The connection slipped, and she hissed in exasperation. She felt Andros shift behind her, and she paused long enough to glare over her shoulder. "You need to stop fidgeting," she informed him, doing her best to keep her voice calm.

"Do you want me to try?" he asked, her own impatience reflected in his eyes.

"No, I certainly *don't* want you to try." She stopped abruptly, trying to tell herself that he hadn't meant the offer to sound condescending. It was only her frustration that was making her snap. "I can do it. Just stop distracting me."

The words were out before she thought, and he gave her a wounded look. She sighed, knowing it wasn't *his* fault that his presence was driving her to distraction. Or maybe it was--he shouldn't have kissed her out in the desert; that had been completely unfair.

Now those few moments when his mouth had caressed hers were all she could think about whenever he was close, and unfortunately with his injuries Laura wouldn't let him help clear debris. So she was stuck with him while she tried to hotwire the bay doors. She wasn't sure which of them was being less effective, at this point.

"I'm sorry," she muttered reluctantly, turning back to the exposed control panel. "I'm just tired, that's all. I didn't mean to sound so... you know."

"It's all right." He sounded as though he might say something more, but he must have thought better of it. She tried to focus on the wiring again, pretending she wasn't aware of every movement he made at her side.

Finally, the routers began to cooperate and she twisted the new power coupler into place. It was a temporary fix at best, but it might let the doors open and close a few more times without major repair. She breathed a sigh of relief, almost bumping into Andros as she stepped back.

"Done?" he asked, steadying her with a hand on her arm.

Before she could even nod, her communicator came to life. There was no chime of a private transmission, just a general override signal from one of the other Rangers. She didn't have to acknowledge to hear Matt's voice tell them, "We've got the routing system back up. We're going to try to fire up the generator, so everyone who's working on control panels? Take a few long steps back. Thanks."

Andros gave her arm a gentle tug, and she moved a little farther from the control panel obediently. He didn't take his hand off of her arm, and the seconds while they stood there waiting seemed to stretch out. She didn't dare catch his eye, afraid she would see something she didn't know how to deal with in his expression... but she didn't pull away, either.

Then the lights came on, and power flooded into the zord bay as the generator came back online. She heard the subtle vibration through the walls, and her gaze went involuntarily toward the doors. The jury-rig had held--the bay doors were rumbling slowly open.

She heard Laura give a whoop of joy, and she laughed aloud. "Go Justin!" she shouted, lifting a triumphant fist into the air. Laura echoed her from the other side of the bay, and she heard TJ cheering too.

She turned to grin at Andros, delighted to see him smiling back--and then her breath caught as he pulled her into an impulsive hug. She laughed again, hugging him back, and his embrace tightened. He didn't let go, and it took her a moment to realize that she was clinging just as hard to him.

The oddest sense of déjà vu flickered through her. Could he really know something about the two of them that she didn't? Something whispered in her mind, some possessive instinct that she didn't fully recognize, and it urged her not to let this precious soul slip away from her.

She drew back and he let her, returning her wide-eyed stare with a wistful look of his own. "Did you feel that?" she whispered, searching his expression. For the first time, she wished she knew exactly what he had seen in his "vision".

He let go of her shoulder and lifted one hand to her face, touching her lips gently with one finger. He didn't shush her, as she had first expected, only ran his finger across her mouth. It was as though he hadn't even heard her.

His gaze lifted to hers again, and she held her breath. He leaned a little closer and her heart was pounding as she tilted her face toward his, inviting the kiss he so clearly yearned to share. She wanted to feel his mouth on hers again, too...

"Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Carlos demanded.

She started, jerking away from Andros guiltily. Her heart raced as she tried somehow to draw a breath, eyes darting from one to the other and back again. She saw Laura in the periphery of her vision, hesitating by the nearest piece of debris, probably trying to decide whether she ought to get involved or not.

"I--It isn't what it looks like," she managed, hating the cliché even as she heard herself say it. "Really Carlos, I--"

"Great!" Carlos rolled his eyes heavenward, overriding her half-hearted attempt at explanation. "I'm glad it's not what it looks like, because that way I can tell myself that you didn't just have your arms around Stripey here--no offense, Andros--and you weren't just about to kiss him! It was all just a product of my overactive imagination! Thanks, Ash, I feel *so* much better knowing that 'it isn't what it *looks* like'!"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes stung and she blinked quickly, trying frantically to figure out what had just happened. She hadn't been thinking, but it hadn't *seemed* like she was doing anything wrong--how could she have done this to Carlos?

"Oh, don't cry," he said disgustedly. "I don't need this right now."

She lowered her head, feeling the tears spill out despite her best efforts and trying not to let him see. She felt Andros stiffen at her side, and he spoke while she tried to get herself under control. "You have every right to be upset," he told the Black Ranger, voice hard. "But you don't have a right to hurt someone else just because you're angry! What's wrong with you? Can't you see she's sorry?"

"What wrong with *me*?" Carlos exclaimed. "What the hell is wrong with *you*! You've been after her since you got here! Don't you people understand what 'taken' means?"

She swallowed, trying not to sniff as she rubbed at her eyes fiercely. From what she'd heard, Carlos wasn't as far from the truth as he probably thought. She wanted to defend Andros, but again he beat her to the reply.

"'My people' believe that trust is more important than possession," Andros said softly, his voice cold. "I'm in love with your girlfriend, and I'm sorry if I misinterpreted your cultural taboos somehow. I didn't realize it was up to you to decide whether she reciprocated or not."

Carlos' eyes narrowed, and he turned to Ashley. "Well?" It was a loaded question, and for the briefest instant she hated him for asking it.

Mercifully, Laura chose that moment to intervene. "Carlos, chill out," she said sternly, striding forward to force herself into the little group. "Angry words won't solve anything. Ashley, Matt needs you and Andros up in control to talk to NASADA. You'd better get moving."

Ashley swallowed again, not missing the way Carlos' dark eyes flashed as he turned on Laura. He knew perfectly well that Matt didn't need both of them, and for a moment she wasn't sure that Laura's easy calm would be able to work its usual magic.

But it did. Carlos bit back any retort that he might have made, settling for a glare that Laura, as always, didn't seem to notice. "Thanks for getting the doors open, Ash," she said, as though nothing was wrong. "Carlos, since you're here, TJ and I are going to need some help clearing the rest of the bay."

With a tilt of her head, she gestured for him to follow her. Technically, Laura outranked both of them, but Ashley knew that wasn't why he obeyed. Laura had grown up on the reservation, and she had an odd sort of knowing about her sometimes... whatever it was, she didn't speak unless she had something to say. The entire team listened when she did.

Ashley scrubbed at her eyes once more and took a deep breath, turning toward the back of the bay and the lift. She heard Andros fall into step beside her, but she refused to look at him. They made their way across the zord bay without a word, and she tried not to sniff more than once.

The lift was waiting when they reached it, and she leaned back against the inside wall as the doors closed behind them. As it hummed to life, Andros finally stirred. "Ashley," he said, a little uncertainly. "I'm really sorry about... that."

She folded her arms defensively, still not looking at him. "It wasn't your fault," she muttered.

"Yes it was," he said. He sounded almost introspective, rather than insistent, and it was enough to turn her head a little. "Carlos was right. I haven't been able to think about anything but you since I met you. I'm sorry if I... if I got carried away."

She lifted her gaze to his at that, but he was staring down at the floor. "It isn't--" She stopped, frustrated by her inability to explain anything today. She reached out and hit the "lift stop" button, startling him into catching her eye.

"It isn't what?" he asked, a silent moment later.

She hugged her arms a little closer to her. "It's just--you're so sure!" she burst out, staring back at him. "We only met yesterday! How can you say that you... that you *love* me?"

He lowered his eyes briefly, and for a moment she wasn't sure which of them was more embarrassed. But his gaze was steady when it met hers again, and he admitted, "I wish I knew what to tell you, but I don't. I meant it when I told Carlos that I'm in love with you. But I don't know how or why."

He paused, then added, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Except that you're so kind and friendly and beautiful that I can't figure out how anyone could *not* love you."

She looked away, feeling tears fill her eyes again as she tried to not smile. "It's not that I don't..." She cleared her throat, trying again. "I mean, it's really... *nice* of you, to say that, but..."

"It's true," he said quietly. "You don't have to feel the same way, but don't think I'm just saying it. I *know* it's strange, but I've never been so convinced of anything."

She gave him a quick look, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. "Even Zhane?"

He returned her gaze with a measured look of his own. "Does it matter?"

She shook her head, confused. "I--I don't know," she mumbled, averting her eyes. Did it matter? Why was it important to know whether or not she came before Zhane?

He reached out to touch her shoulder gently. "I love you more than Zhane?" he said, turning the quiet statement into a question. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"No," she said in a small voice. But her heart said "yes" and her mind cried, *I don't know!*

"Good," he said softly. "Because you can't measure something like that. But am I more convinced that you and I are meant to be than I am of me and Zhane?" He hesitated, touching her chin lightly to make her look at him. His gaze locked with hers and he looked like he was admitting something he shouldn't when he whispered, "Yes."

She pulled away, reaching blindly for the wall. Her fingers found the button and the lift started upward once more. "You're so sure," she muttered again, doing her best not to look at him. She blinked rapidly, trying to keep her expression under control. "I just don't--I can't *think*, Andros!"

The lift doors slid open, and the thought that everyone might have heard that brought her to the edge of tears again. But she told herself it was just the sleepless night getting to her, and she stepped out of the lift determinedly. "Laura said you wanted to see us," she told Matt, glad when her voice didn't shake.

Matt gave her a long look, making her acutely conscious of her tear-stained cheeks and too-bright eyes. His gaze flicked over her shoulder to Andros, but he didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

"Yeah," he said at last. He nodded to his right, and for the first time Ashley was aware Dimitria's presence. "I need you to try and pin down the Megaship's coordinates, and Dimitria'd like to hear about Andros' part of the 'vision', if he doesn't mind."

"I do mind," Andros interrupted, surprising her. "I'd rather not talk about it anymore, actually."

Ashley blinked, shooting a quick glance at the League ambassador. Dimitria didn't reply, merely nodded in acceptance of his refusal and turned back to Saryn, apparently continuing a conversation Ashley hadn't noticed upon arrival. "Did she just get back?" she murmured to Matt.

He nodded. "A few minutes ago," he answered, in the same low tone. "She heard about the distress signal and came back as soon as she could. She's pretty curious about this vision thing."

Matt's eyes slid suddenly past her, and she glanced over in time to see Andros moving toward the lift. "I'm going to check on the others," he said, by way of explanation. "I'll be in Medical."

The lift swallowed him up, and she found Matt watching her carefully. She didn't know what Laura had told him, but he obviously wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. She turned pleading eyes on him, knowing she had to tell someone before it made her completely crazy. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"