Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter eleven of "Not Here." I'm glad it took just six days to get out. This chapter has a bit of Andros/Ashley. I will begin bringing in the veteran Rangers in the next few chapters. Stay tuned for chapter twelve.

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Chapter 11: Going Home

Clouds covered much of the early afternoon sky above the forest highway. A white-tailed deer was chewing on a piece of bark it had pulled off the tree it stood next to. It swallowed with a loud gulp. It watched Ashley's van pass while swiveling its ears. It pulled another piece of bark off the tree.

Ashley moved her hands to the top of the steering wheel. She saw a bump in the road come into view. She drove around it, getting the van straight very quickly. She gazed over at Andros, who was looking out the window. She turned her attention back to the road.

"What are you thinking about, Andros?" she asked curiously.

"I'm thinking about our return to your aunt's cabin at Christmas. I can't wait for it," he said excitedly.

"Me neither. I bet it will even be more romantic than this getaway was," Ashley said, her face beaming with happiness.

"So do I. It'll be four days of walking along the lake, swinging on the balcony swing, making love in front of a fire, and other things," Andros said, looking at her.

She smiled. "The lovemaking is what I am looking forward to the most. I can't believe how much we went at it over the last two days."

"You're not kidding," Andros agreed. "We couldn't keep our hands off each other, not to mention you seduced me in that very revealing nightie. Damn. You looked so sexy in that." He wolf-whistled, causing her to break into a fit of giggles.

"You want me to seduce you with that nightie again when we go back up there for Christmas?" Ashley asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

He growled playfully and put his hands behind his head. "You can seduce me with it anytime."

"That's good because I am planning to do that. In fact, I might not wear any underwear at all," Ashley said, gazing at him with a big smile on her face.

"Ooh. That would make you even sexier," Andros said, howling as if he were a wolf.

Ashley giggled hysterically and hit her hand on the wheel. She loved it when Andros did that. She thought he'd make a handsome wolf. She saw another bump in the road and attempted to drive around it, but she ended up hitting it. They bounced up and down in their seats. She straightened her van with a turn of the wheel.

"Wow. What a bounce!" Andros blurted out cheerfully.

"You're telling me. I think we nearly gave my van a sunroof," Ashley joked and put her hand on the ceiling. She acted as if she were pushing on it.

"Would you like a sunroof for your van?" Andros wondered, furrowing his brow.

"I'd love a sunroof for my van. In fact, you can install one in it for me," Ashley commented, putting her hand back on the wheel.

"I'd do that if I knew how," Andros said, emitting a small sigh.

"Oh, well. It was just a thought," Ashley responded, giving a shrug. "Besides, I don't want to accidentally forget to close it and have heavy rain soak my seats."

"If that happened, we could car pool," Andros quipped with a loud snicker.

"I don't think so," Ashley said, shaking her head rapidly.

"I do think so," Andros said, nodding just as fast.

She scoffed and waved him off, getting a laugh from him. She hit a pothole, which caused them to sink down in their seats. They straightened themselves up. They made funny noises.

"Whoa. That was a real sink down in our seats," he commented, a laugh coming out of his mouth.

"Yes, it was," she agreed. "At least our seatbelts kept us from sinking down even further."

Andros touched the lap part of his seatbelt. "I can see why seatbelts were invented." He adjusted it a little bit. "They help to keep passengers from getting severely injured or killed in automobile crashes."

"So true. Of course, some people have been killed in crashes, despite they were wearing their seatbelts," Ashley pointed out.

"I know. Some people think they don't need to wear their seatbelts while they are driving around town. The reality is most crashes happen within thirty miles of home," Andros said seriously.

Ashley raised her eyebrows. "I read about that. No matter how short of a trip I have to drive, I will always wear my seatbelt. It's plain old common sense."

"Unfortunately, common sense doesn't seem to be so common these days," Andros muttered dejectedly.

"Mm-hmm," she agreed, sighing heavily. "People will throw their common sense out the window when they are dared to do something dangerous. They want to prove how tough they are." She became very disgusted. "That's not being tough. That's being stupid."

"You know what they say, 'You can't fix stupid,'" he said bluntly and rolled his eyes.

"Exactly," Ashley replied with a sharp nod. She drove around another bump. She managed to get her van straight. "You'll never see me take a dangerous dare. Nope, nope, nope."

"Me neither," Andros said, his hands balling into fists. "Then again, I can always dare you to make love with me."

"Now, that is a dare I can take," Ashley commented with a giggle.

"Okay, Ms. Hammond. I dare you to stop the van and drag me into the back, so you can make love with me," Andros said, smiling suggestively.

"I'd love to, Mr. Parker, but we promised our families we'd be home by late afternoon," Ashley said in seriousness.

He put his hand over his face, feeling embarrassed. "Oh, right. I forgot."

Ashley peered at him in the corner of her eye as he laid his hand in his lap. She felt bad for ruining his dare. She started thinking about what would make him feel better. Suddenly, an idea clicked in her mind.

"To make it up to you, why don't I stop on the side of the road and make love with you while we are on our way back from our Christmas stay?" Ashley suggested and returned her attention to the road.

He looked at her, smiling very eagerly. "That's perfect."

"Great," Ashley replied in happiness.

"I will reward you with this," Andros said and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. He rubbed the same spot before settling back in his seat.

"Thanks," she said lovingly.

"You're welcome," he whispered and put his hands behind his head. "Just don't crash the van." He imitated Curly's signature nyuk-nyuk-nyuk.

She blushed somewhat, but it was enough to make her face red. "Oh, shush!"

He laughed to himself. He looked up at the ceiling and started singing nonsense. The redness faded from her face.

00000

A blue jay flew through the sky above an Angel Grove neighborhood in the late afternoon. It spotted the Johnson residence and decided to go downward. The house was large and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. A wooden fence surrounded the backyard. A patio was in front of the back door and had a metal table and four matching chairs. A swing was on the front porch.

The jay landed on the living room's windowsill and looked inside to see TJ and Karone playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 while they sat on the couch. The room was medium-sized with pine end tables, an oak coffee table, and two armchairs. The TV was across from the couch. A VCR sat on top of it. The walls were beige. The floor was covered in green carpet.

TJ and Karone formed determined looks on their faces. He was Sonic while she was Tails. They were neck in neck going to the second star post in Emerald Hill Zone Act 1 until he performed a spin attack to get ahead of her. He laughed in delight and wiggled his eyebrows.

"It looks like I'm going to beat you, Karone!" TJ exclaimed.

"I wouldn't say that, TJ," Karone warned sternly. She did a spindash and got ahead of him very quickly. She took the bottom route and jumped over the leaping fish. She went up the slope and toward the marker, getting past it. She pumped her fist, laughing cheerfully. "Tails manages to beat Sonic yet again!"

He chuckled quietly and leaned over to turn off the game. "Nice job at getting ahead of me."

"Thanks. It's really cool how Tails uses his tails to make himself go faster," Karone said and moved her arms around repeatedly. She put the controller on the coffee table, as did he with his.

"He might, but he'll never be as fast as Sonic," TJ said.

She became very thoughtful. "If there is one thing Tails can do that Sonic can't, it's that he can fly."

"Yeah, but he can't go very high," he pointed out.

"Maybe he can't, but he is great at carrying Sonic to places he can't reach," she replied, chuckling quietly.

"So true," TJ agreed.

"I'm going into the kitchen to get me a coke," Karone said, jerking her thumb in the direction of the kitchen. "Would you like me to get you one?"

"Sure," TJ said with a big smile. "Thanks."

Karone winked at him. "No problem."

Karone stood up to go into the kitchen, which was medium-sized with green cabinets, green walls, a bar with two stools, a pine table with six unmatching chairs, and a white tile floor. She opened the refrigerator to get two cokes. She closed it with a loud slam. She returned to the living room and handed one of them to TJ, who had put the Sega Genesis on top of the TV. She seated herself in her spot. They opened their cokes. They sipped them, nodding in approval.

"Nothing like a coke right after a video game, is there?" TJ asked. He put his coke on the end table next to him, as did she with hers on the other one.

"You said it, TJ," Karone agreed. "I like how video games can improve eye-hand coordination. That makes working various jobs much easier."

"I know. You have to keep your eyes on what is in front of you while you're working a machine's controls," TJ said, moving his hands in different directions. "One wrong move, and someone could be hurt very badly."

"Or killed," Karone added.

"Exactly," TJ said and put his arm on top of the couch. "I hope Andros and Ashley had a nice time at her aunt's cabin."

"Me too," Karone said, smiling lightly. "They probably did a bunch of making out all weekend." She cupped her chin in her hand.

"Most likely. A cabin is the perfect place for that," TJ commented, making kissing sounds.

"No kidding, Sherlock," Karone replied, giggling softly. "You'd have to ply those two apart with a crowbar. They can't keep away from each other."

"You and Zhane can't keep away from each other either," TJ said, a snicker coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah, but we're not quite as bad as my brother and his girlfriend," Karone pointed out with a shrug. "Then again, it's nice when people get to spend time alone with their significant others."

"Just don't you and Andros start making out with Zhane and Ashley when we have to get together to study for a test," TJ warned playfully. "There's nothing worse than two people more interested in smooching than they are in studying."

Karone smacked her friend on the shoulder. She looked toward the window to see Ashley's van coming into the driveway. She became excited and turned to him.

"TJ, Andros is home!" she yelled.

"All right!" he said and gazed toward the stairs. "Mom, Dad! Andros is home!"

"We'll be down in a minute, son!" Diane called.

TJ and Karone stood up and went to the front door. He unlocked it and opened it, its hinges squeaking slightly. They stepped into the doorway. Andros was getting his roll-on suitcase out of the back of the van. He closed the door with a hard slam. He headed to Ashley and spoke inaudible words to her. He gave her a kiss on the lips. He pulled his suitcase behind him as he made his way toward TJ and Karone, whom both waved at Ashley. The duo saw her wave back to them. They watched her pull out of the driveway and drive off. TJ gave Andros a high-five once his friend got to him and Karone.

"It's good to see you, buddy," TJ greeted.

"It's good to see you, Teej," Andros responded and pulled his suitcase up beside him. He turned to Karone. "Hey, sis."

"Hey yourself, bro," Karone replied sweetly and hugged him. She smiled at him hugging her back. They pulled apart to look at each other. "How was your getaway?"

"It was great," Andros said happily. "Of course, Ashley and I had to deal with someone dialing the wrong number."

Karone shrugged as she titled her head slightly. "We all have to deal with that every now and then."

TJ chuckled to himself. "Come on in. I'm sure you're tired from your trip." He and Karone stepped away from the doorway.

"Definitely," Andros said honestly and walked inside, pulling his suitcase behind him. He stopped next to the coffee table and turned around to see TJ closing the door. "At least the ride home was nice."

Footsteps caught the teens' attention. They looked up to see fifty-year-old Ricky and forty-seven-year-old Diane coming down the stairs. Ricky looked like his son, except he was slightly taller and not as muscular. He had no wrinkles on his face whatsoever. He had a scar extending from the middle of the left palm of his hand to the bottom of it.

Diane smiled at Andros, who responded in kind. She was petite and was lean, though she had some muscle. Her short black hair was in dreadlocks. Her eyebrows were thin, almost invisible. Her eyes were light brown and possessed tiny freckles underneath them. Her face had no wrinkles whatsoever. She and her husband reached the bottom of the stairs. They walked up to Andros.

"It's good to see you home, Andros," Diane said, giving him a hug to which he responded in kind.

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Johnson," Andros replied and released his hold on her, as did she on him. They pulled back and looked toward Ricky. "The same goes for you, Mr. Johnson."

"You too, Andros," Ricky responded and ruffled the boy's hair. He laughed at him swatting his hand aside. "What are you trying to, push my hand off my arm?"

Andros tried to stifle a laugh, but he couldn't help himself. "If only that were possible. Anyway, what did you four do all weekend?"

Karone came to her brother's side. "Just hung around, bro."

"Karone and I finished a game of Sonic 2 before you got here," TJ said, motioning toward himself and Karone.

"I beat TJ fair and square," Karone said smugly.

"Don't get so smug, Karone," TJ warned. "It'll bite you on the—"

Diane pointed her finger at her son, giving him a disapproving look. "Don't you dare, son."

"Butt. I was going to say butt, Mom," TJ assured, holding up his hands.

"Good," Ricky said, putting his arm around his wife as she put her arm down. "It's crazy when people curse, especially when it's front of young kids." He hissed in annoyance.

TJ put his hands at his sides as he, Andros, and Karone looked at each other. They couldn't help it when they cursed sometimes, especially when they got frustrated. Of course, they tried their best not to do it in Ricky and Diane's presence. They weren't always successful, though. Andros picked up his suitcase by its top.

"I better take this upstairs," Andros said, glancing at the stairs.

"After that, let's go into the kitchen, so you can tell us about your getaway to the cabin," Diane said eagerly.

Andros nodded at her. "Okay."

Andros headed upstairs, singing a scat. He returned two minutes later. He, TJ, Karone, Ricky, and Diane went into the kitchen.

00000

An American robin sat on the Hammond residence's sink windowsill. It ran its beak through its wing feathers. The house was large with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The backyard was surrounded by a chain-link fence. A swing was next to the back door. Two bright orange horseshoe poles were in the middle of the backyard. They were a long distance apart.

The robin stopped running its beak through its feathers and looked inside to see forty-eight-year-old Anna pouring coffee into a mug. She filled it to nearly full and put the kettle back in the coffeemaker. She took a sip, nodding in approval. She resembled Ashley, except she was somewhat taller and possessed a little more muscle. She had few wrinkles on her face.

She looked around the medium-sized kitchen at its bright blue cabinets, white walls, bar with four stools, hardwood table with four matching chairs, and white tile floor. She returned her attention to her mug and sipped more of her coffee. She put it on the counter while smacking her lips.

Just then, forty-four-year-old Ashton walked into the kitchen. He was as tall as Ricky was. He was more muscular than his friend was. His short dark brown hair had a shagginess to it. His dark blue eyes had small scars underneath. His left cheek had a tiny freckle on it. He came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her temple, and she looked up at him with a smile.

"You just had to come up behind me and kiss my temple, didn't you?" she teased.

"Well, I just felt like doing that. Besides, it's your favorite place to be kissed," he responded, winking at her.

"At least I wasn't pouring coffee into this mug when you did that," Anna said, picking up her mug. "I probably would've spilled it on myself." She winced painfully and put it down. "Spilling coffee on yourself is one of the worst things ever. Not only is it hot, but it leaves a big stain on your clothes."

"Yes, but we have Cheer. It works wonders on get coffee stains," Ashton pointed out and released his hold on him.

"Moreover, we have a great washing machine," Anna commented.

He raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his sides. "Don't forget who bought that washing machine."

She rolled her eyes and turned around. "Of course not."

Ashton pinched Anna's nose before flicking her chin. He grabbed a glass from the cabinet next to the sink and headed over to the refrigerator. He opened it to get the tea. He poured it into his glass until it was halfway full. He put it back in the refrigerator before closing with a loud slam. He took a sip and nodded in approval. He looked toward Anna, who held her mug in her hands.

"I hope Andros and Ashley had a nice time at my sister's cabin," Ashton said with a small smile.

"Me too. Andros is such a sweet boy. Who would've thought our daughter's boyfriend would be from another world?" Anna wondered, taking another sip of her coffee.

"I know," Ashton commented, a light laugh leaving his mouth. "His telekinesis is pretty cool. I couldn't stop myself from laughing when Ashley told us about Karone using her telekinesis to tie Johnny's shoelaces together and him tripping over his feet when he tried to walk away."

"It was about time for someone to give that boy a taste of his own medicine," Anna said bluntly. "Damn. He doesn't get that Ashley is in love with Andros and wants nothing to do with him."

"The best thing about Andros and Ashley's relationship is my mother can't hook her up with some kooky suitor anymore," Ashton said, scoffing in irritation. "I swear, she has tried to hook her up with every guy she has come across."

"How could she do that when she adored Andros the second she met him? The same goes for our fathers. Unfortunately, she is always asking when Andros and Ashley are going to get married and have kids. By God, they're only in high school. They should get through college first before they consider marriage and kids," Anna grumbled with a groan.

"In our parents' day, it was normal to get married and have children in your teens. Now, it's frowned upon," Ashton commented with a heavy sigh. "Then again, you're told you're selfish if you wait until you're older to get married and have children. You're damned if you do. You're damned if you don't."

"It's disgusting," Anna said, shuddering badly. "Moreover—"

Ashton and Anna heard the front door being unlocked. They walked to the doorway to see Ashley opening it and entering the large living room, which had a couch, oak end tables, and a pine coffee table. A TV stood across from the couch, and an armchair was off in the corner. The walls were bright green. The floor had brown carpet. Ashley had her suitcase in her hand. She closed the door behind her. Ashton and Anna made their way toward her.

"Hey, Mom, Dad," Ashley greeted warmly and set her suitcase down. "I'm home."

"Oh, Ashley. It's so good to see you," Anna said in happiness. She and her husband hugged their daughter tightly. They smiled at feeling her hug them back.

"Did you have a nice time at the cabin?" Ashton asked curiously.

"It was great, Dad," Ashley answered, letting go of her parents. She pulled back to look at them. "We did have to deal with someone dialing a wrong number, though."

"Ah. That's no big deal. At least it doesn't happen all the time," Anna assured gently.

"Yeah, but it's still annoying, especially when you're trying to enjoy some alone time with your significant other," Ashley griped.

"You can always leave the phone off the hook. That will stop anyone from dialing a wrong number," Ashton said, ruffling her hair. He flicked her nose twice.

"I could do that at the cabin, but the phone is a cordless one," Ashley muttered dejectedly. "It'll start beeping like crazy if it's left on for too long." She scoffed to herself. "Why do cordless phones have to make such loud beeping noises?"

"It's how they are designed, Ash. There's not anything we can do about it other than turn them off," Anna said, sighing heavily. "Anyway, let's not worry about that. Let's worry about you telling us all about your getaway. I'm sure you're tired from all that driving."

"Very much so," Ashley admitted. "So, what did you do all weekend?"

"We just hung around," Anna answered.

"I see," Ashley whispered. "Anyway, I'm going to take my suitcase upstairs. Then we'll go in the kitchen, so I can tell you about the getaway."

Ashton and Anna gave their daughter thumbs-ups. Ashley picked up her suitcase and walked upstairs. She returned three minutes later. She and her parents went into the kitchen.