Ashley squirmed a little as her eyes slid open, dazedly surprised to see dim sunlight suffusing the edges of the room. They must be on the day side of Earth, for the portal overhead was closed and the only illumination came from small slits around its edge. Unlike most places on the ship, the observatory was designed to be lit with natural as well as artificial light.

She turned her head, feeling the soft comfort of rumpled sleeping bags under her skin. Beside her, Kerone was sprawled across the floor in her usual careless fashion, and she caught Ashley's eye as soon as she moved. "Good morning," the other girl whispered.

"Morning," she whispered back, glancing over at Andros and Zhane. The two were still soundly asleep, and she had to smile at the picture they presented. Two of the most determined fighters the universe had ever known and they lay like little kids, undisturbed by the sun and whispers. "Why do I feel like I've just been initiated?"

Kerone smiled too, her gaze resting fondly on the boys. "I know what you mean."

***

"Are you sure you have everything?" Saryn wanted to know, glancing around the startlingly neat room. Cassie, no matter how much he loved her, was not by any stretch of the imagination a "neat" person, and it surprised him to see the lack of clutter in her bedroom. It surprised him almost as much as the fact that she could fit everything she owned into a frame back, duffel bag, and two knapsacks.

"Nope," she said cheerfully. "But I figure if I can't remember it, I probably don't need it."

She must have seen his doubt, for she added gently, "I've only been here a year and a half, Saryn. I haven't had that much time to accumulate stuff."

He shook his head slowly, wondering that he had not realized how many of her things were borrowed. "I've been home for no more than half a year, and I have more than you do."

She just laughed, swinging her frame pack over her shoulder with an easy grace that belied its weight. "It's a good thing we're moving to your place, then."

***

TJ lifted one hand and waved, pausing to swallow his toast before he said, "Morning, Max."

Tousled and unshaven, his uncle halted in the doorway to squint at him. "Good lord, TJ," he muttered, running his hand over his eyes as though he couldn't believe what he saw. "It's Saturday morning. The Saturday morning after your graduation, no less. How can you possibly be so chipper?"

TJ grinned. Only next to Max did he ever feel "chipper" in the morning. "I have to go get Tess so we can help the Hammonds set up for the barbecue. And you know she was up three hours ago, so she's probably waiting impatiently as we speak."

"Morning people," Max grumbled, peering around the kitchen. "Is there any coffee?"

"That stuff is terrible for you," TJ informed him. "You should drink tea or something."

"Do you know how much caffeine tea has in it?" Max was starting to sound a little more alert, which could only be a good sign. He stopped then, considering. "Actually, that's not a bad idea..."

***

"How can I help?" Carlos wanted to know, watching his brother fuss with the Hammonds' grill.

Gabe waved at him irritably, as though shooing away an insect. "You can go hang out and have fun," he said, not looking up. "This is supposed to be your party, you know.

"Here," he added, grabbing something out of the cooler beside the grill. "Take this to your girlfriend and get out of my hair." He tossed Carlos a water bottle and waved him away again. "Shoo!"

Carlos rolled his eyes, but he had to admit the idea had a certain amount of appeal. Still, he couldn't let his brother know that. "The thanks I get around here," he muttered, just loud enough for Gabe to hear.

"I'm ignoring you," his brother answered, opening the grill to peer inside.

***

"NASADA has agreed to keep the shuttle for us," Andros told TJ, while they watched Ashley and Kerone play with the kittens on the lawn. "You, Tessa, and Carlos should be able to get to it any time. And of course you'll have the zords."

"But they won't be able to call them without DECA to boost their communicators," Zhane interjected, and Andros sighed.

"They can if we keep them on the moon!" He gave his friend a mock-glare, and Zhane grinned.

"Well, we're not going to keep them there," the Silver Ranger said, as though it were a given. "So we have to plan for it."

"The zords will be on the moon," Andros told TJ. "Those communicators can reach that far, no problem."

"And after we move them," Zhane added, "you can probably use the Hammonds' comm set up to call them."

"We're not moving them!" Andros exclaimed.

TJ rolled his eyes, clearly amused. "Right. Thanks, guys."

***

"What are you going to name them?" Kerone asked, dangling a piece of grass in front of one of the kittens. White paws snatched at the grass, tiny claws just scratching her fingers. She let go of the grass and the kitten tumbled over himself in his eagerness to subdue it.

Ashley smiled, picking the grey one up and cuddling him against her cheek. He squirmed until she put him down, and she shook her head. "I was thinking 'Karma' for him. It's a little bit... girlish, but honestly, he looks it with his fur."

Kerone reached out to pat him. Even as little as he was, his silvery grey fur was long enough to bury her fingers in. "I like that name," she said with a smile. She gave the group gathered in the Hammonds' backyard a meaningful glance, and added, "It seems appropriate."

Ashley nodded slowly, following her gaze. "I keep telling myself that fate will bring us all back together again someday."

"It will," Kerone said confidently. "That's the way the universe works. Look at Saryn and Cassie, or me and Andros. There are some souls that you're just bound to, in this life and beyond."

"Interstellar knitting circles?" Cassie suggested, dropping down in the grass beside them.

Kerone gave her a puzzled look, but Ashley giggled. "I hope so," she agreed.

"So what about the other one?" Cassie wanted to know. "You said he's Karma, so what's the brown one's name?"

"Kerone's going to name the brown one," Ashley said, giving her an expectant look.

She blinked, but she had been thinking about it since Andros mentioned the idea to her a few nights before. Looking from Ashley to Cassie and back again, she suggested tentatively, "Katana?"

Cassie frowned, but Ashley got it immediately. "Like a sword!"

"Ecliptor taught me something about them," she said with a shrug, but she was gratified when Ashley seemed to like the idea. "It sounds nice with 'Karma'."

"I like it," Ashley said decisively. "Karma and Katana it is."

The newly named Katana transferred his attention from Kerone to Cassie, digging his claws into her shorts to haul himself up onto her lap. Cassie rolled her eyes when he slipped, leaving little pick marks in the denim. Scooping him up in one hand she asked, "You don't mind if I just call him 'Trouble', do you?"

***

"The ball, not the stick," Zhane told Jetson. "I threw the ball! Where did you get that stick from, anyway?"

"Do you expect him to answer you?" Tessa inquired, watching from the picnic table.

"No," Zhane said, with a put-upon sigh. "He doesn't talk to me anyway. But I'd still like to know where this thing came from."

The stick Jetson had brought back was no twig, and he couldn't help wondering if the dog had actually climbed a tree and torn off one of its branches. To make matters even more interesting, Jetson refused to either relinquish the stick or retrieve the tennis ball Zhane had tossed for him. "You just like being contrary, don't you," he told the dog.

"That has been my conclusion as well," Saryn remarked, accepting the soda Tessa offered him with a murmur of thanks.

"Oh, he's just playing," Tessa said, hopping off the bench and putting her own soda down. "Here, Jetson!"

The yellow lab bounded over to her eagerly, tail waving as she held out her hand for the stick. He dropped it at her feet, and Zhane stared in astonishment as she tossed it a short distance for him to chase. He was off after it before it left her hand, and Zhane just shook his head.

"How does he decide who he likes and who he doesn't?" he wanted to know.

"I've been trying to figure that out for some time," Saryn told him.

***

"Aura, bring your unstable love interest out here," Cassie called, waving to the two Rangers sitting inside on the screened-in porch. "We need to get a couple of pictures before everyone has their mouths full."

"Want some help?" Ali offered, appearing magically at her side. "Here, I'll shoot; you guys just get together and pose."

"Thanks!" Cassie handed her the camera and went over to collect the group at the picnic table. By the time they returned, Aura had emerged with Carlos and Ashley had rounded up the others.

"Tall people in the back," Ali declared, peering through the viewfinder.

"That never works," TJ complained, and she lowered the camera long enough to stick her tongue out at him.

In the end they all just crowded together, with TJ and Tessa sitting in front while Andros, Ashley, Zhane and Kerone all crouched behind them, their arms around each others' shoulders as they bickered good-naturedly over who was leaning harder on whom. Saryn, Cassie, Carlos and Aura filled the last row, Saryn holding her as she leaned her head back against him and smiled at the camera.

Ali took the same picture several times, until they all got so tired of smiling that they started making faces at each other and at TJ's sister. She finally declared them hopeless at almost exactly the same moment that Gabe announced the first round of lunch was ready. With more teasing and the occasional burst of laughter, the group split apart as Ali slid the shutter closed.

***

***