I own no part of SON

Peace and love to all!

sparkyleathers08: wow is all I can say. I love your reviews and I am so glad you are enjoying this story so much. I am so excited to see what you think of this and future chapters because I have some interesting ideas up my sleeve! So once again thank you so much for the reviews and making me laugh til I cry.

Blazed18: thank you so much! I've really loved writing this one!

lalalalee: I'm back! Thanks for the review!

SoNFANFOREVER: honestly at this point is there anything that even needs to be said between us that hasn't already been said. Thank you for the wonderful review and I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much. Love you of course, you're amazing.

DarceLynn: Stop you're making me blush

Coachkimm: Agreed Kyla better behave…I guess I hold the reins on that one…we shall see…

LoLo06: Ah thanks for the review and yes I thought that was pretty funny myself. Kinda chuckled to myself as I wrote it.

The smell of actual food starts to pull me out of my sleep. I smile lazily at the feeling of Ashley's possessive hold on my body. Waking up like this, in her arms with no concerns is the best feeling I've felt in a long time. Ashley's deep, even breaths tickle the back of my neck and it's getting hard to resist the urge to wiggle away from the sensation.

I hear her mumble something incoherent and then very distinctly she sighs out my name. I turn in her arms and look for signs of her being awake, on finding none I smile widely knowing she dreams of me.

She looks so peaceful in her sleep and I've never seen her this relaxed. A small smile plays on her lips as she sleeps and when I try to untangle myself from her she frowns, pulling me tighter. Her actions cause me to smile and I realize that I didn't need to hesitate last night when I told her I loved her because I really do, with all my heart.

As my smile gets bigger so does the feeling of happiness that is spreading through my body.

"Ash."

I give her a gentle nudge and kiss the side of her mouth. I can't resist waking her and gazing into her eyes. When I'm not looking into her hazel orbs I feel almost lost.

She grumbles sleepily and nuzzles further into my body.

"Ashley wake up. I have something important to tell you."

She blinks lazily and when her eyes focus on mine she gives me a sleepy grin, the familiar shine once again present in her eyes.

"Mmk hmm I'm up. What do you need to tell me?"

Her eyes start to flutter close and I chuckle at her attempt to not fall asleep again.

"I love you."

I whisper against her ear and kiss her softly behind her ear, my fingers dancing across her bare stomach. With her eyes still closed she smiles and a blush coats her cheeks.

"You do?"

Her husky voice questions me and I run my nose along her jaw breathing her in.

"I really do. Now get up I smell breakfast and I'm starving."

I start to climb out of bed but her hold on my naked waist stops me and she pulls me into a heated kiss. I melt into the feeling of her lips on mine and she pulls back before I'm really ready for her to leave.

"I love you too."

We smile giddily at each other until the rumbles of my stomach break through my thoughts. After several distracting looks and touches we both start walking to the kitchen where we can hear voices and smell food.

As we enter the kitchen Ashley's grip on my hand loosens to the point of her dropping my hand and she stares at the visitor with wide eyes.

"W-what are you doing here?"

I tear my gaze away from a teary eyed Ashley and stare at him. It must be the one who hurt her so bad because he's staring at her apologetically with an almost longing look in his eyes.

"Ash I want to help and when I called Kyla asking if she'd found you…"

He trails off his own tears running down his face. My gaze darts between Aiden and Ashley and I decide I don't like the way they are looking at each other.

Kyla looks at me with worried eyes as I frown at Aiden. I'm not normally a jealous person but when it comes to Ashley it seems I am rather possessive.

Aiden takes a small step towards Ashley and I pull her closer to me, wrapping my arm around her waist and giving him a warning look. My actions seem to snap Ashley out of her trance and she turns her eyes to me, a soft look gracing her features again.

"Oh Aiden that's Spencer, the girl everyone wants. She's with Ashley these days."

I watch as pain flashes across his face before he stretches his hand out for me to take.

"Spencer, so you're the one who's causing all this trouble? Well it's nice to finally meet you."

My small hand grasps his large, rough palm and he gives me a weak smile, his eyes wandering back to the girl clutching my arm.

"I've heard a lot about you too."

Aiden flinches at my harsh tone and the cold stare I'm giving him. He nods slowly and excuses himself to the bathroom.

"Oh my God Ashley I am so sorry I didn't know he was going to come over and then I didn't know he'd still be feeling all…lovey towards you. I am such a bad sister."

Ashley raises her hand cutting off Kyla's rambling and starts serving herself breakfast. Aiden rejoins us and we all sit together at the table. Kyla and Aiden talk adamantly about smuggling plans to get us out but Ashley sits quietly beside me staring at the food on her plate.

The far away, sad look on her face worries me so without a word to the other people around us I grab her wrist and pull her to the bedroom. The door clicks shut behind us and Ashley beats me to my idea. Her lips crash onto mine and her hands shove me against the door. I moan loudly into her open mouth and start tugging at clothes but stop when I taste hot tears on her face.

"Hey, hey shh. Ashley don't cry, what's going on?"

She collapses into me and buries her face in my chest as we slide down the door until we are tangled on the floor.

"Who does he think he is? Damnit he's going to ruin everything."

Her wide, sad eyes drift across my face and I don't like what I see in them. I lick my lips nervously before taking a deep breath to ask the question I feel like I already know the answer to.

"Do, do you still love him?"

My voice wavers and her grip on my hips lessens, she's already pulling away. Her silence is overwhelming and my eyes slam shut as I fight back angry tears. Wasn't see just confessing her love for me last night, this morning? Was she only playing games with me, do I mean nothing, just another thing for her to conquer?

"Ashley, do you still love him?"

A sob escapes her mouth, her mouth that only a few seconds ago was on mine, and she cups my face with both her hands.

"I don't want to."

She chokes out the words against my neck as she continues to cling to my body. I can't believe this is happening. Do I just give her up? Do I cut my losses and return to my mother, pretending like I never cared for the woman in my arms?

"Hey look at me."

Ashley looks at me with broken eyes and in that instant I make my choice. My shaky hand tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I won't give up on you or whatever it is we've started. I'll fight for you. Ashley when I said I loved you I meant it."

The look of disbelief on Ashley's face is enough to make me laugh out loud and I brush my lips against hers.

"Spencer but-"

"Ashley, shut up and kiss me."

So she does. And boy what a kiss it is. Her mouth is hot on my own and I get lost in the sensation of her kisses. She pulls back panting slightly and the fire in her eyes give me butterflies.

"Spencer I don't want to hurt you."

She rests her forehead against mine and closes her eyes, confusion and pain written all over her face.

"I believe you. Just please pick me. I can't lose you to him, I need you."

We stand and Ashley promptly excuses herself to the bathroom. As I stand there rubbing my face my head swims with doubts and questions. Doesn't she see that how much I care about her or how much he really doesn't?

Even though I'm frustrated and a little angry at Ashley I can't help the smile that breaks out on my face when she walks back into the bedroom. Her eyes look brighter and she walks right up to me placing a gentle kiss on my lips.

"Wanna finish breakfast?"

Her question seems so simple on the surface but I know better. I know what awful reality lies on the other side of that door. He sits just a few feet away probably thinking of all the ways he can get her back. Her hopeful face makes me feel slightly ill and I grab her hand a little unwillingly.

She smiles warmly at me, oblivious to the concern clearly flashing through my eyes.

As we enter the kitchen Aiden's greedy gaze latches onto Ashley and I almost want to growl at him. I'm losing my mind over this whole situation. To me it is so obvious what she should do but for her it's harder. It is hard for her to have such a big part of her life, a part she was upset with, waltz back in and try to reclaim her.

Under the kitchen table I feel her fingers trace patterns on my jean covered thigh and I sigh contentedly. She meets my gaze with loving eyes and it almost makes me forget her earlier hesitation, her earlier doubt; almost but not quite.

"Ashley?"

I whisper her name against her ear and rest my face in the crook of her neck. Almost like they are miles away I can hear Kyla and Aiden but the most prominent sound right now is my own thudding heartbeat.

"Yeah Spencer?"

Her voice is huskier then normal from all the crying she's done recently and the gravely sound sends tingles through my body.

"I'm scared."

She meets my worried stare and gives me a sympathetic smile.

"Spencer I told you I'd protect you, you don't have to worry."

"But who's going to protect me from you?"

I push my chair back from the table and the last thing I see before exiting the room her beautifully broken expression.

I guess I understand why this is hard for her. Does the heart really forget its first true love? God I hope so.

Sorry that took so long guys. I was gone all weekend again and I've been super busy with school. Hope you liked it and as always thanks for the reads/reviews/adds/etc. Your feedback is amazing!