Disclaimer: Saban owns these characters, their universe, and the awesome finale that aired November 20 and 21, 1998--thanks for an amazing couple of years, Astro Rangers. 

Morning After
by Starhawk

Andros opened his eyes slowly, taking in the not quite familiar appearance of the bunk above him. The faintest scent of flowers registered next, and he smiled to himself. Ashley's room.* 

For some reason, the thought did not alarm him. He had half-woken several times the night before, including once when she had gotten up for some unexplained reason. He vaguely remembered curling up on the mattress when she left, and the next time he was aware, she was lying beside him again. The constant reminder of her presence as he drifted in and out of sleep had prepared him for this moment, when he would wake up next to her and face what it meant. 

*I love her,* he admitted to himself, unable to keep the grin off his face as he allowed the words to solidify in his mind. There was no denying the feeling any longer--he suspected, looking back, that he had loved her for quite some time without realizing it. 

Turning on his side, Andros propped himself up on one elbow and regarded her. Eyes still closed, her breathing was slow and even and her hair spilled over her pillow like a halo. He remembered the exasperation she used to instill in him, with her impulsive and sometimes reckless behavior. 

*But it was always more than that,* he thought. *She scared me--every time she did something I didn't expect, every time she risked herself to save one of us, I worried that she wouldn't come back…* It wasn't so much annoyance with her naivete as it was fear for her safety--the same fear that had coursed through him yesterday when she waited in plain view of the approaching pirahnatrons in an attempt to overhear their conversation. 

"Don't scare me like that," he begged her sleeping form softly, knowing it was a request she would never be able to honor. They were Rangers, after all, and her courage was the flame that kept her soul burning bright in the face of the darkness around them. 

*You've shone your light into my life for so long, without compunction or question,* he thought, watching her stir a little. *And I've never thanked you for it…* 

Ashley's eyelids fluttered, and she sighed as she opened them and found herself staring up at him. "Hey," she offered sleepily. "S'you again." 

He raised an eyebrow. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had woken up on and off through the night. "Who else would it be?" he asked, amused. 

Ashley's lips curved upward. "No one, silly." She closed her eyes as she stretched her arms over her head, and he couldn't help but notice that her tank top had come untucked in the night, and it pulled up when she moved her arms. 

He looked away. Ashley often wore clothes that revealed more of her midriff than he could now see, but with their legs tangled in the blankets of her bed and their faces only centimeters away from each other, this situation was undeniably more intimate than their usual encounters. 

"Sleep well?" she asked, a yawn in her voice, and he looked back to see her watching him through half-closed eyes. 

He nodded, wondering if she had noticed his attention lapse. "Very," Andros assured her. "Better than I have in weeks, actually. You?" 

The lights brightened suddenly, and DECA's voice intruded. "It is ten o'clock--time to get up." 

"Ten o'clock?" Ashley repeated incredulously. 

"It is eight hours after the last Ranger returned to the Megaship," DECA replied. "The optimum sleep cycle was observed." 

"Thanks, DECA," Andros said, squinting in the light. "We'll get up in a minute." The camera blinked off, with no comment on their sleeping arrangements. 

"I slept well, too," Ashley said, as though they hadn't been interrupted. "Of course," she added with a teasing smile, "if *someone* wasn't such a blanket hog, I wouldn't have had to get up in the middle of the night to get another one." 

He grinned at her tone. "That's what you were doing… you woke me up, you know." 

"Like it's my fault that you have issues with sharing," she retorted, playfully slapping the hand closest to her. 

Instead of moving his hand, he caught hers and twined their fingers together. Gazing at her over their joined hands, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. 

She didn't move for a moment, staring at him with her mouth slightly open. Then she rallied, pushing his shoulder with her free hand and giggling when he lost his balance and rolled onto his back. 

"You're just trying to make me forget about the blanket thing," Ashley said, a grin in her voice as she snatched her hand away from him. "One good turn deserves another… tickle fight!" she exclaimed, sitting up and ducking just in time to avoid hitting the top bunk. 

That didn't sound good, but before he could ask, she gave him an evil look and wiggled her fingers in his direction menacingly. Andros gasped in surprise when she lunged forward and grabbed him, running her fingers up and down his sides. He couldn't help the laughter that escaped--it had been years since anyone had tickled him, and he'd forgotten how distracting it was. 

He doubled over, pushing ineffectually at her hands and laughing uncontrollably. She showed no sign of stopping, and he was rapidly running out of breath-- 

He managed to catch one of her hands, pulling hard enough to make her collapse beside him. Rolling on top of her, Andros attacked her as she had done to him, and had the satisfaction of seeing her burst into giggles. 

"Andros," she panted between explosions of laughter, "you're evil!" 

"*I'm* evil?" he exclaimed, tickling harder. She squirmed, and he felt his fingers slip under her shirt. The strangest feeling ran through him, but she didn't stop laughing. "I'm not the one who started this," he reminded her, trying to ignore the soft feel of her skin and get his hands back to a more appropriate place. 

Giggling, Ashley curled around his arms, effectively trapping him. "Mercy!" she cried, barely able to get the word out through her laughter. 

"No mercy for you," he mock-growled, trying to keep up the pretense of the game lest she realize the predicament they were now in. He did let up a little, though, in case she meant it, and that was his mistake. 

Ashley got her laughter under control long enough to glare at him indignantly. "I’ll show you 'no mercy'!" 

Abandoning her efforts to control his attack, she reached up and buried her fingers in his hair, drawing him close and kissing him hard. Heart already racing from their mock-battle, Andros forgot everything else and lost himself in the feel of her lips on his. 

She didn't let up when his tickling ceased, and he found himself pressing closer, returning her spontaneous kiss with a seriousness he had not intended. Surprised at his own reaction, he broke away, staring down at her as she opened her eyes. 

"Not fair," he whispered breathlessly. "You fight dirty." 

"Me?" she squeaked, making no attempt to move away. "'Mercy' means 'stop', remember? You broke the rules first!" 

Pulse still racing, he gazed at her face, barely registering her words. Cheeks flushed, her brown eyes sparkled at him in the artificial lighting of the room, and he didn't realize she was waiting for an answer until a hint of worry crept into her expression. 

"Andros?" she asked tentatively. "I'm sorry... was that too much?" 

"What?" He gave her a startled look. "No," he assured her, when he realized what she meant. "No, I--" Andros blushed. "I liked it." 

Shifting to one side, he leaned on his elbow and watched her smile. When she was happy, it had a way of spreading from her mouth up into her eyes, and there was no expression he liked to see on her more. 

"You look just like you did when I woke up," she observed quietly, studying his face, and he realized he had been smiling back at her. "What are you thinking about?" 

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Could he tell really her? "Just that--" *I love you,* he thought, feeling his smile growing into a grin but powerless to stop it. "I can't believe how lucky I am," he said at last. 

They weren't the words he wanted to say, but they were ones that he had said before in some form or other, and he knew she wouldn’t laugh at them. He had dreamed yesterday, while they were on the escape pod, that she had called him "love"... coming from her, it had been the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. But it was only a dream, and he wasn’t sure he could bare his heart to her completely without knowing for certain how she felt. 

"Me too," she sighed, her eyes not leaving his. "Do you realize how close we came to never meeting each other at all?" 

He tried not to shiver at the thought, but the air seemed suddenly chilly against his bare arms. "I guess I owe DECA. A *lot*." 

She must have seen him tremble, because she flipped her own blanket over his shoulders. "Why DECA?" 

He freed his arm, letting it rest on top of the blanket and completely negating her purpose in putting it where it was. She made a face at him, and he shrugged self-consciously. "DECA is the one who brought your shuttle on board. I wasn't here--she made that decision on her own. And she and Alpha were the ones who convinced me to turn around after I dropped you guys off on..." 

Andros swallowed, unable to finish the sentence. "I came so close to giving up the best thing that ever happened to me." 

"You're not the only one," Ashley said softly. She slid her arm underneath her and pushed herself up onto one elbow, mirroring his position. "After the Power Chamber was destroyed on Earth? I almost didn't go into space with the others." 

"Why not?" he asked, hearing the sorrow in her voice. 

She looked down. "We had always been invincible--I never thought our team could be defeated. When the megazords fell, it was like a nightmare. But we had always survived before, and we kept going by never thinking farther ahead than the next minute or so. 

"Then, in the Power Chamber..." She took a deep breath, obviously reliving traumatic memories. "The pirahnatrons got into our supposedly impenetrable fortress, and there was nothing we could do except barricade ourselves in the command center and wait for them to come. TJ never seemed to give up, and Justin held together pretty well--but Carlos was scared, and that scared me. Cassie and I just held onto each other, until the doors started to bend inward--we got ready for a last stand, and then the ceiling collapsed..." 

Andros had never heard the whole story behind their flight into space, and he listened in horrified fascination. Ashley took a shaky breath, and he saw a tear escape. Without a second thought, he reached out and wiped it away. 

She leaned her head against his hand briefly, and he stroked her cheek, waiting to see if she would to continue. "The Power Chamber was blown to pieces," she said at last, and another tear fled down her face. "We survived the explosion, but our powers were gone, and Divatox would have hunted us down if not for Dark Spectre calling her off at the last minute to attend his gathering of evil. 

"I don't think I ever realized how real a possibility death was until that day," Ashley said, staring into his eyes. "We'd been in trouble before, and just as close to never coming back from a fight, but it was never so real as it was during our last battle as the Turbo Rangers." 

Pushing himself into a sitting position, he regarded her impatiently. "Sit up," he requested, and she gave him an questioning look that was spoiled only by her sniffle. 

"I can't hug you lying down," he explained. She let out her breath in a half-chuckle, brushing another tear away as she complied. 

He enfolded her in his arms, closing his eyes as she relaxed against him. After a moment, he asked quietly, "What made you change your mind? About going into space, I mean?" 

"They were going," she said simply. "My best friends in the world, my family for more than a year, the people I would've given my life for if I had to--they were going into space, and I couldn't let them go without me." Taking a deep breath, she added, "I sometimes wonder if Justin wasn't the most courageous of all of us, staying behind like that... Without the team, I wouldn't have known who I was anymore." 

Pulling back to look at him, Ashley said seriously, "There were all the noble reasons for leaving earth; all the things I tell myself at night--and then there was the simple fact that I didn’t want to be alone. I couldn't stand the thought of staring up at the stars every night and wondering about them." 

"That's called loyalty, Ash," he told her gently. "There's nothing wrong with it. Most people consider it a good trait, in fact." 

"It was selfishness," she whispered. 

Andros let his breath out all at once, giving her a wry smile. "And what I did wasn't? leaving you guys with the shuttle to be captured by Astronema, just because I thought I could do a better job of finding Zordon on my own?" 

"Big help we've been," Ashley muttered. 

"Hey," Andros said, alarmed by the derision in her voice. Tapping her chin, he forced her to look up. "We've survived, against incredible odds. We've stuck together. And we've done a lot of good as Astro Rangers. That's something that can never be diminished." 

She searched his expression for a moment, and a smile started to creep over her face. "You just said, 'we've stuck together.' The team is important to you too, isn't it?" 

"It didn't used to be," he admitted. "But now? Yeah. You guys are the best friends I've had in a long time--maybe ever. I can't imagine the Megaship empty again." 

"It won't be," she promised, drawing him into another hug. "You're right: we haven't done what we set out to do--yet--but we *have* made a difference, and we're all still together. The Megaship will never be empty so long as we're around." 

"That's what matters," Andros murmured into her hair, and she nodded. 

That sat and held each other in silence for a few moments, until he felt Ashley start to giggle. "What is it?" he whispered curiously, and her amusement only seemed to increase. 

"It can be sort of inconvenient sometimes, though," she managed to say, but the words didn’t increase his comprehension to any significant degree. 

Settling back to look him in the eye, she cocked her head at him, laughter glittering in her eyes. "Think of what the others will say, if they find out we--" she stumbled a little, but continued without too much stuttering, "spent the night together, here. We'll never hear the end of it..." 

She dissolved into giggles again at the expression on his face. "Especially after last night," she added, between breaths. 

He remembered the conversation on the Bridge all too well, despite the fact that he had tried to stay out of it as much as possible. He had assumed that denying Carlos's implications would only add credibility to them, and frankly, he had been too tired to care much at the time.

With a sigh, Andros offered, "I guess that means I should go, huh?" 

The laughter faded from Ashley's expression, and she reached out to lay her hand alongside his face. "I guess," she agreed reluctantly. "If we’re both late to breakfast, we’ll probably get some strange looks..." 

As if on cue, Andros's stomach rumbled threateningly. "Normally, that wouldn't stop me from enjoying your company for as long as you'd have me," he said ruefully, and smiled when she chimed in with a cheerful "forever!" 

"But," he continued, swinging his legs over the side of her bunk, "I think my stomach is going to rebel if I don't get something into it soon. And you're probably just as hungry." 

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I wasn't, until you said that. Thanks a lot." 

His smile widened, and he stood, extending a hand to help her to her feet. She joined him, and they walked slowly toward the door. It opened for them, and he hesitated in the doorway, not sure what to say. 

Ashley paused as well, brushing her hair out of her face. "Not exactly an average date," she suggested with a smile. 

"No," Andros agreed, watching her hair tumble back toward her face as soon as her fingers released it. "It was better." 

He was rewarded with that brilliant smile of hers, a look of delight that reminded him of a rainbow he had seen when he was much younger--a luminescent splash of color against the sunstreaked sky, glistening high over land so recently soaked by rain. 

"See you at breakfast," Ashley said softly, and he nodded. 

Andros headed down the corridor, trying not to look over his shoulder. When he reached his door, though, the temptation was too great, and he looked back. She was still standing there, a knowing smile on her face as she waved. 

***

At the other end of the hallway, Andros disappeared into his room. Closer, Ashley's door slid shut as well, and Carlos let out a sigh of relief. He gave himself to the count of ten before he poked his head out into the hall again, and found it clear. Stepping quietly into the corridor, he released his door, letting it slide shut just as TJ strode out of his own room. 

Carlos stopped, realizing even as he did so that that was more incriminating than anything. If he had just kept walking, no one would have been the wiser--so it made him feel better when TJ's confident saunter halted abruptly as soon as he caught sight of Carlos. 

"Did you--?" Carlos cocked his head toward the now-closed door from which both their friends had emerged, pitching his voice low enough that the sound shouldn't carry beyond the immediate hallway. 

"See that?" TJ finished for him, his tone equally quiet. "Yeah. What's going on with them?" 

Carlos shrugged. "You think I know? I haven't had time to talk to Ashley in days." *She’s always with Andros,* he added silently, but did not say as much. 

He and TJ just looked at each other for a moment. "It could be completely innocent," TJ offered at last. 

Carlos opened his mouth, then stopped himself, suspecting that TJ had been witness to far less of the encounter than he had. Carlos had stepped into the hallway just as Ashley's door opened, and he had almost called out to her before he saw Andros pause in her doorway--on his way out. They hadn't seemed to notice him, and Carlos had ducked back into his room without a word, catching the door so the noise of it sliding shut wouldn't alert them. 

Unfortunately, his stealth had made him an unwitting eavesdropper on their ensuing conversation. And the words they had exchanged convinced him that "innocent" was not the appropriate term. 

TJ must have seen some of that uncertainty on his face, for he pointed out, "And I suppose it's not really any of our business." 

"Who else is there?" Carlos objected, staring worriedly down the hall. 

TJ frowned. "What do you mean?" 

"On earth, she'd have her brother to watch out for her," Carlos said. "Or at least her parents. Out here, who do we have other than each other to look out for us?" 

TJ looked over his shoulder, as though he expected Andros or Ashley to be sneaking up on them while they spoke. "Let's get going before one of the others comes out and wants to know what we're talking about, all right?" 

Carlos nodded, and they made their way down the corridor. Neither said another word until they were in the lift and on their way. As soon as the doors closed, though, TJ turned to him and said, "Let me get this straight. You think Ashley needs someone to keep her out of trouble?" 

"Not exactly," Carlos protested, but TJ shook his head. 

"Carlos, she's almost a legal adult, and she's lived through more in the last few years than most people do in a lifetime. I think she can take care of herself." 

"I *know* she can," Carlos told him. "I just mean that sometimes we need our friends to tell us when we're making a mistake." 

He knew he'd worded that wrong when TJ's frown deepened. "No offense, man, but maybe you're a little too close to the situation. Ash and Andros can make their own decisions--it's not up to us to tell them what we think they should or shouldn't do." 

Carlos took a deep breath, letting TJ exit first as the lift doors opened. "It's not that," he told the other, as they headed for the Glider holding bay. "I'm happy for both of them--I just don't want Ashley to get hurt. That's all." 

TJ shot him a considering look. "You can't really think that Andros would do anything to hurt her." 

"Not intentionally," Carlos allowed. Inside the holding bay, he waited while TJ pulled a plate out of the Synthetron. "But I don't want to see her rushed into things she's not ready for, either." 

"By Andros?" TJ asked incredulously. 

"Look, Teej," Carlos said, not sure whether to be annoyed or amused, "Ashley is the closest thing I have to a sister, and her brother isn't here. It's practically my job to be suspicious of her boyfriend--I'm just trying to protect her. You'd do the same thing for Cassie." 

Removing his own breakfast from the Synthetron, Carlos didn’t see the pensive look that crossed TJ's face. "Point," TJ agreed at last, as Carlos joined him at the table. "All right; I can see that. Just remember that in the end, it *is* her decision." 

"What's whose decision?" Andros asked, walking into the bay. 

Carlos and TJ exchanged glances. Carlos shook his head once, and TJ straightened uncomfortably. "Cassie's decision," he supplied, "whether she comes to breakfast or not." 

"Yeah," Carlos chimed in, and Andros gave them a strange look. 

"Why wouldn't she?" he wanted to know, punching buttons on the Synthetron. 

"Well..." Carlos shrugged, knowing how obvious they sounded but equally aware that they couldn't tell Andros they'd been talking about him behind his back, either. "You know how worried she's been about Phantom." 

TJ gave him a look that plainly said, "That was *weak*" but he ignored it. Luckily, Andros seemed distracted as he came to sit down. "How is Phantom?" he wanted to know. "What exactly happened to you guys, anyway?" 

"Hey," Ashley's voice interjected from the doorway. "Don't start this story without me." 

Carlos looked up in time to see Ashley and Cassie wander into the room. His wasn't the only eye drawn to them, either; he saw Andros's gaze snap across the room as soon as Ashley spoke. 

"Hey, Ash, Cassie," Carlos said, and TJ greeted them as well. Andros nodded in their direction, but Carlos didn't miss the slight smile Ashley gave him. 

"Morning," Cassie replied to the room at large, lounging against the wall while Ashley got something to eat from the Synthetron. "You wouldn't *believe* how hungry I am right now." 

"Me too!" Ashley seconded, heading over to the table. "I am so ready for breakfast." Carlos watched her claim the seat across from Andros, and noted with interest the smiles the two exchanged as she sat down. 

As soon as Cassie had joined them, and before anyone could launch into a tale of yesterday's adventures, TJ lifted his glass. "Everyone, before I forget--a toast. To us, and to being together again." 

Carlos raised his own glass, and saw Cassie nod vehemently. "To being together," she agreed, holding up her juice. 

"To us," Carlos echoed, and heard Andros and Ashley chime in. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them clink glasses, and he smiled. Reaching over, he tapped his own glass against theirs, and Ashley laughed at him. Cassie joined in, and at the end of the table, TJ stood up with a grin and leaned across everyone's plates to make the group complete. 

"Not exactly back in time for lunch," Carlos said wryly, remembering Ashley's comment the morning before, and she laughed again, setting her glass down and giving him a friendly shove. 

"But back just the same," Cassie answered with a smile, "and that's what counts." 

"That and breakfast," TJ added, putting his glass down and diving into his food. 

Andros snorted. "At least *you* got dinner last night," he pointed out, picking up his fork. 

"And lunch," Ashley reminded them, between bites of her muffin. 

"What, are you going to fine us two meals?" Carlos kidded. 

TJ shot him a mock-glare over the rim of his glass. "Don't give them any ideas." 

The conversation lapsed as they all concentrated on eating, but it was an amiable silence, and Carlos found himself enjoying their companionship. It wasn't often that he stopped and thought about how incredible the bond they shared actually was, but times like yesterday made him remember how much they had to be thankful for. 

***

TJ finished eating first, and he took it upon himself to relate the happenings of the previous day. He had cause to regret it later, as everyone interrupted to tell their side as it came up, but at least the information got across. 

The rest of the team cleaned their plates as the story was told, and by the end they were all ready to head to the Bridge and assess the damage Divatox's army had caused. By common consent, they would not leave the safety of the sanctuary moon until the Megaship was repaired. 

"It's going to be tough to get external damage confirmed without scanners," Andros reminded them. "But we'll do what we can. Ash, why don't you get started on the starboard laser array." She gave him a quick nod, and he glanced around at the others. 

"Carlos, head belowdecks and check our hull integrity. I don't trust the electronic reports from that part of the ship--shielding is lower there, and with this damping field around us…" He trailed off, but no one needed him to elaborate. 

"TJ, Cassie, see what you can do in the engine room." Andros looked down at the datapad in his hand. "I'm going to try and locate the gateway that's supposed to be lurking around this asteroid." 

Ashley didn't head for the lift right away, and Carlos paused next to it. TJ and Cassie entered, and TJ held the door, looking at him questioningly. Carlos gave a slight shake of his head, and TJ let the door slide shut. 

"What was that about?" Cassie asked, as the lift hummed down to deck six. 

He hesitated. "I think Carlos just wanted to talk to Ashley about something." 

Her curious look increased in intensity. "Teej, you know something." 

"Why do you assume I know?" he exclaimed as the lift halted and the doors slid open. "It's none of my business!" 

Cassie's eyes narrowed. "*What's* none of your business?" 

He sighed, giving up. "Carlos and I saw Andros leaving Ashley's room this morning. *Early* this morning," he added, and he saw comprehension dawn in her expression. 

When she didn't have a reply, he stepped out of the lift, and they walked, still silent, toward the engine room. He glanced over at her as they entered, but a thoughtful look was the only indication that she was considering what he had said. 

Cassie paused just inside the door, folding her arms, and he waited for her to speak. At last, she inquired, "So what's Carlos's problem? They're old enough to make their own decisions." 

TJ shrugged. "He thinks Ashley needs someone watching out for her. I think he wants to make sure she's not being pressured into anything." 

"By *Andros*?" Cassie exclaimed, and TJ couldn't keep a grin off his face. 

"That was my reaction, too," he assured her, leaning against one of the cargo crates. "But you know how impossible it is to talk Carlos out of something once he's set his mind to it." 

Cassie nodded absently. After a moment, she asked, "Teej? What do you think?" 

He looked at her in surprise. "I thought you said they were old enough to make their own decisions." 

"That doesn't mean I think they're making the *right* decision," she answered slowly. "I just--don't know." 

"You don't have to," he reminded her. Then a thought occurred to him, and he shot a penetrating look in her direction. "You don't--do you?" 

She looked up, meeting his gaze with a frown. "What?" Her expression cleared seconds later, and she shook her head as she realized what he was asking. "No, I don't. I was just wondering." 

TJ sighed, shifting his weight against the crates. "Mostly, I think it's up to them. It's not my place to tell anyone how to live their life--I'm not them; I can't know what they know or how they feel." 

She nodded, but he knew he hadn't really answered the question. She had asked for his *opinion*. "Personally?" he said quietly, and Cassie glanced up again. "I'd wait. Again, maybe I'm not one to talk, but I believe that feelings like love take time, trust, and a lot of talking things out. I *don't* believe sex is something you do with someone you don't love, so I don't think it's something anyone should rush into." 

Cassie regarded him with the same thoughtful expression she'd had earlier, and he smiled, a little self-consciously. "Did that help any?" 

She nodded again. "Yeah, I think it did." She smiled back at him. "Thanks." 

"No problem," he responded, straightening. "But--" he pointed his index finger at her. "Don't tell Ashley we saw her and Andros this morning, okay? If they had wanted anyone to know, they wouldn't have come to breakfast separately." 

She drew an X over her heart. "Promise," she told him solemnly. "Let's get to work." 

They split up the diagnostics and started walking around the room in opposite directions. Nothing more was said about their two friends, and TJ let the readout on his datapad take over most of his conscious thought. 

There was surprisingly little damage, and after a while, he called over his shoulder, "You did a great job yesterday, Cassie. I think it was because of you that we still had hyperrush velocity when we headed for the sanctuary moon." 

There was no answer, and he turned around to seek her out. His eye finally caught her, on the other side of the room, almost hidden by the main engine core. She held her own datapad in front of her, but her head was tilted to one side at such an angle that she couldn't possibly be reading off of it. 

"Cassie?" TJ asked, making his way over to her. "Cass, are you okay?" 

She looked up suddenly at his approach, and he saw her eyes focus on him from somewhere far away. "Yeah," she said, giving her head a shake. "I was just…" 

"Daydreaming?" he suggested, smiling to show he was just teasing. 

Her return smile was weak, and his heart went out to her. "Cass--if you want to go up to the Medical bay, I'll cover for you here. There isn't as much damage as we expected; I think I can take care of this place." 

He could see the struggle inside her. She *wanted* to go, but at the same time, it went against everything they'd trained for to just take off in the middle of repair work. "It's okay," he promised. "I'll let you know if I need any help." 

"Oh, Teej," she said at last. Her eyes sparkled hopefully at him. "Would you, really?" 

"Of course," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "Go see if Phantom's doing any better." 

"Thanks so much," she said, and he could tell she meant it. "I owe you one, TJ." 

His shook his head. "You don't owe me a thing--that's what friends are all about. Now get out of here before I change my mind," he told her threateningly, and she wrinkled her nose at him. 

Tossing her datapad on a console, Cassie scrambled for the door. "Thank you!" she called again, waving from the doorway. 

He waved back, and she disappeared down the hall. He wouldn't see her for the rest of the morning. 

He did see Ashley, though--she came down more than an hour after Cassie left, wiping soot from her fingers. *Ashley is the only person I know who can get soot on her no matter what she's welding,* TJ thought, amused at her appearance. 

"Hey, TJ," she said, sitting on one of the crates stacked against the wall and bracing her elbows on her knees. "Can you redirect power from the starboard lasers for a while?" 

"Sure," he agreed, going over to auxiliary control bank. "Why didn't you just use your communicator?" 

She sighed. "The shielding's been disabled on the lower decks while Carlos patches a microfracture in the hull. The tools are okay so far, but the leakage from the damping field is wreaking havoc on my morpher." 

"More sensitive electronics," TJ offered, and she nodded. 

"That's what I figure. But Carlos better finish soon--I'm not sure how fast or even how far the damping field can affect our systems." 

"Will it be a problem?" TJ wanted to know, alarmed at the prospect of losing internal systems as well as external. 

Ashley shook her head. "Not as long as we get the shielding back up soon. Carlos knows he has a time limit; he'll let me know as soon as the shields are in place again." 

Reassured, TJ turned back to the console and started rerouting power. "How long do you want the lasers offline?" 

She shrugged. "Can I let you know when I'm done? I just need to test a few things." 

"Sure; no problem." Diverting the required energy flows, TJ tapped his access code into the panel and to authorize the changes. While the system reconfigured, he took a moment to study her. "Ash, are you okay? You look a little tired." 

She waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. It's probably just yesterday catching up with me." 

He drew in a breath, wondering whether he would make things worse by bringing this up. "Did you… Did Carlos talk to you?" 

Her head snapped up. "What do you know about that?" 

"Whoa." TJ held both hands out to his sides, surprised by the suddenness of her reaction. "Nothing; I was only asking. He mentioned earlier that he wanted to talk to you about something." 

To his surprise, a faint smile curved her lips. "You were the other person in the hallway this morning, weren't you." 

He tried his best to feign innocence, but she hadn't really been asking a question. "Carlos slipped up," Ashley explained, her tone colored by a hint of amusement. "He said 'we' saw Andros leave--I knew it had to be either you or Cassie, but I wasn't sure which." 

Lowering his hands, TJ admitted, "You got me. I apologize for spying on you; it was unintentional. I left my room just in time to see Andros standing in your doorway, and I thought it was better not to interrupt." 

Ashley rolled her eyes. "That's what Carlos said too. There was nothing to interrupt! You have every right to walk down the hallway, you know, no matter *who's* standing in it." 

"We just didn't want to embarrass you," TJ told her, and she stared at him for a moment. 

Finally, she nodded, the small smile on her face once more. "I'll take that the way I think it was intended," she said at last. "And thanks, by the way, for apologizing--Carlos didn't bother, and I think he heard more than you did." 

TJ raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear anything. I came out just as Andros was leaving." 

She nodded again. "Sorry for jumping on you, TJ. Leftover frustration with Carlos, I guess--he's a little overprotective. I appreciate your consideration, even if it wasn't necessary." 

"Carlos meant well," TJ said, feeling the need to defend his friend. "He just doesn't want you to get hurt." 

"By Andros?!" Ashley demanded. "You know as well as I do that Andros would never hurt *anyone*. He's not like that." 

"No," TJ conceded. "But Carlos was afraid…" He trailed off, realizing suddenly that he was arguing the same things he had tried to talk his friend out of earlier. 

"TJ, nothing happened," Ashley said, leaning back against the wall with a tired smile on her face. "I couldn't sleep last night, and neither could Andros, so he came to find me. We sat down together to talk, and we fell asleep. That's it." 

*And Andros went back to his room to change when he woke up this morning,* TJ realized, unable to deny that he was relieved. 

Ashley was watching the expression on his face. "Andros is really important to me," she told him quietly. "He's not ready for--that kind of thing. And neither am I. We're still figuring out this relationship, but I promise you, sex isn't a part of it." 

TJ looked at her steadily. "It's not really any of my business either way," he told her. "But I have to say I'm glad to hear that, Ash. And I'm really happy for you," he added with a smile. 

"Thanks," she replied half-heartedly, pushing herself to her feet again. "Are the lasers deactivated?" 

"They're off main power," TJ confirmed, glancing down at his console. "But they still have residual energy from the last time they were used stored inside--remember to discharge it before you do anything drastic to them." 

"I *know* that," she told him, and he frowned, watching her turn carefully toward the door.

"Hey, Ash," he called after her. "You're sure you're all right? Maybe you should take a break for a little while." 

She lifted a hand to wave over her shoulder. "I'm fine, TJ. I'll let you know when I need starboard weapon systems back online." 

He waved back, unable to pin down the nagging feeling of doubt he felt as he watched her leave.