Saryn insisted on accompanying them to Aquitar. She hadn't really expected any less. She was glad of his company, if only for the fact that she could keep any eye on him. He had barely spoken since the nightmares ended and he had managed to block her empathically to such an extent that she could only just tell he was there, let alone guess what he was feeling.

When she, Saryn, Zhane and Billy arrived in the Ranger dome's Medical bay, though, Cestria was waiting for them. The Yellow Aquitian Ranger insisted on treating Cassie's more serious injuries before any of the others, and for a few moments she was distracted by the regen setup.

That was all the time it took for Saryn to fall apart.

She saw the tears in his eyes when she had a chance to look up, and she recognized the conflicting emotions on his face. He was trying desperately not to let on what he was going through, but the ghosts of his teammates or the sudden overuse of his empathy or both were too much. He didn't bother to brush the tears away as they fell, and she looked around for Linnse urgently.

Cestria was taking care of Zhane's wrist while Billy looked on, but Linnse seemed to sense her regard. She glanced up, catching Cassie's eye and following her gaze to Saryn. Linnse straightened abruptly, a worried look on her face as she sidled over to him.

He turned his head away as she approached. Linnse touched his arm, obviously trying not to draw anymore attention to him than she had to. Cestria was saying something to Zhane, and neither of them was paying any mind to Saryn yet. Linnse might be hoping he could compose himself before anyone else realized something was wrong, but Cassie could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't going to be able to pull himself together. Not this time.

She took a slow breath, trying not to fidget and aching to go to him. The regen had her effectively trapped for as long as it ran, but she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around Saryn and protect him somehow. She tried to force her imagination into something like what he was feeling, but she couldn't picture her own friends dead and still imagine going on herself. She had heard that pain like that faded over time, but she wasn't sure...

Cestria had noticed. Billy looked up when she did. She saw Zhane's eyes widen as he followed their gaze, but Cestria only picked something up and joined Linnse. Cassie wished it was her there at his side, and Cestria's calm words only just penetrated. "Saryn, I'm going to give you a mild sedative."

He jerked away quickly enough that he bumped into Linnse, who reached out to steady him. He threw her arm off with more violence than the gesture warranted, backing away from both of them. "I do not need a sedative," he warned, a glint in his eye that could have been anger or just tears.

"You guys, leave him alone," Cassie interrupted, itching to get up and intervene. "He's okay; he'll be perfectly fine."

Linnse just held up her hands and shook her head, clearly giving up any say she had in the matter. Cestria hesitated, looking from her to Saryn. "It will only--"

"No," Saryn said. His voice shook, and he folded his arms defensively. Cestria didn't look convinced.

Regen finally released her, and Cassie suppressed a strange flash of déjà vu. Scrambling to her feet, she caught her breath as her chest twinged painfully. Even osteo regen couldn't knit bones back together in minutes, but Saryn was more important.

He was at her side before she could move, eerily silent in the quiet Medical bay. "Be careful," he whispered. The words were ragged, forced out only because he couldn't not say them, and she knew he hated this. He was still blocking her, but he hated to show weakness and she knew that breaking down like this in front of everyone was probably the last thing he had wanted.

"Come on," she said quietly, half pulling him toward the door and half leaning on him for the excuse to stay close. No one tried to stop them, and she breathed a sigh of relief when they were alone in the hallway. "Saryn?"

His head was bowed and he stared down at the floor as though it held all the answers in the universe. She couldn't see his face, but he was trembling and she knew he was still fighting a losing battle to stay in control. "Don't," she murmured, tugging him gently toward the lift at the end of the hall. "Don't do that, Saryn; just cry. You'll feel better."

He shook his head, but she couldn't tell if he was trying to refuse or disagree. She swallowed the words she had been about to say and let the silence linger until they reached the lift. He balked when she tried to pull him inside, though, and she stopped, just waiting.

"I can't," he whispered at last, lifting his free hand to his face at last. She reached up to help dry his tears, or at least pretend to, and the bleak look in his eyes worried her. "The others..."

The other Aquitians would probably be in the control room. At least he cared; that was a good sign. She reached out and touched the ruby lying against his chest, envisioning his room as best she could. The world wavered briefly before disappearing altogether, and she couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief when the room she had pictured appeared around them.

She saw Saryn smile weakly and knew he appreciated what she had done, no matter how unorthodox. But Tessa still had her morpher...

"Shh," she murmured, seeing him turn away from her. "It's okay." She slid her arms around him, wondering suddenly if he had cried at all for his friends four years ago. The fact that he still blamed himself made her wonder if he had ever had the chance to move on.

He shuddered, and his hands shook as he laid them over hers. His skin was cool and she hugged him harder, wanting to warm him up but not willing to let go long enough to find him a sweatshirt. He leaned back against her a little, and she could feel him crying as they stood there, locked together in an embrace that she wasn't going to end.

She didn't know how long she held him, or even how long he cried. She couldn't tell exactly when he stopped, though she caught his awkward yawn when he dragged his sleeve across his face for the dozenth time. Without a word, she pulled him toward the bed and sat down with him, watching for any sign of rebellion.

He didn't protest, even when she leaned back and tugged him down beside her. He was facing her this time, and it comforted her to see the exhaustion on his features. At least exhaustion was normal, even expected, and he no longer looked like he was struggling for his very soul.

She reached out to brush his hair gently away from his face, and she was rewarded with the faintest hint of a smile. She laid her hand lightly over his eyes and felt his eyelashes brush against her skin as he obeyed her unspoken admonition. He was too drained to do anything but follow right now, and if there was anyone he trusted implicitly to lead him it was her.

She realized suddenly that she was absolutely sure of that. She knew too that he was grateful, in a tired and almost distant way, for both her presence and her silent understanding. It wasn't just his emotional walls that had disintegrated; his mental barriers were gone too and she hadn't even noticed when it happened.

With his feelings so close she knew the moment he started to drift off, and it was odd to know he was dozing before he did. Full sleep claimed him soon after, and she wanted to lie there watching him all night. She wanted to stay near him, making sure nothing else threatened while he was so vulnerable. She wanted to be the first part of the real world he saw when he woke, to know what he felt when he opened his eyes. She wanted to feel him dream.

Unfortunately, her stomach wanted to feel food. The harder she tried to ignore it, the more strongly it reminded her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now long past dinnertime. She wasn't sure she could get up without disturbing him, but the hunger wouldn't let her stay.

He didn't move when she sat up, even when she edged toward the end of the bed and felt it shift under her as she stood. He wasn't that sound a sleeper, but something must be different this time for she would have known if he had woken.

He was still sleeping when she slipped out into the hall, the swish of the door sounding abnormally loud in the quiet corridor. She made her way down to the mess hall and found something to eat, sitting on the counter instead of taking a place at one of the empty tables. *Cetaci would probably have a fit,* she mused.

She headed for the control room afterward, pausing outside their door to make sure Saryn was still sleeping. He was, and for once he wasn't dreaming, so she kept going. It had to be past midnight on the Megaship and she didn't doubt the others were sleeping by now, but she thought she'd at least contact DECA and make sure everyone was all right.

To her surprise, though, Ashley's voice answered the comm signal. "Hey," Cassie greeted her, leaning against the console. "What are you still doing up, Ash?"

"Couldn't sleep," her friend answered. "What are *you* doing up? Zhane said Saryn was a little upset earlier; are you guys okay?"

"A little upset?" Cassie repeated, wondering what exactly Zhane had told them.

"Yeah. He said, and I quote, 'Saryn was a little upset and Cassie hauled him off somewhere to calm him down.' Then Zhane started complaining about his food, and that was the end of it."

Cassie smiled to herself. Every now and then, Zhane surprised her. "I think Saryn was just freaked out by seeing his old teammates again. He's sleeping now, so I went to get something to eat. I thought I'd check in with DECA before I went to bed too."

She heard Ashley sigh. "Darn. I was hoping for some company."

"Really?" She had assumed that if Ashley was up, Andros was nearby. They each seemed to know instinctively when the other was awake. "What are you doing?"

Ashley sounded a little sheepish as she admitted, "Painting my nails. After today, it's kind of comforting to do something so..."

"Normal," Cassie finished softly.

"I was going to say 'unimportant', but yeah, that," Ashley agreed, a grin in her voice. "Want to join me?"

She hesitated, thinking of Saryn. She really didn't want him to wake up alone after tonight, but she could always come back to Aquitar later. He was tired enough that he wasn't going to be waking up any time soon anyway. "Sure," she said finally. "Are you in your room?"

"In the hallway," Ashley corrected. "The light's better out here."

Cassie smiled, though she knew Ashley couldn't tell over the audio link. "I'll see you in a minute, then."

"Right," Ashley agreed.

Not for the first time, she found herself missing her morpher as she went over to the teleportation controls. She set the mechanism to target the Megaship, waiting the brief moment for it to detect the battleship at one of the orbital stations and compensate for the station's distance and velocity. It flashed a ready signal just as the door behind her slid open.

She turned, and the figure in the doorway hesitated. "I did not realize anyone was still awake," Aura offered, looking as though she might turn and go back the way she had come.

"No, come in," Cassie said quickly, a little disconcerted when she realized she was inviting the other Ranger into her own command center. "I was just checking in with the Megaship."

"Your teammates are all well, I hope," Aura said, still waiting in the doorway.

She smiled. "Yeah. DECA's taking good care of them. How are *you* feeling? I heard you took a pretty bad blow on Dark Spectre's ship."

Aura lifted a hand to her neck automatically, but stopped just short of touching the angry gashes in her skin. "I am... all right. I am told the poison has finally dissipated, and the Power has already started to heal--this."

"I bet it still hurts, though," Cassie said sympathetically. "I know how that feels."

"Whenever I move wrong," Aura agreed, stepping out of the doorway at last and allowing the door to slide shut behind her. "I did not find out what happened to you."

"I had a close encounter with the status console." She turned one of the swivel chairs around, sitting down on the edge of it carefully. "After the Megaship lost shields, the inertial damping couldn't compensate, and Linnse and I got thrown around some."

"But you are all right?" Aura asked. "And the Megaship will recover?"

"Yeah," Cassie said, watching her walk slowly across the room. "We're going to have to replace the engine core, but I think everyone's going to be okay. Hey, Aura..." She couldn't help smiling a little. "We won."

Aura sighed, leaning back against the comm console. "I suppose we did," she murmured.

Concerned, Cassie sat forward, ignoring the ache in her chest as best she could. "Are you all right?"

Aura shifted, but refused to meet her eye. "I do not wish to discuss it."

She drew back a little, trying not to be hurt. "Okay. Sorry." It would have been the perfect time to make some excuse and leave, but she didn't want Aura to think she was offended. Besides, she realized suddenly, Aura still hadn't done whatever she had come into the control room for--and she hadn't left either. Maybe she wanted the company.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Finally, Cassie offered, "I like your clothes. I know this is a silly question, but--are those pajamas?"

"Pajamas," Aura repeated, as though she had never heard the word before. She glanced down at her red sleeveless shirt over darker longsleeves and loosely fitted pants. "They are... the clothes I sleep in, if that is what you mean."

"Yeah, that's what I meant," Cassie said with a smile. She could see the faint shine to the material, and she'd bet they were good for swimming in too. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

Aura shook her head wordlessly.

Cassie considered her for a minute, trying to decide why the other seemed different. "I almost don't recognize you without your Ranger uniform," she said, but even as she spoke she knew that wasn't it. Aura looked... disconsolate.

With that word, the girl's attitude crystallized in her mind. Aura wasn't just tired, or restless, she was depressed. She had never seen the Red Ranger look that way before, but Aura's quiet reply only confirmed it. "I do not feel much like a Ranger tonight."

"No?" she asked idly, trying to sound casual. Aura had already made it clear that she wasn't going to talk about anything directly, and long experience with Saryn told her that pouncing wouldn't get her anywhere.

Aura didn't answer at first, but finally she shook her head again. "No," she admitted. "I have treated a friend... badly."

"Friendship doesn't fade because of a few angry moments," Cassie reminded her, paraphrasing the very words Aura had said to her not so long ago.

There was no recognition on Aura's face, despite her reply. "You do not know what I said."

Cassie fought the urge to smile at the repetition of their earlier conversation. "Maybe your friend doesn't care," she suggested gently. "Sometimes all it takes is for you to mean it when you say you're sorry."

Aura sighed. "I told him I did not wish to be his friend anymore."

That brought her up short. "Oh," she murmured, for lack of anything better.

"I did not mean to," Aura said miserably. "He upset me, and then he would not leave me alone... I spoke before I thought. It is a failing of mine."

"If it's a failing, it's one we all have," Cassie told her. "Sometimes you just have to say what you're feeling."

"I wish I had not." Aura folded her arms across her chest, looking defensive and regretful at the same time. "I do not know what to do," she muttered.

She didn't know what advice to give, but she did know that Aura didn't look like she wanted to be alone. "Come with me," Cassie offered impulsively. "I'm going up to the Megaship to hang out with Ash; you should come. We'll talk about how annoying men are and how they make us say stupid things."

Aura actually smiled a little at that, but she shook her head. "I can not go to the Megaship."

"Why not?" Cassie pressed. "It'll be good for you. There's nothing like a little womanly solidarity to lift your spirits, I promise."

"I can not," Aura repeated. "It is not because of you, Cassie."

"What, does your secret guy friend not approve of us?" she teased gently. "We just won a huge battle against the forces of evil; you'd think he could be a little more forgiving."

"It is not that," Aura said softly. "If anything, it is the opposite."

A chime announced the arrival of the lift, and before Cassie could puzzle that out the door had slid open to admit two of Aura's teammates. Cestria and Billy were hand in hand, standing just a little too close, clearly enjoying each other's presence and just as clearly not expecting to find anyone else in the control room.

"Oh," Billy said, taking a step away from Cestria as he caught sight of them. They let go of each other's hands abruptly, sharing a guilty glance that Cassie didn't quite understand. "We didn't know--we didn't think anyone else was still awake."

"Do not let us interrupt you," Aura said quickly. "We were just leaving." She turned pleading eyes on Cassie, and Cassie scrambled to her feet.

"Yeah, we're just going to go... check on the Megaship. You two--have a good night." She saw Billy's puzzled glance as she grabbed Aura's hand and triggered the teleportation controls, but there was no time for anything else before the world turned into swirls of light around her.

When the Glider holding bay reformed around them, though, she looked at Aura curiously. "What was that about?"

Aura pulled her hand out of Cassie's. "They are trying not to hurt me, I think. But their kindness is worse than their indifference would be."

She frowned, wondering if she hadn't been so far off with her teasing about a "secret guy friend". "Aura," she said slowly. "This friend of yours... you really like him, don't you."

Aura caught her eye unhappily but didn't answer.

"Well, if he doesn't realize how lucky he is," Cassie declared, "I'm not sure you should be with him anyway. Now come on; let's go find Ashley."

Only when Aura's silent footsteps followed her did she remember that her friend was barefoot. "Oh, I'm sorry," she exclaimed, coming to a halt. "I saw you were barefoot back in the control room, but I forgot--are you okay with the decking? It isn't exactly coral..."

"No," Aura agreed, glancing down at the metal deck. "But I do not mind. Thank you, but this is not so foreign as you may believe. Our zords are made of metal, after all."

"You don't go barefoot in your zord," Cassie pointed out.

Aura actually shrugged. "I do not mind. We are a race of swimmers," she added, when she saw that Cassie was not convinced. "We are more used to going shoeless than you, I think."

Cassie hesitated, but she wasn't going to cheer Aura up by arguing with her. So she let it go, though she shot occasional glances at the other Ranger as Aura padded along beside her. She seemed perfectly comfortable, and as the lift doors opened onto deck five Cassie let herself forget about it altogether.

As promised, Ashley was waiting in the hallway outside her room. She sat cross-legged on a folded blanket, leaning against the wall and contemplating the back of her hand. She looked up at the sound of the doors, and her smile welcomed them both. "Hi guys," she greeted them, not sounding at all surprised to see Aura with Cassie.

"Hey," Cassie said. "Let's see!"

Ashley held up her hand obediently, and the gold sparkles on her nails reflected the bright light of the hallway. "Nice," Cassie approved. "Do you ever paint your nails, Aura?"

Aura gave her a doubtful look. "Cestria does sometimes. I do not."

"Want to?" Ashley invited, holding her hands out in front of her as she climbed to her feet. "Cass, want to unfold that blanket? My nails aren't dry yet."

Cassie shook the blanket out and spread it across the hallway, suppressing a giggle as it stretched from wall to wall. "What's so funny?" Ashley wanted to know, settling herself on the floor again.

"I was just thinking," Cassie began, motioning to Aura to join them.

"Yeah, you're right," Ashley interrupted impudently. "That is funny."

Cassie made a face at her, sitting down next to her friend. "Very funny. I was thinking that the best thing about you and Andros going out is that we don't have to worry about him complaining about this kind of thing anymore."

Ashley giggled. "I just bat my eyelashes and he does anything I want?"

"You know he does," Cassie said, grinning at her expression. She glanced over at Aura as the other girl shifted, realizing that maybe this wasn't the best topic. "Aura, hold out your hand."

As she reached for Ashley's nail polish, though, Ashley scrambled to her feet again. "Wait, don't use that," she said. "Hang on. I'll be right back."

She disappeared into her room, and Cassie shook her head. "She's probably finding red nail polish for you," she told Aura, amused.

Aura looked a little uncertain. "I am not sure this is a good idea."

"You can take it off," Cassie assured her. "If you don't like it, just say so. Sometimes it's more fun just to paint your nails than it is to actually wear them that way."

"Here we go," Ashley announced, emerging from the door with a plastic container full of nail polish bottles of varying sizes. "If you're going to paint your nails, you might as well have options."

"Do you think you have enough there?" Cassie teased. She gave the box a cursory inspection, pretending to be disappointed. "I'm surprised you don't have polka dots."

"No polka dots," Ashley admitted. "But I do have stickers."

Cassie shook her head, and Ashley laughed. "My aunt works for a cosmetics chain," she told Aura. "Anything that gets scratched or chipped doesn't meet their standards anymore, so they throw it away. Or they give it to the employees," she added. "So I get it for free whenever my aunt comes to visit."

Aura cocked her head. "You are not provided with what you need by your people?"

Cassie shot a covert glance at Ashley, and found her friend returning the puzzled look. Before either of them could answer, though, Aura corrected herself. "Of course not; I must apologize for my question. Carlos said the people of Earth do not know who their Rangers are."

"No," Ashley agreed. "You mean--your people give you what you want, instead of you paying for it or something?"

"We pay for it with our service," Aura said, as though it should be obvious. "It is our job to defend our planet, just as it is the job of others to provide food for our people, or to build, or to create clothing."

"Wow," Cassie said after a moment. "Rangering as a career. I never thought of it that way before."

"I have never thought of it any other way," Aura replied. "Things must be... very different, on Earth."

"I'll say." Ashley picked up a little bottle of nail polish, holding it out toward Aura and comparing it to her skin critically. She put it back and picked another one, repeating the process. "Have you seen Earth? More of it than the lake in Angel Grove, I mean?"

"Have you seen more of Aquitar than the Ranger dome?" Aura asked, watching warily as Ashley played with the nail polish bottles.

Ashley grinned. "Good point. Here, what do you think of this color?"

"I... like it?" Aura offered tentatively, as though she wasn't sure that was the right answer.

"Cool." Ashley squirmed around to face Aura, unscrewing the top of the bottle. "Hold out your hand."

"Why don't we trade tours sometime?" Cassie suggested, as Ashley pressed her fingernails to her lips to make sure they were dry. "Maybe you could show us some more of Aquitar, and we'll show you Angel Grove."

Aura gave her an odd look, but she let Ashley turn her hand over and spread her fingers apart. "I may not know much about your world, but I am aware that I would not be... inconspicuous among your people."

"So what?" Ashley asked. She didn't look up from her careful application of the brush to Aura's fingernails. "Cestria probably goes to Earth all the time, and you don't see *her* on the news."

Cassie saw Aura stiffen. "I am not Cestria."

"Don't move," Ashley chided, not seeming to notice the other girl's tension.

"Of course you aren't," Cassie added. "Ashley just means that there are people on Earth who'd be happy to see you. And there are plenty of places to go in Angel Grove where you don't have to see anyone at all. It would be fun."

"We could get Carlos to come with us, too," Ashley put in. "You two are pretty good friends, right? Maybe the four of us could do some sightseeing next weekend or something."

If Cassie hadn't been watching Aura's reactions after the Cestria comment, she would have missed the way Aura's eyes widened at that suggestion. "I do not think that is a good idea," the other girl said, her calm voice at odds with her words.

Ashley paused, lifting the brush out of the way and giving Aura a puzzled look. "Why not? He's always talking about what you two are doing and how much fun you're having. It's funny," she added, "but sometimes I think he talks about you more than he does about Karen."

She had obviously intended the words to be taken lightly, but Aura just looked away. Watching her, and hearing Ashley's blithe statement a moment before, something clicked into place in Cassie's mind. "Carlos," she realized aloud. "Aura... Carlos wasn't the friend you were talking about before, was he?"

Ashley frowned at her, then at Aura. "What do you mean?"

Aura swallowed, lifting her hand out of Ashley's grasp. "I should go," she muttered.

"No," Cassie said quickly. "Aura, don't leave. I should have noticed before--Carlos has always been terrible at dealing with women."

"Hey!" Ashley exclaimed. Then her eyes narrowed, and she looked at Aura again. "Wait--he likes you? Is that what this is about?"

"Yeah," Cassie agreed, remembering the way Carlos had held Aura almost constantly throughout the afternoon. He had volunteered to go after her in her nightmare, comparing their relationship to Billy and Cestria's. "He does like her, but he hasn't told her, and now Aura thinks he doesn't."

"He does not," Aura insisted, sounding almost on the verge of tears. Cassie put an arm around her automatically, hugging the other girl without regard for her usual reluctance to touch. "He has no feelings for me beyond friendship," Aura murmured, making no move to pull away. "He has told me so himself."

Ashley sighed, setting down the nail polish and resting a hand on Aura's shoulder. "Aura, guys always say that. It's how they avoid getting hurt. I was serious when I said he talks about you more than Karen, even if I didn't think about what it meant."

"I do not wish to compete with another," Aura muttered. "I will not vie for the affection of someone who has already indicated he has no interest in me. It is not fair to his girlfriend, and it is a waste of my time."

Cassie tried not to laugh. "That's the spirit."

"You're not helping," Ashley informed her wryly.

Cassie shrugged, giving Aura a last hug before letting her go. "If he won't tell her how he feels, why should she have to chase him? Let him know what it feels like."

"If she doesn't chase him, he might never know how *she* feels," Ashley pointed out.

"He knows," Aura interjected softly. "Believe me, he knows how I feel."

"Chasing?" A new voice broke into the conversation, and the three of them looked up at once. Kerone stood at the near end of the hallway, regarding them with an interested look on her face. Cassie hadn't even heard the lift doors open. "Is this something I can help with?"

Cassie snuck a quick look at Aura, whose wide eyes and faint shake of the head were all the answer she needed. Luckily, Ashley had seen it too, for the Yellow Ranger just laughed and waved Kerone over to join them. "Definitely. We need a lot of help. Or at least they do," she amended, giving Cassie and Aura an amused glance. "They can't pick nail polish colors to save their lives."

"Hey!" Cassie objected. "I haven't even picked one yet!"

"That's my point," Ashley agreed. "You're too indecisive. Kerone can help you; she's good at that kind of thing."

"Making decisions, or coordinating nail polish?" Cassie asked.

Kerone drew their attention with a simple wave of her hand. She turned her hand over and regarded it carefully for a moment, then held it up for inspection. Her fingernails, which had been natural only a moment before, were now a light blue-violet that matched her blouse.

Ashley laughed. "Both, I'd say. Here, Aura, let me finish your nails."

Kerone hesitated by the edge of the blanket. Cassie thought she would sit down, but a sudden movement at the edge of her awareness distracted her. As quickly as she turned her head, though, she couldn't catch anything from the corner of her eye, and she realized suddenly who it had to be.

*Saryn,* she scolded, knowing that whisper of motion meant that he was listening for her thoughts. *You're supposed to be sleeping.*

*You're not here,* he answered simply, his voice resonating inside her mind and excluding everything else. *The room feels wrong. I wish to be with you.*

He sounded as in control as ever, but his words had an oddly forlorn quality to them that she couldn't ignore. *I'm with Ashley and Aura and Kerone on the Megaship,* she thought, trying to keep her words clear and slow enough for him to pick up. *You'd be right in the middle of girl talk.*

*I wish to be with you,* he insisted.

"Cassie?" Finally she realized that Ashley was trying to get her attention. "Cass, are you all right?"

She gave her head a shake. She didn't know why she still thought that would help, but she couldn't help doing it. "Yeah, I'm fine; sorry. Saryn..." She hesitated, not sure how much she could say without giving herself away. "Saryn's awake. He's going to come up here."

Ashley gave her an odd look. "How do you know?"

"Because I know him," she said lightly, avoiding Kerone's gaze. "He'll probably teleport right into the hallway, wearing the same clothes he wore all day except without his boots, looking all sleepy and cute..."

She trailed off when she realized the others were all looking at her. "Well," she said defensively, "I just know. That's how."

Ashley just laughed, laying Aura's right hand on her knee and reaching for her left. "Right, Cass. Whatever you say."

Saryn's sudden presence prevented her from having to reply to that, but the fact that he arrived exactly the way she had described earned an amused look from Kerone and another giggle from Ashley. He paid no attention to either, sitting down beside her and leaning back against the wall. She stared at him as he closed his eyes. "You came all the way up here just to go to sleep again?"

His eyes flickered open and he regarded her for a moment. "You said it was 'girl talk'," he reminded her. "I do not see what you expect me to contribute to such a conversation. My only motive in coming was to be near you."

She sighed, hard-pressed to argue with that kind of logic. "That's sweet," she murmured, tilting her head to kiss him gently. He smiled at her, then settled back against the wall.

"Saryn," Ashley said suddenly, interrupting the momentary silence.

Without moving, he opened his eyes again and looked at her.

"You worked for your government on Elisia, right?" she asked. Cassie frowned a little, not sure that was a good subject to bring up right now, but Ashley ignored her. "And you're part of the Frontier Defense now--I mean, you help run it and stuff?"

Saryn nodded once, not taking his eyes off of her.

The look on Ashley's face went from one of idle interest to suppressed triumph. She was clearly struggling to keep a straight face. "So in other words, you're a politician."

Cassie tried not to giggle. Saryn was so opposite of any politician that she'd ever met that she couldn't help but find the observation funny. She knew where Ashley was going with it, though, and the idea that his formal words and pretty sentences were a result of his "career" was equally amusing.

Saryn stopped Ashley before she could get to that point aloud, however. "I am a diplomat," he said firmly. "It is different." He closed his eyes, effectively signaling the end of his participation in the conversation.

Ashley might have continued anyway if the lift doors hadn't parted at that moment to reveal TJ. "Hey," he greeted them. "I didn't think anyone would still be up when I got back."

Cassie gave Ashley a puzzled glance, and her friend explained, "TJ took Ali home tonight so their parents wouldn't worry. Jeff and Justin went back with them in the Mega Vs."

"Plus Emily and Rocky," TJ added, tossing Ashley her morpher. "They have classes tomorrow too. Tessa's the only one who's still here. Cassie, catch."

Cassie held up her hands for her morpher, and TJ tossed it in her direction. "I guess I'll have to catch everyone else in the morning," he said, dropping the last three morphers on their blanket and sitting down next to them. "Is this a private girls' party that I'm interrupting here?"

Ashley was giving a negative shake of her head even as TJ glanced pointedly at Saryn. "Oh, hi, Saryn," he said. "Didn't even see you there. It must be the hair; you blend right in."

"TJ!" Cassie gave him a shove, but he just grinned unrepentantly at her. Saryn didn't even open his eyes, not deigning to respond.

"So, who are we missing?" TJ continued, looking around. "Tessa must be in bed, like any smart, normal person. I knew I liked her for a reason. Carlos isn't here, or Andros or Zhane, although they hardly count as normal--"

This time Ashley hit him, and he laughed. "Okay, okay, I can take a hint. I'll behave. So what's going on?"

"Hold out your hand and I'll show you," Ashley suggested sweetly.

TJ rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Nice try."

Rooting around in Ashley's box, Cassie picked one of the pinks at random. Kerone offered to change TJ's nails for him, and she laughed at TJ's horrified expression. "Maybe you should tone down the sarcasm, Teej," she suggested, leaning back against the wall. "Nail polish isn't something to mess around with."

"Nail polish is just like girls," he grumbled. "Pretty and impossible to--" He closed his mouth abruptly as a door opened down the hall, and Cassie turned to follow his gaze.

Ashley laughed as Tessa poked her head out into the hallway. "What were you going to say, TJ?"

"Nothing, nothing," TJ said hastily, jumping to his feet. "Sorry, Tess; are we being too loud?"

She shook her head sleepily, stepping out into the hall and wandering in their general direction. "No... I just--" She was interrupted by a yawn. "I heard your voice and wanted to make sure everyone got back all right..."

"Yeah, they're all okay," he assured her, hovering at her side as she tried to decide whether to sit down or not. "Although my parents were kind of appalled by how late Ali was getting back. I don't think she'll be going to school tomorrow."

Cassie heard Kerone giggle, and looked over at her in time to see Ashley look away innocently. The Yellow Ranger caught her eye and mouthed, "Tell you later."

TJ gave them a suspicious look. "What are you saying about me?"

"That I hope you talked to your uncle while you were on Earth," Ashley replied promptly. "My mom's going to call in for me and Cassie, but it would look a little strange if she said, 'Oh, and TJ and Carlos won't be in school today either.'"

"Ooh," Tessa said softly, reaching for Ashley's box. "Nail polish..."

"You're not awake enough to put on nail polish," TJ told her, diverted. "Give me that."

"Since when are you a nail polish expert, TJ?" Cassie asked, not looking up from her own fingernails.

"Since Halloween last year," he informed her.

"That's quick-dry," Ashley told Aura. "You're probably safe with it by now. Here, touch your fingernails to your lips and see if they feel sticky."

TJ shook his head, applying the nail polish Tessa had chosen to her fingernails in a painstaking fashion. "Why do you do that? I've never understood that."

"Because your lips won't leave a mark if it isn't dry," Ashley replied. "Duh," she added, grinning when he rolled his eyes at her.

Aura did as she was told, studying her hands carefully.

"Looks good," Ashley pronounced. "Do you like it? It's easy enough to take off if you don't."

"Thank you," Aura said slowly, still looking at her hands. "I... am not sure."

Ashley gave her a smile. "Fair enough. Just let me know when you decide."

"Have we met?" Tessa asked curiously, looking over TJ's shoulder at Aura. "Or am I just really, really tired and I don't remember you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," TJ said, looking up. "Tessa, this is Aura, the Red Ranger for the Aquitian team. Aura, this is Tessa. She was flying Mega V5 today."

"It's nice to meet you," Tessa said. She looked a little more awake when she smiled, and Aura nodded in return.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well," the Aquitian Ranger replied politely. "I did not witness much of the battle, but I am told the Mega V pilots performed admirably. Thank you for being a part of our fleet."

Cassie glanced over at Tessa and was amused to see her blush. "Thanks," Tessa murmured, looking down at her hands.

Ashley followed her gaze and shook her head. "TJ, what are you doing?"

TJ looked up. "What do you mean? I'm painting her nails."

"Yeah, silver-blue!" Ashley exclaimed.

"So?" TJ demanded. "That's the color she wanted!"

Ashley sighed. "Tessa, you know you're a spring, right?"

Tessa didn't answer right away. "Oh, for colors, right," she said at last. "Sorry; it's too late to think about things like that. Yeah, why?"

"Because that's a winter color," Ashley said patiently. "Kerone, can you make that sky blue or turquoise or something?"

Kerone was lying on the blanket, watching the activity with her chin on her hands. At Ashley's request, she reached out and touched the little glass bottle in TJ's hand. With a swirl of purple sparks, the nail polish in the bottle and on Tessa's fingernails lightened and shifted toward the greener side of blue.

A smile spread across Tessa's face. "That must be so handy. Thanks, Kerone."

Kerone just shrugged, returning to her original position. "You're welcome."

Finishing her last fingernail, Cassie set down the nail polish carefully and inspected her hands. Turning them slightly, she saw something she hadn't noticed before. "Kerone," she asked, amused when her nails caught the light, "you didn't do anything to this nail polish, did you?"

Kerone rolled over on one side so she was facing her. "Tessa's is the only one I touched. Why?"

"Because it isn't pink," Cassie said, holding her hand up.

TJ glanced in her direction. "Looks pink to me," he remarked, returning his attention to Tessa.

"Okay, it's pink," Cassie agreed. "But look. It shines purple."

Ashley laughed. "I forgot I had that. It does look pink, until you look closely. It has purple sparkles in it."

"Hold out your hands," Kerone suggested. She did, and violet streamers of light wound briefly through her fingers.

When it faded, Cassie tilted her hands again. As the overhead lights illuminated her fingernails she laughed. "Thanks!" Faint red sparkles had replaced the violet, making the pink color appear to gleam in the light.

She glanced at Saryn automatically and found him looking back. She held out her hands, and he smiled. He caught one hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing her fingers gently.

"Cassie," Ashley's voice interrupted. "We're making a color wheel; come on."

"A color--" She glanced over her shoulder and laughed. "Oh."

She squeezed Saryn's hand and then let go, edging away from the wall to sit next to the other girls in the middle of the blanket. She put her right hand down in the space they'd left for her, between Kerone and Aura. Red, gold, turquoise, violet and pink fingernails adorned the circle of hands.