Carlos laughed quietly to himself. It had taken longer than he thought to talk Alpha into cleaning up the mess from their party in the dining hall. TJ and he had made a small wager as to how long it would take Carlos to convince Alpha to do the cleaning. After he had succeeded, Carlos had checked with DECA and had seen he had plenty of time to spare. He strolled slowly through the decks, taking the 'scenic route' to the Bridge. He was in no particular hurry to get there. The time didn't matter to him, only that he made it to the Bridge before the deadline. It would be so much more fun if he wasted enough time to let TJ believe he would win the bet, and then walk casually in at the last minute.

As he neared the observatory, he realized he was not the only one on that deck. In the distance he saw a shadow on the far wall, and stopped to watch as it disappeared around a curving corner of the MegaShip's outer hallway. He heard someone running, their footfalls echoing down the corridor. He cocked his head and peered as far as he could around the curved hallway, but it did not improve his view much and he still saw no one. Whatever it was, it was gone now, but he could have sworn he had heard someone running. Instead, he now heard strange sounds coming from the observatory and he stuck his head in to be sure all was well.

He pulled his head out again immediately and ducked to the side, hiding by the open doorway. He could hardly believe what Andros and Ashley were doing, let alone the fact that he had almost walked in on it. He peeked in to be sure that they hadn't heard him, then he snuck past the doorway and hurried down the hall.

Andros and Ashley... maybe they should have chosen a room with more privacy, he snickered to himself. He knew that Andros and Ashley loved each other. That was simple to see. He had never seen their leader more relaxed or happier than when he was with Ashley. Andros had changed in the time since the former Turbo Rangers had joined his team, and Ashley was the primary cause. He smiled whenever he saw her, and Carlos felt sure that smiling was not something that Andros was used to doing before he met Ashley.

For her part, Ashley was just as smitten with the solemn Red Ranger as he was with her. Her face lit up as soon as he entered the room. She never lit up like that for me, Carlos thought. He pushed the thought away. He shouldn't think like that. He wasn't jealous, really he wasn't. Ashley and he hadn't worked out. He was sorry and wished things could have been different, but that didn't change anything.

Ashley and he had been close ever since the day they had met, fighting Piranhatrons with Adam on the soccer field. It's not like they hadn't noticed each other before then though. It would have been hard for him *not* to have noticed Ashley. The fair-haired head cheerleader with the infectious, bubbly personality attracted quite a bit of attention wherever she went. It wasn't a conscious effort, people just liked being around her, and Carlos was no different.

He had tried to get up the nerve to talk to her for so long. He was a soccer star, popular and well liked, so his inability to approach Ashley was something he couldn't explain. He was almost thankful for the Piranhatrons that gave him the opportunity and excuse to talk to her that day. They had been inseparable ever since. And though they had never officially been a couple, they still stuck together from those first days through their stints as Turbo Rangers.

Then the Power Chamber had been destroyed. Then they went into space to save Zordon. Then... they had met Andros. He had known that Ashley would fall for Andros the first time they met him. She had flirted with him from the word 'go'. Carlos knew he didn't stand a chance. And who was he to stand in their way? They had never truly been together, and it was what Ashley wanted.

He had stood back and watched as Ashley and Andros had grown closer, never interfering, ignoring his broken heart. He had gotten over it in time, but there were always little reminders that brought the pain back.

Like when Ashley's grandmother had come to town, determined to find her a husband, as if Ashley needed a husband at the much too young age of 17. Carlos had happened to walk into the Surf Spot at that moment. Convenient for Ashley, inconvenient for Carlos. She had latched onto his arm and declared him her boyfriend. While this pleased her grandmother, Carlos was at a loss for how to feel.

At first he was confused till he knew the whole story. Then he was more than a bit uncomfortable for several reasons. One of which was that it just brought up painful memories of his unfulfilled hopes to be with Ashley. The other reason was although she and Andros weren't dating yet, Carlos knew it was inevitable. And though he tried to hide it, Carlos could see the jealous looks that Andros was giving him. He didn't want to stand in their way, and he hated being in the middle. So he asked Ashley to tell her grandmother the truth, telling her he couldn't go along with it any longer. But if she had asked, he would have continued with the charade. One word from her was all it would have taken.

That Ashley was happy was his only concern. That she didn't love him, he could deal with. He had long ago put his feelings aside. For all that truly mattered to him was that she was happy, even if it meant that she found her happiness with someone else.

Ashley loved Andros and Andros loved her. He could no more deny that than he could deny his own feelings for her. There had never been any doubt in his mind about how he felt. But he was willing to put it all aside for Ashley's sake. Carlos would have done anything for Ashley, including denying his feelings and lying to himself.

Totally distracted as he was, he barely heard DECA talking to him. "Hmm?" he asked the computer absently.

DECA must have been in a pleasant mood, because she decided to repeat herself, but not without a loud sigh about not being appreciated. "You have approximately one minute before you lose your bet. 59, 58, 57, 56...," DECA continued to count down.

Carlos looked around startled to find that during his trip down memory lane, his feet had carried him *far* from the Bridge. He took off at a dead run, flying across the decks. He entered the lift and urged it on faster.

As DECA reached '10' in her countdown, the lift doors started to open and Carlos heard a song playing on the Bridge speakers. "I rambled on, about broken hearts and stayin' too long, she said, 'I'm sorry, but you were right to move on',". TJ, listening to country? he thought. It was odd, but the song was strangely appropriate. He had no time to ponder it now though, as he quickly, but nonchalantly stepped out of the lift and onto the Bridge as DECA said, "1".

TJ flipped the music off as Carlos entered. He could only shake his head in disgust, "I thought I finally had you this time."

Carlos made a big show of stretching and acting relaxed, and basically trying not to show that he had just run half the length of the MegaShip. "Aw, it was nothing really. Just thought I'd let you think you actually had a chance to win." TJ had decided it was best to ignore Carlos when he was being smug over their bets, and started running a quick computer scan, but it was obvious he wanted to be somewhere else.

Carlos sat down, propping his feet up on the console as Zhane often did. He thought of the song TJ had been playing and it was appropriate. For as Carlos had moved on, TJ was trying to do the same, and put aside his feelings for Cassie. Although it would be more complicated for TJ.

It wasn't that there was anything really romantic going on; Carlos wasn't even sure if TJ felt that way about Cassie. But TJ and Cassie's friendship was something special and TJ took looking out for Cassie very seriously. It wasn't an easy thing to do, since Cassie felt she could take care of herself and hated for anyone to tell her what to do. But that didn't stop TJ from trying to protect her from people and things he knew would hurt her. And it seemed the person that always hurt her the most was Phantom. Everyone knew that Cassie was expecting to hear from him now that the war was over. Actually, she had been expecting to hear from him for months, but at least now she knew that he should have nothing, no 'duty', to keep him from her. And yet, he still wasn't there.

While Carlos could comfort himself with the fact that Andros was good for Ashley, was good to her, and would never hurt her, the same could not be said for TJ's situation. He was dealing with the fact that Cassie was in love with someone who hardly existed. Whenever there was trouble, Phantom hadn't been there for Cassie, TJ had. Phantom had hurt her, and yet it was obvious that she still loved him. Carlos hesitated to think of what would happen if he ever hurt her again. He just hoped that when next they saw Phantom, TJ was in a good mood.

"Now that you're here," TJ started, "I think I should check on Cassie. She didn't look very well earlier."

TJ was right, Carlos considered. Cassie had looked sick at their party. She hadn't had the stomach to eat much and she looked like she had barely been able to keep her eyes open. "Are you sure you want to do that? She's probably sleeping. Sleep is what she needs the most." Other than having her broken heart mended, Carlos added to himself. He had to admire TJ for his courage. He cared more for Cassie's well-being than his own.

"You're right," TJ consented. "But I'm just going to see if she's okay. I'll see how she's doing and leave. I won't wake her."

Carlos just smiled. He couldn't argue with TJ; no real reason he should. TJ would make sure Cassie was happy, even if it meant she would always love someone she never saw again.

A sudden beeping from the scanners drew their attention away from their thoughts.

"Well lookie here." TJ watched the readings with an entirely unenthused look on his face. "Maybe things have changed," he remarked, the sarcasm and doubt heavy in his voice. He swiftly started punching buttons, and stood, making a move toward the door.

"You want I should come with?" Carlos asked, trying to lighten the mood. He couldn't say he was entirely pleased with what the readings said either, but he was hopeful and he didn't like the look in TJ's eyes. This had to be handled calmly. Not that Carlos doubted TJ's restraint. He knew TJ would be diplomatic to the end.

TJ stopped at the Bridge door and turned back to look at Carlos. "No, I'm pretty sure I can handle this. Just leave it to me."

The End