Disclaimer: We don't own Power Rangers (yet) and it will be a while before we do. We don't have enough money yet. (TWO DOLLARS AND COUNTING!!)
Summary: The prospect of a lonely Christmas has Ashley down. Can a very special Christmas present cheer her up?
Christmas Special
Ashley stared out of the window into the early morning sunrise from her spot on the window-seat. Her legs were drawn up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around them, her chin resting on her knees. Bubbly Christmas songs drummed out of the radio invading her melancholy fog, but she pointedly ignored them. Her Christmas was everything from happy. While everyone was together, she was all alone… lonely.
Cassie had recently made amends with her mother and the two were spending Christmas together, far from Angel Grove in a quiet celebration of reuniting. TJ, too, had returned home for Christmas, his uncle Max joining him… and Carlos was celebrating Christmas with his large family at home. With all his brothers and sisters, he wouldn't have time to spare to even think about his lonely friend in her lonely house… with her broken heart. Andros, Zhane and Karone had returned to KO-35 mere months ago after a huge fight between her and Andros and she didn't think she'd ever see them again.
Normally she would be spending Christmas with her family too… the only problem in this plan was that said family was usually on good terms with said lonely person. When they found out Andros was from a different planet, they immediately protested against the relationship, stubbornly saying she would only end up hurt. Andros probably had girlfriends on ever other planet. He'd abduct her and sell her as a love slave. She'd be brainwashed and forced to play the harmonica day and night! Those were just a few of the wild arguments they insisted upon. Naturally, she had protested; it had been only natural to do so as she and Andros were in love and believed nothing could break them apart… yet something could, and now Ashley was spending her Christmas all alone in the small and 'cosy' house she had managed to afford when her parents had chucked her out. But right now, without Andros spending every waking hour of the day with her, comforting her, holding her, loving her… it seemed so big and empty… a shiver crept down her spine at the thought.
A sigh escaped her lips, creating a white cloud on the cold window. She wouldn't be alone for much longer, for apparently Andros had left her a little something, his very first and very last Christmas present she would ever receive from him.
With great annoyance, she carefully lifted herself out of the window-seat. It was no use dwelling on the past, even though the fight had been her fault. She hadn't been very tolerant of Andros the last week he had been with her. It had been a silly little thing that made her explode and soon, after an all out shouting match, Andros had left forever. Now she knew why and it depressed her greatly.
She felt the gentle pressure behind her eyes and quickly closed them. She wasn't going to cry. It was her own fault and she'd have to live with it… live with the consequences… Quickly she looked around the room for some kind of distraction.
The room was especially bare for this time of the year. Particularly a corner where a certain tree might have found it's home by now. The absence of it only served to make her more depressed than the holidays already were.
All out of ideas of what to do, she decided go to the kitchen. There she filled a heater with water and opened a cupboard while she waited for it to boil. She soon found the canister of chocolate powder she was looking for and put it down on the counter. Then she opened a cupboard above the sink and took out a mug with little yellow and red flowers on it. She knew she was torturing herself by picking it, but she didn't have the energy to search for another one.
With a soft sigh she dumped some of the chocolate powder into the mug and put the canister away again. On her way she stopped at the fridge for a carton of milk. By the time she had mixed a little milk with the chocolate powder and put the carton away again, the water was boiling and she poured it into the mug, filling it to the rime.
Carefully she took the hot chocolate back into the living room and curled up and the edge of one of the couches in a dark corner of the room. As she sipped the burning hot drink, time crept by and the sun slowly rose higher and higher. Its rays illuminated the room, but never fully lit the dark corner she had retreated in.
She was jolted out of her reverie when the grandfather clock struck ten. A sigh escaped her lips as her thoughts wandered to her friends again. They'd be unpacking the gifts under their trees about now. For a brief moment she wanted to give everything up and return to her own family, but that moment passed quickly. She didn't regret a thing and there was no way she was going to give up her future to reclaim a past happiness.
Looking at the mug in her hands, she noticed the chocolate dried to the inside and the bottom of cold liquate still ithere. With another sigh she got up again and walked back into the kitchen to dump the mug. She'd find it again when she'd wash the dishes tonight.
If she had staid just a moment longer, she would've seen the figure walking pas her window, but now, her back had been turned to it.
She was just about to put the mug down when the doorbell rang, startling her so the mug fell out of her hands and smashed on the tiles of the kitchen floor, spilling the last, cold remains of her drink.
Cursing softly she contemplated to ignore the person at the door and clean up the mess. The second ringing of the bell only made her more tempted to clean up the kitchen.
The bell didn't ring again, but the silence only served to make her curiosity grow. Hating herself for it, she turned around and walked into the hallway to open the door. Through the matted glass she was a figure slowly retreating down the steps that led up to the front door.
Biting her bottom lip, Ashley pulled open the door and gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth.
"Andros." She murmured softly.
Suddenly, as if he caught the soft whisper, he turned around, his eyes catching hers. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours, before Andros finally moved.
"Ashley." He muttered, taking a careful step her way.
When she didn't move, he realised she wasn't going to slam the door in his face and quickly rushed over to her, stopping just short of taking her into his arms.
"Ashley…" He muttered again, unsure of what to say.
"W-why are you here?" Ashley stuttered, her hand reaching out and coming to rest on his cheek as if she wasn't sure he was real.
"I-I came to say I'm sorry. I…" He started.
"NO!" Ashley quickly interrupted, pulling her hand back. "It… It wasn't your fault. It was mine. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did!"
"Ash…" Andros tried, reaching out for her hand.
Tears started to spill down her cheeks, not believing he had come back. As Andros started to wrap his arms around her, trying desperately to comfort her, she was overcome by three sensations at once, a bubble of happiness started forming in her stomach of being in his arms again, the world started to swim in front of her eyes and she felt a sudden pressing feeling in her throat.
Knowing what was going to happen next, Ashley quickly pulled out of Andros's arms and ran into the house. Andros was left feeling hurt and confused. The sudden sound of hurling from the bathroom alarmed him. For a second he debated to wait, but he found he couldn't just stand there and soon found himself crouched next to Ashley and the toilet, holding her hair away from her face and rubbing small circles on her back.
When Ashley finally stopped, he quickly stood up to get a wet washcloth and a cup of water, his body almost working separately from his consciousness. He handed Ashley the cup and she eagerly drank the water, trying to clench her throat from the foul taste. While she was drinking, Andros carefully crouched beside her again and whipped her face with the cloth, making sure to reach her mouth last.
Once finished, he threw the washcloth in the direction of the hamper, a little surprised when it hit target.
"You should consider professional basketball, you're a natural." Ashley chuckled softly beside him.
"How about we go into the living-room, this isn't really the best place to talk?" Andros suggested tentatively, not sure Ashley really wanted him to stay.
"Oh, I don't know, the toilet has become one of my best friends as of late." Ashley replied, smiling when she saw the look on his face. "Living-room it is, I might explain later."
Andros nodded, not wanting to press the subject in fear of saying something wrong and having her explode again. In the past two months without her, he had realised his life meant nothing if she wasn't by his side.
Ashley gratefully took the hand he offered so tentatively to help her to her feet. She felt a stabbing pain in her heart, knowing it was her fault he was so self-conscious and shy about his actions around her again. She only hoped their talk would undo that. When she stumbled a little, still a bit dizzy, his arm quickly wrapped around her waist to steady her.
She could see the surprised look on his face when they entered the living room and it hadn't been decorated for Christmas like all the other houses in city.
"I…" She started, the emptiness suddenly depressing her the way the cheeriness of the holiday had done before. "I didn't feel like decorating. I-it depressed me a little."
Andros's hug was more than welcome and it was all she could do to keep her returning embrace light, instead of clinging to him like there was no tomorrow. Before she even realised it, she and Andros were sitting on the couch, or rather Andros was sitting on it and she was sitting on his lap so they could keep their hold on each other.
Andros seemed to realise their rather compromising position the moment she did and his embrace lessened so she could pull out and move to the couch.
"No." Ashley protested firmly, tightening her hold on him. "I want this, Andros. I missed you so much and I hated myself for doing that to you. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and now I know why, I'll watch my tempter, but please just hold me."
She knew she was begging, but she didn't care, she couldn't have him go away again. She relaxed when she felt him tighten his arms around her again. Andros was only too happy to comply to her request and held her close, breathing in the smell of her shampoo and perfume. The sweet mixture always left him in a daze and it wasn't until Ashley began to doze off while leaning against him, he realised they couldn't just go back to how they were without talking.
"Ash…" He muttered, careful not to alarm her.
"Hmm?" Came the reply and he had to smile.
"Not that I mind this one bit, but we do need to talk. I mean, obviously you didn't just snap for nothing. There had to be something behind it."
Ashley sighed and pulled back a bit to look him in the eye with an unreadable expression.
"There was, but it's not what you're thinking…" She replied, trailing off.
"Will you tell me?" Andros begged softly.
Ashley nodded, but sighed again.
"I'd love to, but… I don't know how." She confessed, her eyes pleading for him to understand.
"When will you?" Andros tried, not wanting to press her, but needing to know.
"Today, I swear. How about we get this room into the holiday spirit? I think I only need to figure out how to put it…"
Andros nodded happily and let Ashley out of his embrace. When they passed the kitchen on their way upstairs, Ashley remembered the mess from when Andros had rang the bell and it seemed Andros had noticed it too, giving her a questioning look.
"The doorbell startled me." She explained sheepishly.
"How about we clean up the mess first?" Andros offered grinning and Ashley nodded.
An hour later the two were laughing happily. Ashley was standing on her toes to try and get the golden star on the top of the artificial tree, but she couldn't quite reach it. Andros had his arm around her waist and his other stretched out to help. He stood pressed against her back and even though he was slightly taller than she was, he still couldn't reach it.
"This is silly." Andros laughed, pulling the star telekinetically from her hand and directing it to sit on its place in the tree.
"You're cheating!" Ashley accused giggling.
"So what if I am?" Andros challenged.
Ashley shrugged and dropped down on the couch, motion for him to join her. He did so only too eager to have his arms around her again. She happily nuzzled into his embrace and closed her eyes as she rested her head against his chest.
"Andros?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm…" She was interrupted when the doorbell rang for a third time that day.
With a heavy sigh, Ashley pulled out of Andros's arms and silently cursed the unfortunate person ringing the bell. She had been just about to finally tell Andros what was going on when the bell had rung.
"What?!" She asked irritated when she flung open the door, not really caring who was behind it.
Her irritation vanished the moment she realised who were standing at her doorstep… actually, two 'who's', one looking faintly amused and the other a little scared.
"TJ! Cassie!" She exclaimed happily. "What are you two doing here? I thought you were spending Christmas with your family?"
"Oh, we were." Cassie answered casually as she hugged Ashley.
"But we both realised our blood relatives all had someone other than us to spend Christmas with." TJ continued and hugged Ashley too.
"And you're our family too, but you had no one, and nobody should be alone at Christmas." Cassie beamed.
"So we both had the idea to come over and make your Christmas a little less lonely." TJ finished grinning.
"We called Carlos. He said he'd be coming over as soon as he could pry himself away from his family." Cassie informed her as they walked into the living room. "Hey, An- dros?"
"Hey guys." Andros greeted.
Cassie turned to Ashley, her expression demanding an explanation and Ashley shrugged.
"He showed up as unexpected as you two and he even managed to break something, but he made it up by helping me decorate."
Cassie laughed as Andros retaliated.
"It's not my fault you get startled by a doorbell and even if it was, you shouldn't have been holding that mug."
The other three laughed and as Andros joined in, the doorbell rang once again.
"That will be Carlos." TJ smiled. "Shall I answer the door?"
Ashley nodded and soon TJ returned, but Carlos wasn't the only one following him.
"Look what I picked up from the street." Carlos grinned as Zhane and Karone followed him into the room. "They seemed to be under the illusion Andros had run off to get Ashley back. Oh, hey Andros."
Everyone laughed at Carlos's dumbfound expression when he realised who he had just greeted.
"Hot chocolate anyone?" Ashley offered.
Everyone agreed and immediately Cassie and Karone offered to help. Soon everyone sat comfortably with a burning mug of hot chocolate in their hands, Ashley, of course leaning happily against Andros.
"Okay, I was going to give these when we saw each other again after Christmas, but now is as good a time as any." Cassie smiled, putting down her mug and pulling the bag she had arrived with to her.
When she opened it, she fished out three small packages and handed them to TJ, Carlos and Ashley.
"Sorry, but I wasn't counting on you three." She told Andros, Zhane and Karone apologetically.
"Don't worry, Cassie." Karone told her. "We don't mind."
Andros nodded agreeing.
"There's always next year." Zhane had to pipe up, earning himself a hit over the head from Karone.
Silently grinning both TJ and Carlos pulled three gifts from their bags, handing them to their Terran friends.
"I don't have anything for you guys." Ashley confessed guiltily.
"That's okay, Ash." TJ told her.
"We didn't think you'd be wanting to celebrate anyway, so we were already prepared to force you." Carlos winked.
"Yeah and your smile is enough for us." Cassie assured.
Ashley smiled and wiped a tear from her eye and watched as the friends, one by one, unwrapped their gifts. Once they were finished, she turned to her presents. From TJ's gift she pulled a beautiful pair of earrings ('My sister helped me with those'). Carlos's gift turned out to be a glow-in-the-dark fire extinguisher statue ('What? It's not a real one this time, is it?') and from Cassie she got a framed picture from their Turbo days with the whole team on it. Cassie had remembered Ashley complaining about having so many pictures from all of them during their Space days, but hardly any from their Turbo days and practically none of Justin.
Just when they all thought all gifts were unwrapped, Andros pulled a small box from his pocket, wrapped in bright gold paper and held it in front of Ashley.
"I got you something. You didn't think I wouldn't get you a present for this holiday when I did give you one for your birthday, now did you?"
Ashley stared at it wordlessly for a moment, before carefully taking it into her hands. She gasped when the wrappings had been removed and opened the small box that had been revealed. A delicate golden bracelet lay inside on a small velvet pillow. Right opposite of the lock two golden open hearts were fitted in the chain, forming two links of it. Inside both hearts the letter A was shining.
"Oh, Andros, it's beautiful." Ashley told him, tears shining in her eyes as she turned around and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
Andros smiled as her reached past her, taking the bracelet out of the box and carefully placed it around her wrist. Ashley started happily at her wrist in silence, with Andros's arms wrapped tightly around her. The others watched the couple with smiles on their faces, glad they were together again. Both had been very depressed without the other and it had been affecting the people around them, but when they were together, their love and happiness seemed to radiate, warming the hearts of everyone around them.
"Too bad you don't have a present for him." Zhane joked, getting another hit over the head from Karone, but Ashley laughed.
"Well… it's not really a present and I was trying to tell him when the doorbell rudely interrupted me, but now you're all here, I guess I'll only have to tell once…" Ashley said, her voice growing quiet.
"What is it, Ash?" Andros encouraged her, tightening his embrace for a brief moment.
"I uh…" Ashley started, suddenly uncomfortable and very self-conscious with all the eyes of her friends on her.
"Go on…" Karone and Cassie encouraged.
"I'm three months pregnant." Ashley whispered.
At first the room was quiet, but then exploded with sounds of congratulations.
"When did you tell us sooner?" Cassie demanded.
"Because I didn't find out until this morning." Ashley replied.
"You didn't find out or you didn't dare to face reality sooner?" TJ joked and Ashley looked down, her cheeks turning bright red.
She didn't dare to move an inch, since Andros hadn't moved since she had said the words, and it was scaring the hack out of her.
Andros felt Ashley suddenly sit perfectly still in his arms and realised he had zoned out after he heard she was having his baby. Realising what he was doing to her, he carefully moved one hand, pulling it back slightly. He felt her stiffen and sighed unnoticed. Then he rested his hand on her still flat stomach and felt the slight tension of it that didn't come from her reaction to his long silence.
As he softly rubbed his thumb over her abdomen, he felt her relax and sink into his embrace.
"I'm really sorry about that fight." She whispered for only him to hear. "Pregnancy hormones got the better of me."
Andros chuckled softly and placed a kiss on the base of her neck.
"It's forgiven, I guess in a way it was my fault too."
Ashley laughed and let him hold her close, listening to the mock fight between Cassie and TJ about who would be cooking dinner, for they wouldn't let her do it and Ashley was quite content with the idea.
"Marry me?" Andros's sudden whisper cut through all conversation like a knife.
All heads snapped around to look at Andros, amazed and shocked.
"What did you say?" Ashley whispered back, not believing what she had just heard.
"Marry me." Andros repeated louder this time, his eyes set with determination.
Ashley's eyes filled with tears and a lump appeared in her throat, making her unable to verbally reply, so she settled on simply nodding. As Andros carefully claimed her lips to seal the deal, the room once again exploded with noise, which was pointedly ignored by the newly engaged couple, whom were all to happy to get lost in the sweet kiss.
"Well, I guess you don't need our last present anymore." Carlos sighed.
Ashley broke the kiss and stared at him for a moment. The expression on her face making the others laugh.
"More presents?" She asked carefully.
"Not as spectacular as Andros's, but yeah, we figured you were bound to feel lonely after a while, so we thought we'd get you some company." Cassie explained as TJ got up and got something out of the hallway, her voice barely hiding an undertone of unnatural glee.
The box he entered the room with was rather large, there were holes in made on top of it and something seemed to move inside, a muffled noise sounding from inside. Ashley looked at it suspiciously as it was set down on her lap and for a few moments, she didn't move. When she saw Andros's hands teasingly start to unpack, she quickly moved, playfully slapping his hands away before opening her present herself.
Once the paper and the lid were off, she peered inside, reached out and picked up a furry grey ball that fitted in one hand.
"What is THAT?" Zhane exclaimed.
The ball must have gotten scared by the noise, for it jumped out of Ashley's hand and tried to hide somewhere in the bottom of her shirt.
"It's a kitten!" Ashley replied happily, stroking the shivering ball of fur.
"Looks more like a furball to me." Zhane told her, folding his arms and dodging Karone's hand headed to the back of his head.
"What are you going to name it?" Karone asked.
"I kinda like Furball." Andros grinned, from behind Ashley. "I have to agree with Zhane, it does look like one."
Ashley looked at the kitten that had just settled in her shirt and tilted her head a bit to the side.
"Yeah, it does…" She agreed, looking at it doubtfully, and then a bright smile appeared on her face. "Furball it is."
Zhane made a sound in triumph as the others groaned and Andros sniggered.
Later that night
After dinner Cassie and TJ had hit the road again so they'd be 'home' at a reasonable hour so they would be able to spend the second day of Christmas with their families. Carlos had gone off home an hour later, knowing he'd need to help get his youngest siblings off to bed.
It had quickly been decided Andros, Zhane and Karone would stay the night with Ashley, mainly because Andros refused to leave her side and Zhane and Karone didn't really have anywhere else to go to. After Ashley had provided Karone with clean pillowcases and a clean quilt cover, Karone had set off to make the bed in the guestroom for her and Zhane.
By now they all had gone to bed, but Andros and Ashley were still lying awake, wrapped up in each others arms. Ashley lay curled up against him, half dozing. Slowly, Andros leaned in, brushing his lips over her forehead, waiting to see how she would react. Her brown eyes fluttered open and she gave him a slow smile. She tilted her face up close to his, letting him capture her mouth as she savoured the sensation that she had missed for two long months.
"Andros?" she murmured when he pulled back. "I love you."
"I love you too," he muttered, brushing a few stray wisps of hair back from her face. He tucked the soft brown strands behind her ear but let his hand rest on her cheek for a while longer, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb until she pulled away. He frowned. "What's wrong?"
Ashley smiled faintly but took her sweet time replying. "I-I just keep thinking... about how you left like that and -"
"Ash-"
"No," she said firmly, shaking her head before he could continue. "The fight was my fault, Andros. It's just... I used to think that we were perfect. That nothing could ever come between us. Now I know that I was wrong."
"Ashley, I-"
"I'm almost done," she whispered, and he nodded, allowing her to go on. "That was just one fight, Andros, and I guess... I'm just scared that next time you won't come back."
Andros sighed. "Let me talk now?"
She nodded, and he reached out to her, taking both her hands in his before he continued. "Ash, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what happens."
"You're sure?"
"I'm positive," he said firmly. He added sheepishly, "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything I said to you before I left."
"What are you apologizing for?" she demanded, a small smile lighting her face. "You didn't want to fight in the first place."
"But I did," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have."
Ashley stared at him for a moment and threw her arms around him without warning. Andros wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her in return, although he was startled when he felt her quivering with unshed tears.
"Ash, don't cry," he whispered in her ear, rubbing small, soothing circles in her back. "It was a stupid fight. Don't worry about it anymore."
"But I was so horrible to you," she mumbled into his chest. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry I hit you."
Andros winced, suddenly remembering what he had said just before Ashley had slapped him across the face with as much force as she had in her. "No. That I deserved."
"But I told you that you were a socially disturbed half-human alien freak that was afraid of confrontation," Ashley nearly wailed, although her eyes were now dry. "Whatever you said was just because of that."
"You don't even remember what I said, do you?"
Ashley shook her head, and he sighed silently in relief. His last words to her had been running through his head day and night for the past two months and now they were finally coming to a halt. His relief was short lived; a few seconds later, Ashley was turning to him with a quizzical look on her face.
"What did you say?"
"It doesn't matter anymore," he said hastily. "I didn't mean it in the first place."
"Tell me what you said."
Ashley's voice was too calm, and Andros groaned in defeat. He knew that if he refused to answer, Ashley was likely to explode again, and he was likely to repeat the statement anyway.
"I didn't mean it, Ash," he said again before muttering, "But I said that... that you were just a dumb lower human life form from a prehistoric planet..."
"There was more..." Ashley urged.
"It's not important." He tried.
One look in Ashley's eyes told him that it was for her and he turned away, burying his face in his pillow before mumbling, "I said that if you were going to act this way, I had no idea who you were, and I couldn't believe that I'd slept with you."
"Oh," Ashley said quietly. Andros looked away then and she frowned. "Wait."
"Ash..." he pleaded softly. "Just forget it. Please?"
"No." Ashley shook her head, her eyes darkening. "Now I remember. You didn't say that at all. You said that I'd seduced you, and you were disgusted that you'd lowered yourself to the level of sleeping with someone like me."
"Yeah..."
Andros couldn't bring himself to look at her and instead kept his face hidden in the pillow, waiting for her to explode. When several minutes passed in complete and utter silence, he worked up the courage to open his eyes cautiously.
Ashley was still lying on her side facing him, but her eyes were now shut, and tears leaked out from behind her closed eyelids. Andros reached out towards her timidly, laying his hand on her shoulder. Ashley's eyes opened then and she stared at him blankly for a long moment before rolling over and climbing out of bed.
"Ashley..."
Not knowing what else to do, Andros got up and followed her out of the room. By the time he'd reached the living room, Ashley had curled up on the couch. As he approached, she hugged her knees to her chest and glared at him weakly.
"I'm sorry." Andros knelt down beside her, placing one of his hands over hers. Ashley stiffened at his touch and he dropped her hand quickly, more ashamed of himself than he could ever remember being. "There's nothing else I can say except I'm sorry."
"Then why'd you say it in the first place?"
Ashley had stopped crying, and was now staring at him with her eyes full of pain.
Andros shrugged miserably. "I don't know."
"Leave me alone," she requested softly. "I need to think."
The look of panic on Andros's face was nearly comical. "Please forgive me," he begged her quietly. "I love you, Ash. I didn't mean it."
"Andros, I-"
"Hit me," he whispered suddenly. "If it'll make you feel better, hit me again."
"I'm not going to hit you, Andros," Ashley said. "Just leave me alone for awhile."
"Do you- do you want me to go?" He couldn't lose her again, but he had to ask.
"No," Ashley snapped, beginning to lose her patience. "Just go back to bed and leave me alone so I can think."
"I'm sorry," Andros muttered for what seemed like the thousandth time. He stood and slunk slowly back into the bedroom, resisting the urge to turn and stare sadly at her.
Ashley watched him go and sighed, her eyes wandering about the darkened room as she tried to organize her thoughts. Her gaze settled on the Christmas tree she and Andros had set up so happily earlier that day. She glanced down at the bracelet she had forgotten to remove before she'd gone to bed and slowly fingered the two hearts Andros had had fitted into the chain, remembering the look of pure love that had been on his face as he'd presented her with her Christmas gift.
She sighed again, realizing that she'd already forgiven him. She'd never truly believed that he'd meant his angry words to her; she'd just been too hurt to think clearly. Then she remembered the look on his face as she'd shouted at him that he was a half-human freak and groaned, suddenly feeling horrible. She'd been sniping at him for a week but he had never snapped back, so she'd purposely hurt him enough to spark that last argument. And yet for some reason, Andros had come back to her, begging forgiveness for her own mistake.
Taking a deep breath, Ashley stood, having no idea what she was going to say to Andros, but knowing that simply apologizing wasn't nearly enough. She paused in the doorway to their bedroom, her heart aching as she saw Andros. He was seated on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands.
"Andros?"
His head snapped up as she spoke, and Ashley was relieved to see that she hadn't made him cry. If she'd scared him into tears, she didn't know what she would have done.
"Ashley, I-"
"Don't you dare apologize to me one more time," she snapped. "It was my fault, not yours."
"But I-"
"No, Andros," she said gently. "Look, I'll make you a deal. I'll forgive you if you'll forgive me, and then we won't talk about this anymore."
"Deal," Andros said instantly, standing and taking a hesitant step towards her. Ashley threw her arms around his neck and he staggered a little at the sudden weight, but held her close all the same. "I love you, Ashley."
"Andros, I love you too," she whispered. An apology formed on the tip of her tongue, and she swallowed it down with difficulty, remembering her words just a moment before.
"Shh," he murmured soothingly in her ear as she began crying softly without warning. "Everything's all right now."
"But I feel so horrible," she sobbed into him. "I know I just said we should forget the fight, but I can't, because- because when I was shouting at you, I meant everything that I said, and for some reason, you're still here with me trying to comfort me."
"Ashley..." Andros stared at her for a moment in frustration, and then sighed, realizing that nothing he could say would make any difference. Pulling back slightly, he grasped her gently by the chin and tilted her face up towards his.
Ashley closed her eyes as he kissed her mouth, before turning his attention elsewhere. His lips were gentle on her face as he kissed her closed eyelids, first one, and then the other, back and forth, until her tears were gone.
"I love you, Ashley."
"I know," she whispered into his neck. "Thank you."
"You're welcome?" he guessed, slightly startled by her response.
Ashley laughed. "I love you."
Andros didn't know for how long they stood wrapped up in each other's arms, but much too soon for his liking, Ashley was pulling away. He must have made a sound in protest, for Ashley laughed softly and tugged on his arm, leading him towards the bed.
He caught her in his arms, kissing her hard and almost desperately as he lowered her carefully onto the bed before joining her, his mouth searching out hers, claiming her lips time and again as he slid his hands slowly beneath the fabric of her shirt.
Ashley shivered as his soft touch went all over her skin, realizing for the first time how much she had missed him and the way he made her feel at moments like those when they had given their baby life. She raised her arms above her head as Andros tugged off her shirt, wrapping them around his neck as he settled himself down on top of her, careful not to crush her abdomen with his weight.
Ashley's fingers slid into his hair as she took control of the kiss, flipping them over so that she was lying on top of him. Andros wrapped both his arms firmly around her, letting his hands wander over her bare back.
When he felt Ashley's hands slipping under his shirt, Andros couldn't keep himself from shuddering, his entire body craving her touch. As if knowing what he was thinking, Ashley's palms slid over his stomach and chest and sides, pushing his shirt up as she went. When her hands reached his shoulders, she quickly pulled off his shirt.
Andros groaned quietly as she began to kiss his chest and neck, trying to reach out to her, but his arms refused to work. She slowly kissed her way back up to his mouth, sliding her tongue in as his hands snared her around the nape of her neck, crushing his mouth against hers. Suddenly, Ashley yelped into the kiss, pulling back abruptly before collapsing in giggles on the bed next to him.
"What happened?"
Andros's mind began to work again, although his entire upper body was tingling from her touch. Ashley gasped out something too full of laughter for him to understand, but then she waved her arm over her shoulder, and he followed her gaze, suddenly understanding.
Furball the kitten was now curled up contentedly on one side of their bed, his blue-green eyes watching them unblinkingly. Cautiously, Andros extended an arm out towards the animal, drawing his hand back sharply as set of needle-sharp claws came towards him.
Andros reached over Ashley and scooped the kitten up in his arms, careful of claws. Striding over to the bedroom door that Furball had nudged open with his small paws, he opened it all the way and set the kitten down carefully on the floor.
"Go bother Zhane and Karone," he said firmly, before shutting the door again, and this time locking it. Ashley was still giggling when he rejoined her on the bed. Her laughter was contagious but when he caught his breath again, he hesitated before reaching out to her again.
"What's wrong?" Ashley asked without opening her eyes.
Andros smiled down at her sheepishly. "I, um... Ash, you do want this, don't you?"
Ashley opened her eyes at that. "Want what? To sleep with you?"
Andros nodded slowly. Ashley groaned and sat up.
"Andros, you do know where babies come from?"
"That's not what I meant," he muttered, glancing away as his cheeks darkened to crimson. "I... I meant-"
"It's because of the baby, isn't it?" Ashley interrupted. He nodded and she sighed. "Andros, I'm not always going to look-"
"No, it's not that," he reassured her hastily. "You'll always be beautiful, Ash."
Ashley smiled and laughed, leaning over to wrap her arms around his neck. "Then what's bothering you?"
"I- I'm not going to hurt you, am I?" he asked anxiously.
"Of course not," she exclaimed, pulling back. "Why would you think that?"
He shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed as he caught her eye. "I don't know," he muttered. "I just..."
"You're too sweet," Ashley whispered, beginning to suffocate him with her hug. "Thank you for coming back."
"Where else would I want to be?" he murmured in her ear. "I love you, Ash."
"I love you," she muttered back. Pulling out of his arms before she started tearing up again, she smiled mischievously. "Now, are we going to celebrate our engagement night or not?"
His reservations gone, Andros smirked and reached out, pulling her close to claim her lips with his own for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. Ashley lay back on the bed, pulling him down with her, perfectly happy to lose herself in him and his love for her.
Andros was gentler with her that night than he had ever been before, and for that, she could only love him even more. When they were finally tired enough to consider sleep, she curled up in Andros's arms, grateful for the warmth and safety of his arms around her once again. As she drifted off to sleep, Ashley knew that this was a Christmas that she could never, ever forget.