Not Here II: A Day in the Life
By SparklyTree3876

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Romance/Family

Pairings: Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, TJ/Cassie, Leo/Kendrix, Adam/Tanya (mentioned), Rocky/Aisha (mentioned), Tommy/Kat (mentioned), Jason/Emily (mentioned), Zack/Trini (mentioned), Mike/Maya (mentioned), and Kai/OC (mentioned)

Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is a new Power Rangers fic in the form of the sequel to "Not Here." It is AU set four months after the previous fic and focuses on Andros and Ashley going through a day in the life of teen parents. It will be short compared to my previous fics. I was to set it three months after the original, but I decided on four months instead. I decided to change the title as well due to not being satisfied with the previous one. I made major changes to Johnny regarding his arrest for felony weapon possession. He was denied bail due to being a danger to the public. He has pleaded not guilty. All details in chapters that mention him have been changed. I hope you enjoy this fic. Constructive criticism is welcome.

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Chapter 1: Rise and Shine

Clouds covered half the midmorning sky above the Hammond residence in late May. The sun came out from behind a large one. A smaller one went over the top half of it after the other cloud moved away. Trees dipped and swayed in the wind. This caused their leaves to rustle loudly. Some branches appeared about ready to break off.

Four months had passed since Andros and Ashley attended their first teen parent support group meeting at the Angel Grove Teen Center. High school seniors across the city would begin taking their final exams tomorrow. The exams would continue all week. Those that were exempt didn't have to go to school unless they needed to. They would start preparing for their graduation ceremonies next week. Almost all seniors were looking forward to them, especially those at Angel Grove High School.

Andros and Ashley were sleeping in their bed in their room. He lay on his side facing away from the window. He had his arm around her as she laid on her side with her back pressed against him. Her hand was by her face. The sheet covered only their legs. Her baby bump was very visible through her white sleeveless nightgown. It was bigger than most were due to her carrying twins. Their breathing was soft and steady.

Andros moaned in his sleep. He opened his eyes, finding blurry vision. He blinked them multiple times to clear it. He yawned widely and smacked his lips. He took his head off his pillow to look at Ashley a little more closely. He watched her chest rise and fall with every breath she took. He propped his head up with his elbow.

He couldn't help but smile. He loved watching her sleep, especially in the mornings. He was looking forward to his high school graduation. Not once did he ever think he would ever attend such an event in his life, as schooling on KO-35 was very different. He recalled finishing his schooling at fourteen and didn't have a graduation ceremony. He had to admit he enjoyed Earth culture more than he did that of his home world. Of course, one thing about KO-35 that was better than Earth was its acceptance of teen pregnancy, especially since many civilians married in their teens.

Andros pushed his girlfriend's bangs out of her eyes. They, TJ, Cassie, Carlos, Zhane, Karone, Justin, Leo, and Kendrix visited KO-35 during the three-day weekend that included Presidents' Day in February. The civilians were very accepting of Ashley's pregnancy, including Kinwon and Tykwa. Andros asked Kinwon and Tykwa if they would attend their high school graduation in May. They were surprised at this. They were a little uncertain at first, but they decided they would come to Earth for this event. The entire group was thrilled.

Ashton told Andros and Ashley that they would be getting cellphones and caller ID the morning after they got home. He wanted to be able to contact them and Anna in case their landline phones went out, including the cordless ones. He called AT&T and asked for a cellphone plan after he got home from work to which he agreed to a two-year contract. He purchased four cellphones. His cellphone number was 594-9933, Anna's 594-1122, Andros's 594-1110, and Ashley's 594-8888.

Ashley got a call from Jerome a week later. He told her that Johnny's trial was scheduled to start June 5. Though she was annoyed that it would be soon after graduation, she was glad it meant she wouldn't likely risk going into labor while it was going on. She let Andros know about this. She said she wanted to testify against Johnny. He warned her that he would have her removed from the stand if she showed any signs of stress. She agreed to that.

Andros wrote a short story about a young spotted hyena named Minnie who was separated from her pack and overcame dangers to reunite with it for fun the next day. He called it The Lone Hyena. Ashley encouraged him to write about the challenges of teen parenthood. This gave him an idea to do a novel telling their story of their journey to teen parenthood. He began writing From Power Rangers to Teen Parents: An Unexpected Journey a week later. He wrote more short stories over the next month. He entered his first story into a short story contest with first place winning five hundred dollars, second place two hundred fifty, and third one hundred. He managed to win first place. He put the money toward the twins.

Mr. Kaplan called Andros and Ashley into his office a week before spring break. He told them that he was very impressed with how they had handled their situation. He asked them if they would be willing to give speeches about facing teen parenthood head on and overcoming it at graduation. They were surprised, but they accepted his offer. Many students and teachers opposed this once word got out, especially Herbert. Mr. Kaplan refused to back down.

Anna told Andros and Ashley that she learned the Forkstein Medical Insurance Company was offering work-at-home positions that night. She told her boss, Charmy Wiggins, about their situation and that she would like to be home taking care of the twins during the day. Charmy told her that she could work from home. Andros and Ashley were thrilled because this made things a bit easier for them.

Ashley decided to become a stay-at-home mother for the first five years of the twins' lives. Adelle and Ernie were so impressed with Andros's devotion to his job that they made him assistant manager of the Surf Spot. This would be part-time and would become full-time after graduation. They and their friends learned they were exempt from all of their exams with the exception of Leo, Carlos, and TJ having two each at the end of the week.

Andros let out a soft snicker. He didn't want to wake his girlfriend up, yet he couldn't resist. He planted gentle kisses on her shoulder. She stirred without waking up. He smirked while pulling her hair aside. He began to kiss her neck. She woke up, a soft moan leaving her mouth. He pulled back with a chuckle. She turned over, forming a big smile on her face.

"You just had to wake me up, didn't you?" she asked and flicked his nose.

"Yep," he said and pinched her cheek. He sat up after letting go of it. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm feeling great," Ashley said while propping her head up with her elbow. "What about you?"

"I feel great too," Andros admitted and scratched the back of his neck. "I am so glad we don't have to worry about finals ever again."

"Me too," Ashley said and pushed herself into a sitting position. "The rest of the gang are exempt from their exams with the exception of TJ, Carlos, and Leo. They have two exams each at the end of the week."

"It's good that seniors have their finals the week before graduation," Andros said in relief. "This allows them to prepare for the ceremony."

"Mr. Kaplan was serious when he said anyone who fooled around as they came up to receive their diploma would not get it," Ashley commented, tensing somewhat. "I have no intention of doing that."

"Me neither," Andros agreed. "We overheard many seniors talking about colleges they were going to last week."

"I know college isn't for everyone. Some parents manage to attend college, go to work, and raise their children. I admire them for doing all that," Ashley said, her face showing awe.

"I do too," Andros responded and took her hand into his. "I know we made the right decision not to attend college at this time. It would be difficult to raise twins, working, and going to college, even with your mother caring for them."

"You're lucky Adelle and Ernie made you assistant manager of the Surf Spot. You have a higher salary, though it is part-time for the moment. Children cost so much money these days," Ashley commented seriously.

"I will be bringing in more money once I get a book deal after I finish my novel," Andros pointed out.

"Yep," Ashley answered and giggled softly. "Of course, it won't be finished until after the twins are born."

"It will be finished when I write the epilogue after they turn three months old," Andros murmured.

She took a hold of his ponytail and tickled his cheek with it. She spoke gibberish while moving her head from side to side. He swatted her hand aside and pointed his finger in her face. She became silent.

"If you tickle my cheek with my ponytail again, I will make you eat your hair," he warned playfully.

"If you do that, put mustard on it. That will make it taste very good," she said with a smirk.

"Okay," Andros said and acted as if he were getting out of bed and leaving. He touched his ponytail. "Anyway, it's not every day people wear their hair in ponytails when they go to bed."

"You got that right," Ashley commented and cleared her throat. "Some people think men shouldn't wear ponytails because it makes them look like girls."

Andros huffed. "I do not look like a girl. If I wanted to look like one, I would put on makeup and wear a dress."

"I think you should put makeup on and wear a dress," Ashley quipped with a snicker. "You'd look so pretty."

"No, thank you," Andros said, shaking his head rapidly.

"What's wrong, Andros? You chicken?" Ashley taunted and began clucking as if she were a chicken.

"Nobody calls me chicken!" Andros said in Marty's voice.

Ashley giggled. "Nice imitation of Marty's voice."

"Thank you," Andros said with much pride. "All it takes for many people to lose their common sense is getting called cowards."

"That makes them determined to prove they aren't cowardly by taking dangerous dares," Ashley grumbled while rolling her eyes. "That's not being brave. That's being stupid."

"Stupid is as stupid does," Andros responded very bluntly.

She nodded sharply. "Exactly."

Andros and Ashley laid their hands on her stomach. They gasped delightfully at the babies' kicking and moving against them. They looked at each other, big smiles forming on their faces.

"What active babies!" Andros yelled in great amazement.

"No denying that," Ashley responded, happiness radiating from her face. "We have just two months to go before they are born!" She squealed in great excitement. "I can't wait."

"Me neither," Andros commented in much eagerness. "It's going to be great giving speeches to the Class of 2000."

"Many students and teachers have protested against us doing that, but Mr. Kaplan refuses to back down. He won't let them ruin his final day as principal of Angel Grove High," Ashley said in determination.

"It will be nice to see Kinwon and Tykwa there," Andros said, his smile growing wider. "I can't wait to show them some activities that Earth teens do."

"They are going to be confused. That's for sure," Ashley admitted and suppressed a yawn. "It does seem strange that a world's citizens don't celebrate birthdays, hold proms, or have graduation ceremonies."

"It's the way life always has been on KO-35," Andros said and rubbed his nose. He suppressed a yawn. "After living on Earth for nineteen months, I've gotten used to so many Earth customs. I attended my very first prom along with Zhane and Karone last year."

"We had our final prom just last month. It was so much fun," Ashley commented, warmth echoing from her voice. "We had no trouble dancing, despite my big belly." She spoke gibberish. "The flat shoes I wore kept my feet from hurting."

"You looked so beautiful in your sparkling purple dress. It hugged every inch of your curves perfectly," Andros whispered lovingly and kissed her forehead.

"You looked so handsome in your tuxedo," Ashley said, giving the tip of his nose a kiss. "It was great having our pictures taken. I couldn't resist having my hands on my stomach."

"I don't blame you," Andros said and slipped a lock of hair behind her ear. "My favorite song that we danced to was Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing. That's the love theme from Armageddon."

"I like that movie, but it's not realistically depicted in regards to asteroids. In fact, most films don't follow reality. The Home Alone movies are the perfect example. Harry and Marv would've died from many of the injuries they sustained from booby traps," Ashley pointed out matter-of-factly. She scratched her cheek. "Marv 'died' four times in one scene when he got hit with four bricks to the head. The injuries he would've gotten were a skull fracture and an epidural hematoma."

"Of course, he didn't die. He was just disoriented," Andros commented and made a funny noise. "I hope our kids don't get the idea of dropping bricks off the top of a building." He became a little tense.

"We just need to explain to them that it is dangerous to do such a thing," Ashley said gently. "Dropping bricks from the top of building can also do great damage to property."

He nodded in agreement. He ran his hand over her stomach, as did she with hers. They looked at it. They smiled as the twins moved and kicked against them. Their smiles faded quickly. They became very serious. They looked at each other.

"It's been five months since my grandparents demanded we get married or give the twins up for adoption. Though I haven't let their absence bother me, what they said still hurts," Ashley admitted sadly.

"Why wouldn't it?" Andros wondered and furrowed his brow. "They were way out of line with what they said. Grandparents don't have to like any situation their grandchildren end up in, but they should be supportive of them."

"We are supposed to respect our elders, but they need to respect us too. Respect is earned. It can't be demanded. Nor can it be given," Ashley said, bluntness showing in her voice. She let out a heavy sigh. "People can say I was disrespectful to my grandparents all they want. That did not give them the right to mistreat me the way they did."

"At least TJ's grandfather accepted our situation. He loves receiving emails containing ultrasound pictures of the babies," Andros said happily.

"My next ultrasound appointment is this Wednesday," Ashley commented excitedly. "It will be great showing new pictures to Kinwon and Tykwa. They are coming in from KO-35 tomorrow afternoon."

"I am working at the Surf Spot tomorrow morning, so I can go with you and the others to meet them at NASADA," Andros added and flicked her nose. "Kinwon and Tykwa will be amazed to see how big your baby bump has gotten since we visited KO-35."

"You got that right," Ashley said, laughing in much glee.

"You were beginning to show by the time you were four months pregnant," Andros commented, sighing contently when the babies kicked against their hands. "Your weight gain has been on track. You are eating well. I have little doubt you will give birth to healthy twins."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed. "I love you."

"I love you too," Andros whispered with much love. "Now and forever."

Andros and Ashley kissed sweetly and rubbed noses. They pressed their foreheads together. They stayed this way for thirty seconds before pulling away. They heard their stomachs growl.

"I am getting hungry," he admitted.

"Me too," she agreed. "What do you say we go to the bathroom and get dressed, so we can go downstairs?"

"I say let's do it," Andros said in much eagerness.

"Great," Ashley yelled in happiness.

He smirked. "Just don't eat all the eggs and bacon."

She growled in mock annoyance. "I will if I want to."

Andros waved Ashley off. They swung their legs over the sides of the bed. He got up and jumped into the air. He landed in a graceful way. She placed her hands on her back while standing up slowly. She made her way over to the desk chair, where her blue robe hung over it. She put it on and closed it. She tied it as she emitted a soft sigh. They headed out of the room. They went to the bathroom. She turned on the lights and went inside. She closed the door. He proceeded to wait.