Andros gently placed Ashley on the bed in the medical bay and ran a medical scanner over her still body.
"Deca?" he asked. "Will she be okay?"
"She was injured badly," Deca said. "Most of the wounds that she sustained from Ecliptor should heal, but the first one was intended to kill. She also bruised her ribs when she landed on your Galaxy Glider."
Andros felt a new wave of guilt was over him. He could have caught her.
"How long will she be like this?" Karone asked. None of this would have happened if I hadn't gone . . .
"It is difficult to say."
"Deca," Cassie said. "Tell us."
"Very well," Deca said. "If she wakes up she will recover completely and almost immediately, but she could die at any time."
Andros and Karone wore identical masks of guilt.
"Andros, do you want to be alone with her?" Carlos asked.
Andros nodded miserably. Ashley . . .
The other rangers and Karone filed out somberly. Andros took her hand and squeezed it gently, hoping to get some response. There was none. He took a chair and sat down next to her bed. He wasn't going to leave until she woke up. He refusesd to consider the possibility that she could die.
A day passed. Around three in the morning, Zhane stopped by. "Drink," he ordered, handing him a cup. "It will calm you down."
"Is there a sedative in here?" Andros demanded.
"No," Zhane lied.
"You drink it then," Andros said. "I can't."
"Okay, so there's a sedative in it," Zhane said. "Either you drink it, or I get the others and we force it down your throat. Your choice."
"Please, Zhane," Andros whispered. "I can't leave her."
"You can't help her by staying here," Zhane said.
"But it makes me feel better," Andros said. "If I was somewhere else, I'd be having nightmares about her dying. If I'm here, I know that she's not."
"And what if she does die?" Zhane said.
Andros closed his eyes. "She won't die. Don't say that."
"She very well could," Zhane said. "What do you do then?"
"If she . . . dies . . . then I want to be here when she does." Andros blinked furiously, trying to keep back the tears that stung his eyelids. "She saved my life, Zhane. I thought you of all people could understand that."
"I do understand," Zhane said. "I understand what she was thinking when she did it."
"I'll be fine," Andros said numbly. "I'm not ready to leave her yet."
"You love her, don't you?" Zhane said.
Andros nodded. Tears started streaming down his face. "I love her more than I've ever loved anybody. If she dies, I'll never forgive myself."
He buried his face in his arms. One hand still clenched Ashley's.
"Andros," Zhane said. Andros shook his head.
"I want to be alone," he said. Zhane nodded, and finally left.
Andros sobbed until there were no tears left in him. Ash, you can't die. I need you. I love you.
Another day passed by slowly. The hours ticked by. The others stopped by several times, but never stayed long. They sensed Andros' need to be alone with her. Karone tried to apologize, but Andros didn't listen. It wasn't her he blamed. It was himself.
