Chapter 7: Perfect
Andros carried Andrea onto the bridge, the others stared at the toddler in his arms as Ashley stood beside him. Their faces said everything, they were in disbelief that this little girl was real. "Everyone, this is Andrea," Ashley stated. Carlos got up and walked over to the small family.
"Hey, Andrea, remember me?" he asked.
"Hi," Andrea replied, resting her head on Andros's shoulder.
Carlos smiled and Zhane stared at the child in his best friend's arms. "Wow, Ashley she looks just like you," Zhane commented.
"I think she looks more like her father," Ashley replied.
Andrea stuck her thumb in her mouth, silently looking at everyone. "She's a little on the shy side," Ashley commented.
"She is her father's daughter," Zhane quipped.
Andrea just stared at everyone, leaning into Andros more. "She's exhausted," Ashley commented.
"What happened?" Zhane asked, noticing his sister's distress.
"She just heard me get loud with Braya," Andros replied.
"She sucks her thumb when she's nervous," Ashley added.
Zhane frowned. "What happened with Braya?" he asked.
"Nothing," Andros replied before leaving the room with Andrea.
Andros went into one of the rooms and he set her down on the bed. "Daddy," she whimpered, gripping his jacket.
"I'm here," he replied, sitting beside the little bed, stroking her hair from her face.
Andrea put her thumb back in her mouth while her other tiny hand gripped his hand tightly. "Daddy's right here," he assured her, stroking her cheek. She stared at Andros tiredly, falling asleep as she held her tiny hand kept a grip on his. Ashley walked in to see Andros sitting on the floor, stroking their daughter's hair. She leaned against the doorframe, watching him with a soft smile. Andros looked up at her.
"She asleep?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied, gently pulling his arm away from the sleeping toddler.
"Make sure you put that safety bar up so she doesn't roll off," she said quietly.
Andros put the bar up on her bed and they left their little girl alone to sleep.
Later, Andros was sitting on their bed, watching as Ashley was getting ready to go to sleep herself. "What?" she asked, looking at him in the mirror.
"You're beautiful," he replied.
Ashley turned around to look at him. Andros grabbed her hand, pulling her to him as she straddled his lap. "For two years I couldn't stop thinking about you," he murmured. He stroked her cheek. "Your face, your smile, your laugh," he murmured.
"I missed you too," she murmured, "I always woke up so cold."
Andros kissed her shoulder and she wrapped her arms tightly around him, kissing his neck. He laid back down on the bed, she moved off to the side so they were curled up together. She pushed the hair from his face so she could look into his hazel eyes. "Where do you think we would be if KO-35 wasn't attacked?" she asked. Andros thought about it for a minute, stroking her cheek lightly.
"I think…I don't know I haven't really thought about it really," he replied, "Well no that's a lie."
Ashley couldn't help but laugh a little at his comment. "I don't know, just doing what we planned on doing. My father would be preparing to step down as Ambassador."
"Are you ready for that responsibility?" she asked.
"I think so, it's something he was having me train to do since I was a kid," he replied, "Haven't really thought about being able to do anything else than being a Ranger."
Ashley stroked his jaw as he stared up at the unused top bunk. "Expanding our family?" she asked. Andros looked down at her.
"Is that something you'd want?" he asked.
"In the future, but can you imagine it right now? We're already going to have our hands full with Andrea as it is," she replied.
She rested her head on his shoulder. "And you would be down a Ranger," she added.
"Yeah, we need you," he replied, rubbing her back.
Ashley noticed the pained expression in his face. "Andros?" she asked.
"I didn't get to hold her when she was first born," he murmured.
He let out a deep breath. "I didn't get to try to comfort her as she breathed her first breath. I didn't get to hold her hands to help her learn to stand. I didn't get to hold my arms out to her encouraging her as she learned to walk. I didn't get to hear her say 'dada' for the first time or 'momma'," he replied. Ashely felt her heart ache over his pain. She wiped the single tear that escaped down his cheek. "Braya doesn't understand why it meant so much to me for me to be there," he added, "She took that chance from me."
"But I do," she replied, "She didn't get to hold her that day, Andros."
Andros looked at her. "What?" he asked. She shook her head slowly.
"I kicked her out of the room when I was in labor," she replied, "I didn't let the doctor hold Andrea, the doctor told me she was coming and if I wanted to see her. I…I just pushed and when I felt her first little arm come out I just grabbed her and pulled her to my chest."
Andros listened to her. "She was so beautiful, I just held her and I cried with her as she wailed into my neck," she added.
"What was the first thing she heard?" he asked.
"Her name," she replied, "She heard her name."
Andros was silent again, rubbing her back. "Barbaric, we're not barbaric, we are closer as a family than most of the Terrans I see," she added. She rested her head on his chest. "I wanted Andrea to know she was loved, she was made out of love," she said softly.
"I think you did a good job," he replied, "At least she knew who I was."
"She knows her daddy," She assured him, "She couldn't see your face, but telepathy is a beautiful thing to show your little girl her daddy."
"You showed her?" he asked.
"Some of our best times together, our binding ceremony is her favorite memory to see," she replied.
"You showed her that?" he asked.
"Just recently when she started asking about my line," she replied.
Andros moved so she was laying underneath him. "You are incredible you know that?" he asked.
"I'm just me," she replied.
Andros leaned forward and kissed her lightly. Ashley kissed him back, wrapping an arm around his neck. He moved back to the side and she curled up against him as they ended up falling asleep like that wrapped around each other.
The next morning, Ashley walked into the room to find Andrea awake and rubbing her eyes. "Mommy," she whimpered.
"Good morning, Sweetness," Ashley cooed, picking her daughter up into her arms and kissing her cheek.
Andrea rested her head on Ashley's shoulder as they left the room.
They walked over to the table and Ashley sat down. "What does she like to eat?" Andros asked.
"She's a fan of oatmeal," Ashley replied as he put it into the synthetron, "Just make sure it's lukewarm, because she could burn herself if it's any hotter than that."
Andros placed the bowl in front of her and the toddler reached for the spoon, digging in. "She'll make a mess, but she wants to do it herself," Ashley told him. Andros smiled as the toddler started stuffing the food into her mouth, laughing a little. "Good job, Andrea," Ashley told the little girl, "You're getting so big." Andros just smiled silently, watching his soul and his daughter enjoy breakfast. This was perfect.
