Cassie shrieked as strong hands grabbed her from behind, doubling over and lashing out herself. The reaction was as futile as it was instinctive, and she heard TJ laughing from somewhere behind her.

"TJ Carter! If you don't let me go *this* second--" She couldn't finish the threat as his tickling made her burst into giggles, stealing what breath her indignation hadn't already taken.

"You'll... keep laughing until I do?" he guessed, tickling her harder.

"TJ," she protested through her mirth, and finally he relented.

He grinned at her as she straightened up, one hand on her locker to support herself as she tried to catch her breath. She gave him an affectionate shove with less force behind it than she had intended, and he took the abuse good-naturedly.

"Hey, Carlos brought his car today," he offered, as she turned back to her locker and pulled out her books. "Want a ride?"

"Cassie!"

Ashley's voice was just recognizable over the clatter of lockers and the muted roar of conversation in the hall, and she waved at them as she fought her way through the crowd. Cassie couldn't help grinning as one of the boys tried to get her attention--Ashley just gave him a distracted smile and pushed past.

Andros had made several appearances at Angel Grove High the spring before, but he and Ashley had been no more than friends at the time. This fall, though, he was there to meet her almost every other afternoon, and the way the two of them looked at each other as though there was no one else in the world should have been a dead giveaway for any would-be suitors. Cassie couldn't figure out why some of them still didn't seem to get it.

"Sure," she told TJ as Ashley joined them. "That'd be great; thanks."

"How 'bout you, Ash?" TJ asked, taking her books from her quickly. She flashed him a quick smile, swinging her bag off her shoulder and unzipping it so he could dump the textbooks inside. "Want a ride home? Carlos brought his car."

"Actually..." Ashley looked over at Cassie, and her expression was strangely guilty. "I was hoping to talk to Cassie for a few minutes."

"She's coming too," TJ assured her, completely missing the point.

Cassie rolled her eyes and gave him another friendly push. "Girl talk, silly."

Ashley nodded, and TJ shrugged at them. "We can wait," he offered, but Cassie caught Ashley's eye and the brunette shook her head.

"Thanks, Teej," Cassie said with a smile. "But we'll walk."

"All right," he said, a knowing grin on his face. "See you guys tomorrow, then, at the lake?"

Ashley made a face at him for his expression, but Cassie promised, "We'll be there."

His grin did not fade at Ashley's look, and he waved unrepentantly as he turned and headed down the hall. "Boys," Ashley muttered under her breath, watching him go.

Cassie laughed as she slammed her locker shut. "They're not *all* bad," she reminded her friend, throwing an arm over her shoulder and steering her toward the main doors.

"Easy for you to say!" Ashley exclaimed. "No one gives you any grief about Saryn, but every time I turn around someone's teasing me about Andros."

Cassie must have been silent for a moment too long, because Ashley twisted away from her arm and gave her a concerned look. "I didn't mean... I mean, I know it's hard having him--away so much of the time..."

Cassie's lips quirked at Ashley's hastily edited sentence, but she shook her head. "It's not that. I mean, I see him almost every day."

"But not for very long," Ashley countered, studying her friend's expression.

"No, it's enough," Cassie assured her. "It's just--" Glancing over her shoulder even though she knew no one would recognize the name, she hesitated. Ashley had clearly wanted to talk about something, and Cassie didn't want to monopolize the conversation.

"Just what?" Ashley persisted, as they pushed through the double doors and out into the sunshine.

Cassie sighed. "Linnse has been talking to him about me again. I don't know what I did to get on her bad side, but she 'warns' him about me every chance she gets, and when we're in the same room together she pretends I don't even exist."

Ashley tucked her arm through her backpack's second shoulder strap as they skirted the edge of the parking lot, silent for so long Cassie thought she might not answer. Then Ashley asked, "Did Saryn tell you that? That she's still 'warning' him?"

Cassie shook her head. "I don't think he wants me to worry. Aura told me."

"Aura?" Ashley asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah." Cassie kicked a stone off the edge of the sidewalk as they left school grounds behind, and smiled a little as Ashley skipped once to shrug her backpack more snugly over her shoulders. Only Ashley could put such energy into so simple an action.

"The Aquitian Rangers are really protective of Saryn lately," she continued, "and they think Linnse is upsetting him. What they expect *me* to do about it," she added, knowing her frustration was showing, "I have no idea."

Ashley sighed. "You're probably doing it, you know. Just being there for him, and *not* doing whatever Linnse seems to expect of you."

"I wish I knew what it *was*," Cassie muttered. "She said once that she thought I'd tell people who he was or something. I'd never do that, but I don't see why *she's* so worried about it."

Ashley shrugged, wrapping her fingers around the straps of her backpack. "Maybe if you ask Saryn?"

"I might," Cassie admitted. "It's getting to the point where I don't even want to walk into a room if she's there."

"Is she there that much?" Ashley asked, glancing over at her. "Shouldn't she be taking care of the Defense or something?"

"She's doing it from Aquitar," Cassie said. She too had hoped that Linnse would not stay long on Aquitar, but it seemed the wish had been in vain. "I get the feeling she's keeping an eye on me."

"Well, at least she's trying to look out for him," Ashley offered, trying to give her a more optimistic outlook.

"I wish she'd find some other way to do it!" Cassie burst out, then took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Sorry. You're right; I'm doing the only thing I can. And he's coming here this weekend, so at least we'll be away from her for a little while."

"That'll be nice," Ashley said, squeezing her friend's shoulder in an attempt to cheer her up. "And you know how *he* feels, so Linnse doesn't really matter that much, right?"

"Yeah," Cassie agreed automatically. She could still do without Linnse's constant disapproval, but she didn't say so aloud.

"So," she said abruptly, changing topics. "You wanted to talk about something."

Ashley didn't answer right away, and Cassie caught her friend blushing. That, combined with the fact that she wouldn't quite meet Cassie's eye, was totally unlike her friend, and Cassie's curiosity was piqued. "What's going on?"

"Well..." Ashley actually hesitated, capturing Cassie's attention even more completely. "You know yesterday, when everyone else was off on rides and Andros and I went to watch the movie?"

Cassie tried to suppress a grin, and was only partly successful. "Yeah. That was a, uh... convenient excuse to get away from the rest of us."

Ashley looked dismayed. "Was it that obvious?"

Cassie couldn't help laughing at her expression. "Yes, but no one minded. Tessa thought it was cute."

"You *talked* about us?" Ashley exclaimed.

"Ash, you were gone for two hours," Cassie reminded her. "The movie was only forty-five minutes long."

Ashley blushed again. "We didn't actually watch much of it," she confessed, and Cassie shook her head in amusement.

"Carlos figured as much," she told her friend.

Ashley groaned. "How come you and Saryn were never this obvious?"

Cassie gave her an odd look. "I can't believe you just said that. The entire team knows we're *sleeping* together. It doesn't get any more obvious than that."

"Yeah, but..." Ashley trailed off.

"But nothing," Cassie said indignantly. She couldn't believe her friend was truly troubled by her teammates' gossip. "You can't imagine how many times I wish we were like you guys, Ash. That Saryn and I could be together and just have everyone tease us, the way they tease you and Andros, instead of giving us strange looks or trying to ignore us."

Ashley looked puzzled. "No one ignores you."

"Not either of us individually," Cassie agreed. "But no one treats us like a couple, either. Not the way they do you and Andros."

Before Ashley could say anything, she added, "I'm not mad; I know we're sort of strange. You guys are so much more of a normal couple--but you shouldn't worry about the rest of the team. They just think you two are sweet; they're not making fun of you."

Ashley thought about that for a moment. "No one makes fun of you and Saryn either, you know. They might not treat you quite the same way, but... we don't know Saryn as well as you do."

Cassie blinked, and her friend continued, "I mean, I totally respect your feelings for him, but to the rest of us, he's like someone we just met. Andros is different; we've known him for months--he's teasable, you know? Saryn isn't, not until we know him better."

Cassie tried to remember how little the rest of the team *did* know about Saryn, and found she couldn't. She felt like she'd known him forever, as much as any of her friends, and she found it hard to accept that they didn't see him that way.

"It's nothing against either of you," Ashley added quickly, apparently afraid she had offended her. "Just--remember how hard it was to get to know Andros at first? Saryn's almost worse, 'cause even though he *wants* to get to know us, he's almost never around. With Andros, we saw him every day."

"Yeah," Cassie said softly, knowing that, at least, was true. Saryn *wasn't* around much, and while she wouldn't give up the time she herself had with him, the constant commute to and from Aquitar was an unavoidable reminder even as it was wearing her down.

"Cassie?" Ashley looked worried.

"You're right," Cassie said, giving her the best smile she could manage. "That's all it is; I just never thought it that way. Thanks."

"Are you okay?" Ashley didn't look convinced.

"Sure." She put more effort into her smile and tried to distract her teammate. "So what does the way you and Andros spent the movie have to do with what you wanted to talk to me about?"

Ashley bit her lip. "Well, I was wondering... what kind of birth control pills do you use?"

Cassie choked. "What?" Though she tried, for her friend's sake, she couldn't stifle her giggles. "Now I know why you didn't want to ride with Carlos and TJ!"

Ashley gave her a long-suffering look, and Cassie did her best to appear serious. But then the thought of Andros' expression if he found out what Ashley wanted to know set her off again, and she couldn't help laughing.

"I'm sorry," she gasped at last, trying to get herself under control again. "Really, I am--I'm not laughing at you," she said, but she suspected her grin made her words less believable. "Really, Ash, I promise. It's just... it's been a really long day. I'm sorry," she said again, and Ashley cracked a smile.

"It's okay," she said. "I've been thinking you needed some cheering up lately, even if I never thought of this as the way to do it."

"Well, it worked," Cassie said, trying to smother her grin. "So, if I asked you..."

Ashley shook her head quickly. "We haven't. And we're not planning to, honestly. I just thought it would be--a good thing to know."

Cassie glanced at her, and saw her fidgeting with the loose end of her shoulder strap. "Not planning to?" she repeated. "Have you talked about it?"

"Yeah," Ashley said ruefully. "More than once, actually."

There was more to it than her friend was saying, but she wasn't sure she could ask. Finally, she said, "Not planning to doesn't mean it won't happen, though."

Ashley shot a relieved glance in her direction. "I know. Believe me, I've thought of that, and... I think he has too."

"But?" Cassie prompted.

Ashley shrugged. "I don't know. I guess--I won't know unless it comes to that."

"Fair enough," Cassie said, sensing that was as much as her friend would, or could, say. "I'll show you what I use when we get home, if you want."

"Thanks," Ashley said gratefully.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, turning off of the road they were on and onto the residential street on which they lived. As they crossed the street to pick up the sidewalk again, Ashley asked, "What did you do, the first time?"

Cassie gave her a startled look, and Ashley giggled. "No, I mean for birth control. I know you didn't use it, um, the first time, but..."

She remembered Ashley finding her, their first day back on Earth, alone in her room and suffering from self-inflicted color withdrawal. She had been depressed enough with Saryn leaving and the uncertainty of her own situation that she hadn't cared, but Ashley had managed to convince her that other people did and that she couldn't just shut herself away.

"I went to the emergency room at the hospital," she said now, knowing Ashley had not wanted to ask at the time. "I didn't know what else to do."

"You could have asked my parents," Ashley chided, and Cassie smiled a little.

"So could you," she countered.

Ashley considered that, then grinned ruefully. "Okay, point taken."

As the Hammonds' house came into view around the corner, Cassie squinted at the front door. "Were you expecting anyone this afternoon?"

"Hmm?" Ashley asked, following her gaze.

"There's someone on the porch," Cassie said unnecessarily. A dark-haired woman was standing at the top of the steps, scuffing her foot against the porch as though she had been there for some time already.

As she and Ashley approached their driveway, the woman paced the few steps to the door and pushed the doorbell idly. It was the gesture of someone who had done the same thing several times before, but did it again only for something to pass the time.

Ashley frowned. "No, not that I know of. You don't recognize her, do you?"

Cassie was about to shake her head when the sound of their voices made the woman turn around. Stopping dead in her tracks at the end of the Hammonds' driveway, she could think of nothing to do but stare.

"Cassie?" Ashley asked, noticing her reaction and giving the woman on the porch a more probing look. "What's wrong?"

The woman waved at them, a smile spreading across her face as she descended the porch stairs and came toward them. It was a smile Cassie almost dreaded, because it had always meant bad news in the past.

Swallowing hard, she tried to compose herself, to not give this woman anything to use against her. Straightening, she greeted the approaching figure coolly. "Hi, Mom."

***

*"Mom"?* Ashley thought, startled. She studied the woman who walked toward them, suddenly seeing the similarities between her face and her daughter's.

She had never met either of Cassie's parents, or even the aunt that Cassie had supposedly been on her way to join in Stone Canyon. None of the Hammonds had met Cassie's family, though they had spoken extensively over the phone, and eventually Ashley had stopped wondering about them. The kind of people who could hand over their daughter to a family they had never met just hadn't seemed worth the trouble.

After Cassie's first few weeks in Angel Grove, and her unofficial "adoption" into the Hammond household, Ashley had assumed the absence of her friend's relatives would continue indefinitely. She was surprised to be proven wrong, and she wondered what could have happened to bring Cassie's mother here now, of all times.

"Hello, darling!" Cassie's mother was close enough now to envelop her daughter in a hug, and she did so without hesitation.

It was an affectionate and perfectly innocent gesture, but Ashley's eyes narrowed. Cassie remained stiff, not reciprocating in any way. Her friend clearly did not welcome the presence of one of her parental units, and Ashley couldn't blame her. She had been essentially abandoned in Angel Grove, and this sudden act of caring seemed to ring false.

*I don't like her,* Ashley realized, studying her friend's mother. It was a strange feeling, to dislike someone at first sight and without really knowing anything about them.

"Hello there," the dark-haired woman said, letting go of her daughter and holding out her hand to Ashley. "I'm Patricia Chan; Cassie's mother."

Ashley tilted her head to one side, giving the woman her most charming smile. "Pleased to meet you--I'm Ashley Hammond. Cassie's almost-sister," she added as an afterthought, putting an arm around her friend.

Cassie shot her a grateful glance, and she squeezed her friend's shoulder. Patricia Chan did not look the least bit perturbed. "Well, isn't that nice," she said. "I'm glad to finally meet one of my daughter's friends."

Ashley had to work to keep her smile in place. *She makes it sound like it's Cassie's fault that she doesn't know her friends!*

"Are you staying long?" Cassie asked, not bothering with pleasantries and completely ignoring the "friend" comment.

"Oh," Patricia said vaguely, "the weekend, at least. But I have reservations at a local motel; you won't have to find a place for me." She gave Ashley a bright smile, as though she was doing her a favor by not barging into their household.

"Well, if you're sure," Ashley said wryly, and she saw Cassie glance in her direction. "Will you come in for a while?" she suggested, making an attempt to be more polite.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Patricia accepted the invitation as though it was her due, and Ashley almost regretted offering it.

Leading the way up the porch stairs, she dug her key out of her pocket and slid it into the lock. Normally, her dad would have been home in the afternoons, but his car wasn't in the driveway and she assumed he was out running errands.

Cassie's mother entered the house without waiting for either of them to precede her. Ashley caught Cassie's eye and gave her a disbelieving look, asking silently, *Is she *always* like this?* Cassie's expression flickered from neutral to unhappy for just a second before she looked away.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Ashley offered, dropping her backpack by the counter and moving over to the refrigerator.

"Oh, don't trouble yourself," Patricia replied, surveying the kitchen. "Some ice water would be nice."

Ashley tried not to raise an eyebrow at the conflicting statements. Opening one of the cupboards above the counter, she asked, "Cassie?"

She heard the refrigerator open, and turned to see Cassie pulling out one of the juice pitchers. "Yes, thanks," her friend said. "You?"

"That looks great," Ashley said with a smile, taking out three glasses. She was glad they had both come straight home from school today--they could deal with Patricia Chan together.

Their communicators went off simultaneously.

She and Cassie exchanged glances--hers apprehensive, Cassie's dismayed. Pushing the glasses toward Cassie, she promised, "I'll be *right* back."

"Don't hurry," Patricia said, and Ashley only just stopped herself from shooting a withering glare in the woman's direction.

Slipping out the front door, she made sure it was pulled tight behind her. Checking to make sure she was out of sight of the kitchen windows, she walked down the steps and around the edge of the porch so there was no chance of her being overheard.

Tapping her communicator, she said quietly, "This is Ashley. Whatever it is, don't signal Cassie's communicator again."

"Ashley," Carlos' voice came back. "DECA's detected five ships on an intercept course with Earth. They're not registered with the League, and they don't look very friendly."

Ashley groaned. The timing couldn't have been worse. "If we have to, can we deal with them without Cassie?"

"Are you kidding? Even if we could fight five ships with three people, she's the best of us on the Megalasers. Why, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you later--" She was interrupted by the familiar and extremely welcome noise of her father's car humming down the road. She closed her eyes and breathed silent thanks. "We'll be right there, Carlos; just give us one minute."

"Right."

The transmission was cut off, and she waved to her dad as he pulled up beside her. Sticking his head out the window, he gave her communicator a significant glance. "Problems?"

"You could say that," she said. "Dad, Cassie's mom is inside--she was waiting on the porch when we got home from school. We don't know why she's here, but we have to--" She held up her left wrist, and he nodded.

"I'll keep her company while you're gone," he promised. "Come on inside and we'll get Cassie."

"Thanks, Dad," she said, stepping back as he climbed out of the car. As he straightened, she gave him a quick hug, and he mussed her hair affectionately.

His arm around her, they made their way inside, where Cassie was leaning silently against the counter while her mother chastised her for something about school and lost time. *The first week,* Ashley realized with dismay.

Cassie had missed most of the first week of school, thanks to an unfortunate encounter with Dark Spectre's evilyzer ray, and the Hammonds' had not known to call in for her. Instead, the school had contacted *them* about Ashley. They had covered for both her and Cassie, but it must not have been before the school called the number listed on Cassie's student sheet--the Hammonds' were not her legal guardians, and the secretary must not have known Cassie wasn't living with her biological parents.

"Hey there," Ashley's dad greeted the duo, as sudden comprehension of what must have brought Cassie's mom flashed through her mind. "How was your day, Cassie?"

"Good," Cassie mumbled, straightening up from the counter. "Mr. Hammond, this is my mom."

"Patricia Chan," the woman introduced herself, sweeping forward with her free hand extended.

"Joseph Hammond," he responded, clasping her hand firmly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Chan--"

"Patricia," Cassie's mother interjected, and he nodded pleasantly.

"Of course, Patricia. Here, allow me to show you around the house--I'm sure you're eager to see where your daughter has been living all this time." He gave her his most winning smile, and Ashley smothered a grin at the surprised look on Patricia's face.

"I'd really--" she began, but he interrupted smoothly.

"Oh, I insist," he said, putting a hand on her elbow and leading her out of the room. "Girls," he called over his shoulder. "Would you mind running out and getting the mail? I forgot to pick it up on my way in."

Ashley bit her lip in an effort not to smirk. She had seen the mail sitting on the front seat of his car when he climbed out, but he had conveniently forgotten to bring it into the house with him. *Thank you,* she repeated silently, and she tilted her head at Cassie.

"Let's go," she whispered, and a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of her friend's mouth.

***

"Incoming fighters!"

"Ash, *where* would be more of a help," Carlos said in response to her warning.

The ship rocked as enemy laser fire raked it, and she concentrated on resolving the scanner readings into some sort of useful information. "If you'd stop throwing the ship around, I could *tell* you where," she shot back.

He had been right in his identification of the five unidentified ships as "unfriendly", and she couldn't help but worry over the accuracy of Zhane's earlier prediction: "With Dark Spectre's forces in this galaxy, this planet needs your protection more than ever."

"Carlos, work with me here!" Cassie demanded, as the ship once more "rolled" out of the way. "TJ, make him stop doing that."

Ashley could hear the grin in TJ's voice as he replied, "Not up to the challenge, Cass?"

"I'll show you 'challenge'," Cassie muttered, and the Megalasers sprayed fire in every direction. As Carlos swung the ship around once more, the lasers' swath of destruction turned one of the fighters into a debris cloud and TJ whistled.

"Crude," he said mock-critically. "But effective."

"Carlos, port and down 30-by-20," Ashley snapped suddenly, and he followed her order without question. One of the fighters' strafing runs went wide, and Cassie swung the starboard laser array around to catch them as they shot past.

Another fighter, close behind with the intent to follow up on the original run, was almost caught in the wake of the explosion. Its frantic evasive attempts gave Cassie plenty of time for a target lock, and TJ announced unhelpfully, "Three down, two to go."

"Why can't we ever settle for best out of five?" Carlos complained. The port thrusters fired in reverse, and Ashley blinked as the numbers swam before her.

"Carlos, you can't *do* that in a ship this size!" she protested, as the arc of the Megaship's flight wavered unsteadily.

"Been spending too much time in those Aquitian zords," TJ opined.

"If the Megaship responded to thought the way they do, it *could* do that," Carlos retorted. "I just can't tell it what to do fast enough!"

TJ must have reprogrammed their vector, because the Megaship pulled up without Carlos' instruction. The Megalasers pummeled another ship into dust, and Carlos pushed the thrusters to their limit in a yaw that probably made structural integrity warnings flash all over TJ's console. But Cassie got her clear shot, and at last the sky was clear again.

"Carlos," TJ said, shaking his head as the Megaship coasted into a wide arc that would eventually return it to Earth orbit, "we need to have a little talk about what the Megaship can and can't do--at least with *me* at navigation."

"Great job, Cassie," Ashley added, leaning forward to catch her friend's eye across the pilot's console.

"Yeah, that was some good shooting," Carlos agreed, apparently not as eager as TJ for that "talk".

Before Cassie could answer, DECA broke in with, "Incoming transmission." She did not identify the source, nor did she wait for them to acknowledge it. Instead, the computer overrode the comm controls and broadcast the signal for all of them to hear.

"Megaship," a familiar voice said, a little fainter than usual over the comm channel, but unmistakable. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief as Andros identified himself. "This is Mega V1. Please respond."

"Confirmation sent," DECA announced.

"Open a visual link," Ashley said quickly, and the computer complied.

The Red Astro Ranger appeared on the main screen, surrounded by the zord's tiny cockpit, and she smiled at him from where she sat behind the scanner console. She couldn't see his expression behind his visor, but she felt his presence at the edge of her mind brighten as he focused on her briefly.

"Andros," TJ greeted him cheerfully. "You don't know how glad we are to see you, after Carlos' piloting."

"Hey!" Carlos exclaimed. "I'd like to see you do better!"

"Next time," TJ said with a grin. "You're on."

"Andros," Cassie interrupted, glancing up from her tactical readout. "Where's Zhane? And Kerone?"

DECA had informed them earlier, without being asked, that Kerone would not be joining them in the defense of Earth. In a tone that left no doubt as to how *she* felt about the matter, she told them that the girl had taken Ashley's Mega V zord to Rysia to rendezvous with Ecliptor.

Ashley had not actually expected Kerone to return with Andros and Zhane, but Andros must have known of his sister's activity, for he didn't act in the least surprised by the question. He did seem worried, though, and that coupled with Zhane's absence was enough to alarm Ashley.

"I'll tell you when I get back," he said at last, doing something to the controls in front of him. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Looking over at the weapons' station, Ashley exchanged glances with Cassie. "Guys," she said. "Cassie and I were in the middle of something--we really have to go."

"That's all right," Andros put in. She snuck a glance at the main screen, wondering if it was her imagination that made him sound disappointed. "It can wait; I'll fill you in later."

She would have dearly loved to learn how his explanation for returning alone "could wait", but she and Cassie just didn't have time for it. "We'll be back as soon as we can," she promised, climbing out of her chair and nodding to Cassie.

They both reached for their morphers, and the world dissolved into gold sparkles.

***

*This,* Cassie thought, not for the first time, *really sucks.*

She knew it was not a very charitable thought, but she couldn't help it. Her mother had picked a terrible time to waltz back into her life--although, in reality, she couldn't think of any *good* time. When she tried, "not now" was the only criteria she could come up with.

It was almost dinnertime in the Hammond household, and her mother still showed no signs of leaving. Cassie knew it was only a matter of time before Ashley's father invited her to stay for dinner, and she tried to resign herself to the idea.

In all this time, her mother had yet to stop finding ways to disparage everything about Cassie's life. Missing school was only the beginning--she made sugarcoated but not very subtle remarks about Cassie's grades, her attitude, her friends... although she managed to leave out Ashley. It was as tactful as Cassie had ever seen her, to avoid rudeness to the family whose home in which she found herself.

Unfortunately, that small amount of courtesy was overridden by the fact that she had, to Cassie's dismay, found out about Saryn. No doubt Ashley's father had been trying to reassure her mother that she was well adjusted here, but Cassie had deliberately not mentioned her boyfriend to her parents.

Now her mother was convinced she had been hiding him, which she had been, and that it was because their relationship was beyond what her mother would approve of, which it was. Besides that, the only thing she could think of that would be worse than her mother knowing that she was seeing someone older--even if, as far as she knew, he was only "in college"--was her mother actually meeting the "someone older".

Saryn was a wonderful person, but he wasn't even human, let alone Asian. Both her parents had some very conservative ideas on the subject, and though she had managed to avoid it so far, she knew it would come up. On top of that, although he was nothing if not polite and considerate, he was simply not the kind of person her mother would be able to relate to.

Her lips quirked a little at that thought, but it was a smile with no real amusement behind it. She wouldn't inflict her mother on Saryn for anything in the world.

"You must have found an exceptional tutor here," her mother was saying, as Cassie looked out the window. She was back on the school topic again, and Cassie did her best not to listen.

The voice of Ashley's father cut into the "conversation", and Cassie looked around in surprise as he said, "Cassie pulled her grades up on her own. In fact, she tutored one of her friends over the summer."

Her mother had obviously not expected that, but it was only a moment before she waved the comment away. "Well, they do say high school gets easier as you go."

"Dinner," Ashley announced, appearing suddenly in the living room doorway. She shot Cassie a sympathetic glance, but Cassie kept her eyes straight ahead.

She didn't mean to shut her friend out--Ashley had put her own plans on hold to stay home this evening, and Cassie appreciated the moral support. But she couldn't let herself respond to her friend's sympathy; couldn't let herself feel grateful, or she would have to feel everything else that was simmering inside her, too.

When her mother made no move to leave, she heard Ashley's father make the anticipated offer. Her mother accepted, as Cassie had known she would, and she watched impassively as the older woman preceded Ashley's father into the kitchen.

Ashley waited by the door, catching Cassie's arm as she walked through. "How are you doing?" she whispered, as they lagged behind the adults.

"I'm fine," Cassie lied, smiling reassuringly at her friend.

Ashley smiled back, but her look turned to one of alarm when Cassie's communicator chose that moment to beep. Cassie looked down at it, almost amused by the timing, until Ashley gave her a push. Tilting her head toward the other side of the kitchen, she whispered, "It's probably Saryn. Go ahead--we'll cover for you for a few minutes."

Nodding wordlessly, Cassie stuck her hands in her pockets and edged around the table. "I'll be right back," she muttered, when her mother looked pointedly at her empty chair.

"You know girls that age," she heard her mother say as she walked down the hall. She could almost see the knowing smile on her mother's face as she continued blithely, "They think they have to rebel in even the smallest detail."

Ashley's normally cheery voice sounded annoyed as she replied, "I think she's just going to the bathroom, Mrs. Chan."

Cassie closed the door behind her and twisted the doorknob's lock. She heard herself sigh as she lowered herself to the floor next to the shower, and she tapped her communicator. "Yes?"

"Cassie?" Saryn's came back instantly, and she rested her head against the wall behind her. "Are you all right?"

"Of course," she responded, focusing on the stark white ceiling above. "I'm fine."

There was silence for a moment, and then he must have realized she was not going to elaborate. She had expected him to press her for a "real" answer, but instead he only asked, "Will you be arriving on Aquitar soon?"

She stared up at the ceiling, feeling tears sting her eyes. There was no one who didn't want something from her. "I can't, Saryn. I'm going to stay here tonight."

There was another pause, and then he asked, "Are you certain you will not reconsider? It... would mean a great deal to me."

She closed her eyes, and a tear slipped through, sliding down her cheek. He didn't even care why she couldn't come, just that she wouldn't be there when he came back from the control room tonight. "I *told* you," she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady. "I can't come."

Covering her communicator with her right hand, she cut the transmission off before he could reply. Letting her wrist fall to her side, she squeezed her eyes more tightly shut and felt another tear slide free.

Her communicator beeped again, and she almost jumped, startled by the second intrusion. Drawing in a trembling breath, she fumbled with her wristband for a moment until it came free. Laying it on the floor beside her, she buried her face in her hands and tried to stifle a sob.

It gave her a perverse satisfaction to ignore the device while she cried, for this, at least, was something she could control. She knew someone would come looking for her eventually, but she knew, too, that there was no way she could go back to the kitchen like this.

And so, dragging herself to her feet, she found herself doing something she hadn't done in a long time. She took hold of the screen through the wide-open window and pushed it out, not bothering to catch it before it fell to the ground. She climbed through after it and jumped, ignoring the complaints from her ankles when the ground was farther away than she'd expected.

She started walking, cutting across the lawn to the sidewalk and the residential street it followed. She headed toward the outskirts of the neighborhood, leaving the Hammonds' house behind without a backward glance.

Behind her, abandoned on the tile floor, her communicator finally stopped beeping.

***

An incoming transmission halted his futile attempts to reestablish contact with Cassie, and he glared at the screen. Refusing to morph, he activated the audio channel only and demanded, "What?"

He could hear the hesitation on the other end. "I apologize for the intrusion--"

Cetaci's voice.

"It is no intrusion," he growled. He wanted to say, "She is not coming." He wanted to say, "She has found what I cannot give," but there was no telling who would be in secondary operations at this hour and he couldn't afford to lose his temper.

"We are receiving a distress call from one of the Mega Voyager zords," Cetaci said, getting his full attention.

His conversation with Andros' sister that afternoon came back with startling clarity. "As far as it is mine to give--"

But it wasn't. The permission *wasn't* his to give, anymore than the normalcy Cassie so longed for was his to offer her.

*And now she has turned to another.* It was the only explanation for her sudden coldness, for her choosing not to visit for the first time in weeks--and on the one night he had planned so carefully. She had not known, of course, but it had simply not occurred to him that she would not come.

His heart clenched as he wondered who she was with, and his fingers curled into fists. There was no changing her choice. The problem Cetaci had given him was the only mistake he could rectify, and he would do it or die trying.

"Send the coordinates of the distress call to my starfighter." He didn't wait for Cetaci's acknowledgement. Ending the transmission, he turned and stalked out of the room.