Sparkles of sunlight swirled on the ground as the glass ornament turned gently in the breeze. The light made the crimson color of the star shine, while the lighter red seemed to glow.

Andros watched it intently as it spun on the end of its silver thread, and she shrugged a little, embarrassed. "It's just that you don't have many decorations in your room, and it made me think of you. If you don't like it--"

"No," he interrupted softly. "It's beautiful, Ash. Thank you."

She ducked her head, pleased. "Oh--I almost forgot," she said, reaching into her backpack again. "DECA made this for it."

She held out the little grey disc, pushing the button on its side with her thumb. A shimmering light sprang up, forming a flattened sphere over the disc. As soon as the globe was complete, the light faded into invisibility, and she could see Andros knew what it was.

A smile spread across his face as she put it in his hand. He deactivated the shield long enough to set the glass star on top of the disc, then pressed the button again. As the light encompassed the disc once more, tiny antigravs floated the ornament into the middle of the sphere, where it bobbed idly until they stabilized.

"I was afraid it would break," Ashley started to explain, but his expression of awe stopped her when he looked up.

"Thank you," he whispered again, reaching out to hug her. She returned his embrace happily, and he added quietly, "I haven't gotten a present in a long time."

"That's what friends are for," she murmured, blinking tears out of her eyes.

"I didn't think I needed friends," he breathed, hugging her more tightly. "I was wrong, and I'm glad."

"Me, too." She closed her eyes, feeling the sun warm on her back even as Andros's hard-earned trust warmed her heart.

***

"Saryn!"

The figure in black turned, not seeming to notice as the sun struck his eyes. Cassie dropped her backpack on the ground and ran toward him, so glad to see him that she didn't think to wonder what could have convinced him to come.

He caught her as she flung her arms around him, and she was sure she heard him laugh as he tightened his grip and swung her around. She couldn't help giggling herself as her feet found the ground again and she pulled away, staring up at him breathlessly.

"You are pleased that I am here, then," he said quietly, still smiling but searching her expression intently.

"Of course!" She hugged him again, elated. "I was going to go up to the Megaship and try and talk you into coming! I'm *so* glad you're here!"

"I was not sure you would want me… imposing on your life," he admitted.

"That's the silliest thing I have ever, ever heard," she said with a grin, trying not to laugh again. "Come on; I have to introduce you! You know Justin, of course, but Carlos brought Karen and you couldn't possibly have met her before."

She knew she was babbling, but she didn't care. It was so strange to see Saryn *here*, in her normal, everyday life--all of a sudden he seemed so *real*. She couldn't help feeling overwhelmed, and overjoyed at the same time.

"Cassie," he said softly, as she tugged on his hand.

With a little skip, she turned back toward him expectantly. She cocked her head, startled to see the frightened look that flickered across his face before he could hide it.

"I'm sorry," she said instantly, as she realized her overenthusiasm wasn't helping his self-consciousness any. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down a little. "I'm sorry; I don't mean to get weird on you… Are you okay?"

"It is not your fault; do not worry," he assured her, trying to smile. "I am just--I have not dealt with… civilians in a long time."

"Saryn!" Zhane yelled, from just far enough away that his shout was justifiable. "Get over here and introduce yourself!"

The look flashed across his face again, and he flinched back. "Perhaps this was not a good idea," he began, but Cassie took his hand again as it slipped out of hers.

"No, Saryn…" She did her best not to frown, suddenly annoyed with Carlos for bringing Karen along with them. "I think it was wonderful of you to come, and I'd really like it if you would stay," she pleaded. "Karen's no different from the rest of us, and all you have to do is say hi. Please?"

"Cassie, make Saryn come socialize!" Zhane called, and Cassie rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Zhane!" she shouted. Turning back to Saryn, she told him quietly, "Just give us a chance. Stay for a few more minutes--if you really don't like it, I'll come with you back to the Megaship, okay?"

"No, Cassie, I did not mean for you to leave your friends," he began, and she just shook her head at him.

"They're your friends too," she promised. "Come on."

***

Hand in hand, Andros and Ashley stepped off the sidewalk and headed deeper into the park. They had trailed behind the others until Ashley finally stopped at the edge of the park and told him she had something she had been meaning to give him since Tuesday.

"Our beach day got sort of interrupted," she'd admitted with a smile. "And I haven't managed to find a good time since."

He glanced down automatically at the object he held in his hand, turning it over and watching the antigravs turn the glass star so that it appeared right side up again. "Like a snowglobe," Ashley said, seeing him playing with it.

He looked at her curiously. "A what?"

"It's sort of like that," she said with a grin. "It has a base and a glass globe with a little scene in it. It has white stuff, or glitter or something inside it to look like snow, and when you turn it over, it looks like it's snowing."

Andros frowned. "What's snow?"

She gave him an incredulous look, and then she must have realized he was teasing her. Giving him a gentle shove, she retorted, "Very funny. You've seen snow on the Simudeck."

He smiled, remembering their first snowboarding excursion. The only person worse at it than Ashley was him, and they had spent a great deal of time falling down together. "I'd like to see it again sometime," he said, twisting the little shield sphere again. The star turned over once more.

"It's a date," she replied quietly, letting go of his hand and putting her arm through his. He looked over at her, and she smiled at him.

"Hey, guys!" TJ called, as they finally caught up to their friends. "We thought you'd gotten lost."

"It's a big park," Ashley answered impishly. "We thought *you* were lost."

"Nice to meet you," Karen was telling Saryn, who looked strangely out of place in clothes that Andros hadn't thought twice about on the Megaship.

At that thought, he looked around for Zhane, unable to remember what his friend had been wearing. "It is--nice to meet you as well," Saryn replied, his hesitation almost imperceptible.

"I don't understand," Zhane was telling Carlos.

"Look," Justin interrupted. "We'll show you. Come over here."

Andros tried not to smile as a mystified Zhane was dragged away from the group for whatever "explanation" Justin wanted to offer. The Silver Ranger was still dressed in jeans and a light grey t-shirt, a combination that would draw no more attention than Andros's own.

"What is that?" Karen asked curiously, and Andros glanced at her to find her looking at the little globe in his hand.

He lifted it up for her to see automatically. "Ashley gave it to me," he said with a smile, and saw TJ and Ashley look at each other oddly.

"Um, don't touch it," Ashley said quickly, as Karen reached for it. "It's--uh, held up by magnets, and it's really hard to get it back in the right place once you push it out."

"Oh," Karen said, nodding her understanding. "I was wondering how it was suspended like that--that's really cool!"

"Yeah," Ashley said, flashing a relieved smile. "I found it at the mall."

"Hey, Karen," TJ interjected. "You a frisbee fan?"

"Definitely," she said with a grin. "Do you have one?"

TJ pretended to be insulted. "I *always* have a frisbee--check it out."

He pulled a bright blue disc from his backpack with a flourish, and she laughed. "Nice!" she said appreciatively, inspecting it.

Ashley stepped in front of Andros, blocking his view, and he caught her eye. "Can I see that?" she asked sweetly, indicating the object in his hand.

He nodded, puzzled, and handed it to her. She took it far more carefully than the shield sphere's protection warranted, and walked a little past him with it as TJ took Karen off in the other direction.

Ashley glanced over her shoulder, then back at him. "Andros," she said quietly, amusement in her tone. "We don't have these on Earth. You might as well hold up a sign that says 'alien' on it."

"But I'm not--"

"Andros. We only have two kinds of offworld visitors on this planet," she told him patiently. "The bad guys, and the good guys. If you're not one of Dark Spectre's henchmen, then you're a Power Ranger. And you're a little too good-looking to be one of the bad guys, you know?"

He blushed, not sure what to say.

"All the bad guys are ugly, huh?" Cassie said wryly, joining them. "That thing's really cool, by the way."

Ashley glanced down at it, then passed it back to him. "Sorry, Andros," she said suddenly, sounding a little sheepish. "I didn't even think about the fact that Karen was with us."

He gave her a surprised look. "It's not your fault. I still don't know enough about Earth, I guess."

"Hey, it doesn't matter," Cassie put in gently. "Karen bought the magnetics explanation--that was good thinking, Ash."

Ashley cleared her throat. "It doesn't even *look* metal, but that was the only thing I could think of. You can put it in my backpack if you want, Andros."

He bounced it on his palm for a moment, reluctant to part with it. Cassie watched him play with it, then shook her head. "That is *really* cool," she said with a rueful smile. "You have to show me how you did that, Ash."

"Cassie, heads!" TJ's shout made them all look up, and Cassie put her hands up instinctively.

The frisbee bounced off them, skidding to a halt on the grass, and she chased after it. "Funny, Teej!" she yelled, throwing it back.

"Well, get over here and play," he retorted good-naturedly, and she laughed.

Andros knelt by the backpack Ashley had dropped with the others', unzipping it just enough to slip the shield sphere inside. It rolled across the top of her books, the glass ornament twisting within as the top point of the star tried to keep pointing upwards. He smiled to himself as he closed her bag again and got to his feet.

"Want to play frisbee?" Ashley asked, holding her hand out to him.

"Tell TJ I'm too tired, okay?" Cassie added. "It's been a long week."

"Sure," Ashley agreed, smiling at Andros as he took her hand. "You okay, Cass?"

"Yeah, just tired," she promised. But one look at Saryn convinced Andros that Cassie was doing it for him. The other Ranger looked as tired as she claimed to be, despite his few hours of wakefulness today.

*She never did tell us what happened yesterday,* Andros mused. "Get some rest," he advised gently, and saw Saryn's gaze turn towards him. He caught the other's eyes, and Saryn nodded a little.

"And no telekinesis," Ashley chided, as he followed her across the grass. "Earth people can't do that, either, you know."

"You can," he pointed out.

"But I'm not going to tell anyone!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she smiled. "And I can't use it on anything except a telekinesis ball, so no one has to worry about me cheating at frisbee."

"Cheating?" he asked, amused. "Is it cheating to use a skill you've worked to develop?"

She didn't answer right away, and he looked over at her. "I don't know," she said at last, giving him a shrug and a smile. "And as long as Karen doesn't see you do it, I suppose it doesn't matter."

He didn't realize he was staring at her until she squeezed his hand. Then he blinked, looking away. "We never practice together anymore," he said, a little wistfully.

"We can," she said, sounding eager. "I thought you didn't *like* teaching me."

"Of course I do." He gave her a surprised look. "I thought you didn't want me to anymore."

She giggled. "We definitely have to talk more."

"You can't play frisbee holding hands!" TJ shouted, as they both paused near TJ and Karen.

"You're just jealous, TJ!" Ashley yelled back, letting go of Andros's hand.

The Blue Ranger laughed. "Andros really isn't my type," he countered.

Andros rolled his eyes. "You don't know how glad I am to hear that," he said, just loudly enough for TJ to hear, and Ashley burst out laughing.

*Good call,* he heard her say in his mind, and he looked over in her direction in time to see her wink at him.

***

"You're tired," Cassie said, concerned, as they followed Andros and Ashley more slowly.

He was exhausted. He wasn't used to being unmorphed so much of the time, to not having the Power there constantly. He knew some of it was the enormous amount of energy Cassie had had to call on yesterday to keep him alive, but he couldn't help thinking that some of his fatigue was simple withdrawal.

"I am all right," he assured her, and she sighed.

"Saryn, someday I'm going to ask you if you're all right and you're going to say, 'No, Cassie, I'm not. I feel terrible; why don't we sit down for a while?' And I'll probably faint from the shock."

He felt a smile tug at his lips. "You do not seem prone to fainting," he pointed out. "But if you were, I would try to avoid anything that would cause such a reaction in you."

"Well, don't," she said firmly. "I can take it."

His vision blurred alarmingly, and he reached out for her hand. "In that case," he murmured, resisting the temptation to shake his head, "why don't we sit down for a while?"

She looked at him worriedly, but she caught his arm and led him over to one of the massive oaks that sheltered the park. "Sit," she said gently, crouching down beside him as he lowered himself to the ground. "Are you all right?"

No sooner had she asked the question than she slapped her forehead with her hand. "I can't believe I just asked that."

"Yes," he said, unable to keep from smiling. "Truly, Cassie, I will be fine."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you *will* be--I'm asking how you are *now*."

He hesitated, then admitted, "I am tired. But I promise you, there is nothing else wrong with me."

"Are you sure?" she asked, letting go of his arm to settle herself on the ground next to him. He felt suddenly worse again, and at last it clicked.

"Maybe we should have DECA check you out," she was saying, and he shook his head.

"No, Cassie. It is just my ruby," he told her, putting together what Billy had said with his own experience. "I am sure."

"How?" she said curiously, and he smiled.

"Because every time you touch me, it gets better."

She gave him a startled look, and he shrugged slightly. "Billy said we were sharing Power," he reminded her. "Yours is somehow boosting mine, I think. It has happened before."

"The first time you were on the Megaship," she whispered, a faraway look in her eyes. "You had those dizzy spells--and you always reached for me."

"I would have done that anyway, if I thought you would let me," he said with a smile. "But touching you made things go back to normal, at least for a time."

She slid her hand down the inside of his arm, twining her fingers through his and leaning against his shoulder. "Then do it as often as you want," she said quietly. "It doesn't make *me* feel any different--you're the one whose Power is connected to your life force."

"That has been hard to forget, lately," he murmured. Shifting a little, he leaned back against the trunk of the tree. Cassie moved too, edging closer and resting her head on his shoulder again.

"Does it bother you?" she asked after a moment.

He paused, wondering. He had never thought about it that way. The Power had, for some time, kept him from joining his friends, and for that he had resented it. After that, it had become no more than a tool, a way of fulfilling the mission he, Tobin, and Linnse had set for themselves. But now--did he regret his dependence on his ruby?

"No," he said at last. "Because to change it, I would have had to feel less strongly about my old teammates. And the bond we five had is not one I would surrender, at any cost."

"Good," she whispered. "It makes you stronger."

He considered that for a moment, watching three of the Rangers and one of the Rangers' friends play with their plastic disc. "Which?" he asked after a while.

"Both," Cassie answered, squeezing his fingers. "Your ruby, and your feelings for your team."

Not far away from the others, Carlos and Justin were trying to explain the principles of a different game to Zhane. The Silver Ranger did not seem to be grasping the concept, and it took an effort not to smile at the other's predicament.

"My old team," he corrected gently. "If it is acceptable to you, I would consider myself a part of this team, now."

She tilted her head so she could see his expression, her eyes shining. "*Very* acceptable," she whispered, and he leaned down to kiss her softly.

***

TJ whistled as the frisbee's curve brought it almost directly into Andros's hands. "Good shot, Karen!"

Ashley laughed as Karen bowed in all directions. "Thank you, thank you!"

Andros readjusted his grip and tossed the frisbee toward her, with a little too much force. Ashley backed up and leapt after it, but the disc sailed by overhead so that she had to chase it across the grass.

Behind her, she heard Zhane laugh. Carlos and Justin were trying to teach him to juggle with a hackey sack--without much success, as far as she could tell. But it didn't stop him from periodically commenting on the frisbee game.

"Stop throwing it so high, Andros!" the Silver Ranger shouted. "We know you just want to see Ashley jump!"

"Shut up, Zhane," Andros answered, just as Ashley grabbed the frisbee off the ground and started back toward them.

" 'Shut up'?" Zhane mimicked. "Am I the only one who can come up with witty repartee around here?"

"Did you just mention wits, Zhane?" TJ asked, holding his hand to his ear as though he hadn't heard. "I didn't know you had any of those!"

"That's always been a problem on this team," Zhane retorted good-naturedly.

"TJ, let Zhane practice," Ashley reproved, tossing the frisbee at him and hoping Karen didn't ask about the "team" comment. "He's bad enough without you distracting him."

"Oh, and *you* can do this?" Zhane challenged. "It's harder than it looks!"

Ashley smiled smugly. "You bet I can." She wandered away from the four-cornered frisbee catch and snatched the hackey sack away from Carlos.

The Black Ranger grinned. "Zhane, you just challenged the wrong person. Ashley's the only person I know who's almost as good as Justin."

"And that's 'cause I taught her," Justin added.

Ashley placed the little beanbag on her foot and tossed it up into the air, juggling it off her knee, heel, and the top of her foot again before passing it off to Justin. The former Blue Ranger smirked, kicking it high enough to bounce it off his head and then over his shoulder and into his hand.

"That's how it's done," he said confidently. "I don't know why you're having so much trouble, Zhane."

Zhane just stared at him. "I can't believe you do that without telekinesis," he said finally, and Justin spread his hands out to the sides ingenuously.

Ashley glanced around, and saw Cassie watching them idly. "Hey, guys, I'll be right back," she said, waving at them.

" 'Kay, Ash," Carlos agreed, obviously amused by Zhane's amazement.

"See, it isn't that hard," Justin began as she walked away. "Try starting it like this…"

"Hey," Ashley said, dropping to the ground next to Cassie. "What's up?"

"Not much," her friend replied peacefully, not making any move away from Saryn. "How 'bout you?"

Ashley leaned forward enough to catch Saryn's eye, and she waved at him in acknowledgement. He smiled, and she grinned back, turning her mischievous expression on Cassie. "Well, actually, I thought you might want to help me with something."

Cassie immediately looked interested, probably suspecting a prank. "What's going on?"

Ashley leaned forward and whispered in her ear. She wasn't convinced that Saryn couldn't hear, but she doubted he would be able to make sense of what she had said.

Cassie grinned outright. "Let's do it," she agreed, straightening up a little. "I'll be right back, Saryn."

"Is this a secret?" he asked, letting go of Cassie's hand.

"Yes," Ashley answered, grabbing Cassie's other hand and hauling her to her feet. "You'll find out later."

Cassie laughed. "We'll be right back," she repeated, and they headed toward the pile of backpacks the group had left in the shade of another tree. Halfway there, Ashley broke into a jog, and they both ran the rest of the way.

Giggling, Ashley threw herself down next to her bag. "I had them in my notebook all day," she confessed. "I was hoping we could get up to the Megaship when no one else was there."

Peering around the tree, Ashley made sure no one was looking in their direction before pulling the sheets out of her backpack. Cassie crouched down beside her, a smile spreading across her face as she inspected the stickers. "Those are *perfect*," she agreed. "Let's go!"

Ashley tried to stifle another giggle as they both looked over their shoulders at the same time. Then, with a solemn nod spoiled only by Cassie's grin, they touched their morphers and teleported out.

***

Cassie turned as soon as the walls of the holding bay appeared around them, heading for the door. Ashley was right behind her, and she couldn't help giggling as she caught her friend's eye.

They were just stepping into the lift when something odd registered. Cassie looked over her shoulder, but the door was already closing, and she shook her head. *Must have been my imagination.*

The lift opened onto deck five, and she glanced at the silver plate by the door just to make sure. Her eyes widened, and she stopped abruptly.

"What--" Ashley stopped right behind her, looking curiously over her shoulder.

The silver plate by the lift door read, "Deck two."

They glanced at each other uncertainly. "That ride wasn't long enough to take us up four decks, was it?" Ashley asked slowly.

Cassie frowned. "It couldn't have been. DECA, what deck are we on?"

"You are currently on deck five," DECA replied.

Ashley started to grin. It took Cassie a moment longer to get it, but then she laughed. "TJ."

Ashley nodded. "I wonder if he did all the decks, or just this one…"

"I think deck six was switched too," Cassie offered, remembering the sense of something not quite right as she got into the lift. "When did he have *time*?"

Ashley giggled. "I have no idea. He's good."

"We'd better hurry and put these up," Cassie realized suddenly. "If we're gone too long, they're going to think it's us!"

Ashley set her backpack on the floor and dropped down beside it, unzipping it quickly. She tugged the sheets of star stickers out of her bag and passed them to Cassie as she stood up. "Do you want the honor of doing Saryn's?"

Cassie grinned, looking down at the stars. "Thanks. Where did you *find* these?"

"Well, I still had the regular colors from last time," Ashley said, pausing outside Andros's door. "Here, pass me that one and I'll do his right now."

Cassie handed over a sheet with three stars missing, and Ashley carefully peeled away the red star in the upper left corner. She inspected the part of the bulkhead the keypad was set into, then placed the star right in the middle of the top edge.

Cassie clapped, one hand still holding the other sheet of stickers. "Nice--but I still want to know where you found the metallic ones."

Ashley caught her arm and pulled her down the hallway, a smug look on her face. "It's a secret. Do you want to do Zhane's, or should I?"

"Go ahead," Cassie said, handing them over.

Ashley peeled a silver star off the second sheet and placed it carefully on the keypad outside Zhane's door. She regarded it critically for a moment, then asked, "Do you think anyone will be offended that theirs are shiny?"

Cassie just laughed. "They're all 'special' stars, Ash. If anyone has a problem, they can go buy their own stickers!"

Ashley shrugged. "Well, that's true," she admitted with a grin.

As they headed on down the hallway, Ashley added, "How did Andros convince us that Zhane's door wasn't a room, by the way?"

Cassie tried not to giggle. "I was just wondering about that. I don't know… I guess we'd never seen a spaceship before, so we just took his word for it."

"Makes you feel kind of silly now, doesn't it?" Ashley said with a grin.

They stopped in front of Saryn's door, and Ashley gave her the stickers. "Since when is 'garnet' a metal?" Cassie asked rhetorically, peeling off a dark red star.

Ashley frowned a little. "Is that the right choice? I wasn't really sure. I still have that strip of black stars we used on Carlos's door, you know."

Cassie just shook her head, leaning closer to position the star over the keypad. "No," she said, pressing it down with her thumb and stepping back to admire her work. "I think he'll like that one."

She glanced down the hallway, smiling at the flecks of color that now adorned all seven doors. "Good job, Ash."

"Good job yourself," Ashley said with a grin, putting her arm around Cassie's shoulders. "Now let's go, quick, before someone misses us and decides that we're the ones who switched the deck plates."

***

"TJ!" Ashley shouted, running toward the frisbee game that had grown to include Carlos and Justin. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure," he answered, tossing the frisbee off to Justin. "What's up?"

Grabbing his arm, she guided him a little way away from the others. "Did you switch the deck plates?" she asked breathlessly, watching for his reaction.

"What?" TJ frowned.

"The deck plates," she repeated. "You know, outside the lifts where it says what deck you're on. Did you switch them all around?"

TJ gave her an odd look. "I didn't know they came off."

"They must," she said, trying to catch her breath. "The one on deck five says deck two, and Cassie thinks the one on deck six was switched, too."

"How do you know?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She glanced over her shoulder automatically. "Don't tell the others, okay?" she whispered.

TJ grinned at her secrecy. "Cross my heart," he said, drawing an "X" over his heart.

"We found star stickers for Andros, Saryn, and Zhane," she told him. "We were trying to put them up without anyone knowing--but then we saw the deck plates, and we thought it was you."

TJ shook his head. "When would *I* have time to do that? I was in school all day, same as you."

Ashley peered more closely at him. "I know you, TJ. You could find a way."

He threw up his hands. "This is just like the viewscreens last week! No one ever believes me!"

Ashley giggled. "That's because you always do it."

"But I *didn't*," he insisted. "Come on, Ash. This time I have an alibi. I left for school with Cassie, you saw me in Lit and Spanish, and I was with Carlos until last period with you again!"

She thought about that for a moment, tempted to get the others to verify his story. But he looked so serious that she couldn't doubt him, and she frowned a little. "But if it wasn't you, then who *was* it?"

***

Zhane put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the tree, watching the frisbee game with interest. It had degenerated from a friendly game of catch to a sort of keep-away--only the target seemed to change depending on who was holding the frisbee.

He had elected not to get involved, feeling a little melancholy as he watched Andros laugh along with everyone else. Not that he begrudged his friend the happiness--quite the contrary; he was terribly pleased that Andros *could* laugh so often now. But he couldn't help feeling that it was just one more difference between the world he knew, and the one he now found himself in.

Earth was nice. He truly liked the small planet, and Andros had been right when he told him that the new Astro team would adopt Zhane as one of their own. He felt like he belonged to a sort of extended family--as though he had more than just a brother, now.

But every so often, he wondered how much he had missed. It had been a long two years that had passed like seconds in hypersleep. Andros had told him so much, not only about what had happened in the universe, but what had happened on the Megaship. But he had still missed it. He was still two years in the future, with seventeen years to his name and no memory of how he had spent the last two.

A movement to his right caught his attention, and he turned his head in that direction idly. The park had been oddly quiet this afternoon. There were far fewer people here than there had been during the summer, and the Rangers' little group dominated the vast expanse of grass and trees. He was somewhat surprised to find someone else so nearby--and even more so when he realized who it was.

He tried to stay as casual as possible, not moving from his lounging position, not even removing his hands from behind his head. *She's just another girl,* he reminded himself. *Just another girl who misses her family and wishes she had friends, just like the rest of us.*

"Hey, Astrea," he said quietly, smiling in her direction. "What's up?"

She shrugged a little, putting her hands behind her back. "Nothing."

She was standing behind the twin tree to his, just out of sight of the others in the park. And she was fidgeting, shifting her weight from one foot to another as though she couldn't quite decide what to do with herself. He had never seen her so uncertain, and he tilted his head.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a little concerned.

She nodded, though, and he supposed he would have to take her word for it. "Right," he said, turning his head back toward the frisbee game. Or frisbee fight, as it was starting to appear.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and realized she had followed his gaze. "Cassie is--good again," she said abruptly, her tone making it not quite a question.

He nodded anyway, automatically looking for his teammate. Cassie and Saryn were the only others who hadn't joined in the game. They were sitting under another tree some distance away, and looking very cozy.

"She is," he agreed, looking over at Astrea. "Saryn seems to be doing all right, too."

"They look very comfortable." Astrea rested her hands against the trunk of her tree and leaned back against them, her head craned over her shoulder to keep an eye on the other Rangers.

Zhane didn't see that there was really anything to say to that, so he stayed silent.

"He is the Phantom Ranger, then," Astrea said after a moment.

Startled, Zhane looked over at her, then back at Cassie and Saryn. It hadn't even occurred to him that she wouldn't recognize Saryn unmorphed--but even as he thought about it, he realized the mistake he'd made.

"Saryn?" he repeated, wondering how in the universe he was going to get out of this one. "Why do you say that?"

She gave him a measured look. "Because you said that Cassie and the Phantom Ranger are bonded. She could not love another. And--" There was a hint of amusement in her tone this time. "Because you called the Phantom Ranger 'Saryn' in the Medical bay."

"Did I?" Zhane asked, a little embarrassed. There *wasn't* any way out. "He's not going to be very happy with me, then."

Astrea did not say anything for a moment. Then she asked, "Why does he hide his identity?"

Zhane hesitated, but no matter how much he liked Astrea, Saryn was his teammate. That was a confidence he couldn't betray. "I don't know," he said at last.

"You don't know, or you won't tell me?" she asked calmly.

He sighed. "I can't tell you," he admitted. "I'm sorry. It's important to him."

She shifted again, leaning one shoulder against her tree. "But not to you?" she asked carefully.

He looked up in surprise. "He thinks it's important," he said finally. "That makes it important to me."

"Because he's a Ranger?" Astrea asked, looking out at the others again.

"Because he's my friend, Astrea," Zhane said quietly. "Same as you."

She twisted a little, giving him a wide-eyed look. Though still close to the tree, she was now standing in what had to be full view of anyone who chose to look in their direction. "I am your friend?" she repeated.

He smiled a little. "Of course--if you want to be. I hope you do," he added impulsively.

She cocked her head, for all the world as though she were considering the offer. "I do," she said at last. "Does that mean that… you are also my friend?"

Zhane nodded, charmed by the hopeful lilt of her voice. "Yeah, it does," he agreed. He held out his hand to her. "Friends?"

Her gaze flicked down to his hand, then back to his eyes. Then, before he could try to explain, she stepped away from her tree and sat down cross-legged in the grass beside him. Extending her own hand, she clasped his wrist tentatively.

Surprised that she recognized the greeting, he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and smiled at her. For the first time since she had appeared this afternoon, she smiled back.