was all part of the fun of having a hammock. When everyone had redecorated, Andros had insisted that he could do better than sleeping bags on a mattress, no matter how comfortable it was. And how used to it Zhane was. Zhane tried to get him to admit that Andros wanted an upgrade for himself, not for Zhane at all, but he wouldn't and so Zhane got a hammock. If Andros wasn't going to weigh in, then Zhane wasn't about to accommodate him just out of the goodness of his heart.

Besides, he found he liked having a hammock, even sleeping in it from time to time. Andros had just rolled his eyes in annoyance and declared a moratorium on sleeping in Zhane's room. That had lasted a total of three days--but who was counting?

"Remember last year?" Astrea asked when they were finally settled. She was half-lying, half-sitting next to him, hips pressed against each other as she lay partly on him and partly on the hammock, his arm wrapped loosely around her. "When you said you'd wait for me for a long time?"

"Yup," he said cheerfully, amused by her willingness to jump into the middle of a conversation. "Still true."

"Was that a long time ago?" she wanted to know.

Zhane thought about that, sure there was more to the question than she had asked. She was awfully cute in a hammock, he thought with a grin... it wasn't something he was noticing for the first time. But that wasn't what she wanted to know, was it.

"No," he said at last. "Not in the way that I meant I would wait this long and no longer. Yeah, I guess a lot of things have happened since then, but no--I'm still waiting."

"Waiting for what?" she asked, point-blank.

He hesitated. "Well, at the time you said you were trying to figure out what love was. You seem to have figured it out since then, right?"

That made her smile. "Yeah," she admitted softly. "Maybe I have. Started to, anyway."

"Then all I'm waiting for is for you to tell me what you want from me," Zhane told her. As was so often the case, her honesty inspired his own. He didn't worry as much about hurting her when she was talking to him like this, because he knew she was out of that political safe-talk mode that confused everything a person did or didn't say. Like this, she was just after the truth, plain and simple. And he identified with that.

"Tell me to run away, build a house, stay here, whatever," Zhane continued. "Whenever you figure out something about yourself and what we, the two of us, mean to you, you just let me know."

There was a quiet moment. "When will I figure that out?" she murmured at last.

"Probably never," Zhane said, with an attempt at levity. "Any time you look for meaning you're just asking for trouble, anyway."

Astrea poked him in the side for his teasing. "You've changed a lot in the last year."

"Nah," he countered. "You just remember me being funnier than I was."

She let out a soft huff of a amusement for that idea. "I haven't changed so much," she remarked, refusing to be sidetracked so early.

The only problem with starting in the middle of a conversation was that he didn't always know what it was about. "I think you have," he said belatedly. "A lot."

"No... look at me, Zhane. Really look." She waited, but he was already looking. "Do I look any different than I did this time last year?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "Your hair, your clothes, your expression. All different. Why are you asking?"

"Because I'm not breathing!" She took his hand and put it over her heart. "Because I don't always have a pulse, Zhane." She did now, he could feel her heart beating, circulating blood and air and--air? How could she not be breathing if her heart was beating?

"I'm not exactly alive anymore," she reminded him, no less vehemently. "Will I get any older? Will I age or will I look like this forever? Will I ever die?"

More quietly she added, "Am I asking you to wait my whole life when I don't even know how long that is?"

Okay, he was in the dark on the first few questions, but the last one he could answer. "No," Zhane said firmly. "You're not asking me to do anything. I'm waiting. I'm deciding that for myself, I decide it every day and you don't owe me anything for it. It's just what I want to do."

She twined her fingers through his and let their hands fall. "I'm not sure I believe that," she said softly.

He squeezed her hand. "I can't change that," he reminded her, just as softly.

This drew a puff of amusement from her lips, but she didn't explain. Instead she just said, "You didn't want people to think you're great and then find out they're wrong. I don't want that either--especially not from you."

"I'm not wrong," he said, kissing her ear with a smile.

She tilted her head slightly but didn't answer, and his smile faded. "Astrea," he whispered. "No one knows the future. Not you, not me. Maybe you'll live forever, or just a little longer than all of us. Maybe you'll see Kae grow up and maybe you won't. Maybe something will go wrong and you'll die tomorrow. Maybe any of us will.

"You've been making decisions all day: what to talk about, who to talk with, what to do. I've made the same kind of decisions. Neither of us can afford to assume that the decisions we're making now won't be our last ones. But if they are, I'm happy with mine. Are you?"

Her fingers tightened in his. Into the sudden silence she murmured, "I don't know."

Resting his chin against her temple he asked, "Want to talk about it?"

After a moment, she shook her head. "I'd rather just lie here with you," she confessed in a quiet voice.

He smiled to himself, closing his eyes. "That sounds nice," he agreed.

And it turned out that it was.