Author: Nykkyta





Rating: R





Disclaimers: I own nothing, i'm dirt poor, this is purely made for the

enjoyment of the reader and the author, and NO profit is

being made from this. SO PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!!!!





Spoilers: Mainly Daughters of Darkness, a little bit of Secret

Vampire, and maybe Soulmate, if I missed any, sry.



~~~~~*******~~~~~



Mary-Lynnette Carter couldn't wait, it had been exactly one year since she had last seen her soulmate, Ash Redfern. And he was coming back to Briar Creek today just like he'd promised her he would.





They had called each other about once a week after the first month away from each other, but it still wasn't the same.



She was wearing a tight navy blue sweater with blue jeans today. She had her hair blow dried and curled in the front, she looked incredibly beautiful. She just hoped that Ash was still in love with her. He told her he loved her and vice versa every time they talked on the phone but she was still slightly worried.



All of a sudden the doorbell rang. Mary-Lynnette ran to the top of the stairs and jumped over the banister. She landed gracefully on her feet at the bottom of the stairs and opened the door.



Ash was standing there in front of her with one of his hands wrapped around 12 long stemmed red roses and he had a huge grin on his face. "Hey Mare, you look great!" he whispered softly. Mary-Lynnette felt herself starting to blush. "Hey, it's great to see you again." Mary-Lynnette said softly. Then they both moved and they were in each other's arms. Mary- Lynnette tilted her head up and then they were kissing. It felt so good to be in Ash's arms-the place she had longed for over the past year.



~Goddess Mare, I missed you so much!~ He sent through their link. ~I missed you too~, came Mary-Lynnette's simple reply.





Later That Night:





It was around twilight. Nobody was home except for Mary-Lynnette and Ash. They were sitting on the couch watching Miss Congeniality, (one of their favorite movies) Mary-Lynnette had her head resting on Ash's lap with his arms lain on her stomach, gently rubbing it. They were both very content.



"You know how you said on the phone that you've always wanted to go to New York City?" Ash asked. "Yeah, why?" "Well how would you like to spend two weeks alone with me in New York?" She flung herself off of Ash in excitement, "You wanna take me to New York with you?!" she practically shrieked. Ash looked mildly startled but replied normally "Yep, I'm pretty sure that's what the two first class air tickets and the two reservations for the Millennium Hilton Hotel that I got for us means." She gave a small shriek and flung her arms around Ash's neck. Ash hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. " Is that a yes?" Ash asked tentatively. Mary- Lynnette shook her head yes for confirmation.



"This is so wonderful Ash, when do we leave?" "Well we can leave tomorrow if you want." "Great, come on, you can help me pack" She dragged Ash upstairs to her bedroom and sat him down on her bed.



Ash was looking around her room curiously while Mary-Lynnette threw some clothes into one of her suitcase's. "Geez Mare, I really think you should be an astronaut" he said after looking around her room for a few moments. "Nah, up in space I wouldn't be able to see you for a few months. And trust me, after being away from you for twelve months I'm not letting you out of my sight for quite a while, I missed you way too much." "Well that feeling is definitely mutual!" Ash said. "And just imagine, we're going to have two whole weeks together, all alone." Mary-Lynnette said happily.



"Oh, I almost forgot, I got something for you." Ash said while reaching into his pocket for something. Curious, Mary-Lynnette sat down on her bed. Ash sat down beside her and handed her a small, blue, velvet, jewelry box. Mary-Lynnette gently took the box from Ash's palm. She opened the box and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a beautiful diamond heart on a glittering 24 karat gold chain! "Goddess Ash, it must have cost a fortune!" "Nah, I'm not exactly poor if ya know what I mean, and besides I thought it would look great on you. Now turn around and let me put it on you." Mary-Lynnette turned around and held her hair up so that Ash could put it on. When he was done clasping it around her neck he turned her around. "It looks even more beautiful when it's on you," Ash said. Mary-Lynnette leaned up and kissed him, "Thank you Ash, it's really beautiful!"





The next morning they went over to the Burdock Farm to visit Ash's sisters. Rowan opened the door when she saw her brother and his soulmate standing outside getting ready to ring the new doorbell that she and Mare had put in.



"Ash it's great to see you again!" "Same here," Ash said, pulling Rowan up into a big bear hug. Rowan froze, shocked. Since when did Ash hug anybody!!! "Problem Rowan?" Ash asked. "Oh my Goddess Ash you really have changed!" "Uh....Yeah Rowan....Are we gonna go inside or not?" Ash asked uncertainly. "Oh yeah sure." Rowan replied, finally snapping out of the shock that finding out that her brother had changed for the good had caused.



Jade and Kestrel came running down the stairs to see who had come. When they saw their brother standing at the door with Mary-Lynnette they froze. "Ash," said Kestrel icily, "how lovely to see you again, unless of course you're here to take us back to that Hellhole of an island. And then of course I might have to find a nice little stake and shove it up your- "KESTREL!!!" Rowan interuppted, "Ash is just here to visit." "Yeah Kes, I got it all worked out with Dad so that you can stay here until he says otherwise," Ash replied lazily. "Well in that case, it's nice to see ya again." "Yeah Kes I love to be welcomed by family with a good old death threat." "Ya know what Rowan, I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go find a stake in the basement to stake Ash wit-" "Would you guys PLEASE shuttup!" Mary-Lynnette interuppted Kestrel this time. Kestrel shut her mouth and Ash replied "Sure sweetheart," while wrapping his arm around her waist. When he said this Kestrel and Jade's jaws dropped about six inches and Rowan was trying without success to hide her grin. "I thought you guys hated each other?!" Jade said awed. "Nah, that was just an act. Actually we're engaged and getting married in New York next week and then we're spending another week there for our honeymoon!" Ash said. Now even Rowan's jaw dropped. "WHAT!!!" all three sisters said increduously. Mary- Lynnette playfully slapped Ash's arm. "Almost everthing he just said was a lie, except that we're going to New York for two weeks, and it's not for a honeymoon!" "Too bad," Ash muttered under his breath. Mary-Lynnette turned and glared at him.



"Well, it was nice seeing you again but we have to catch our plane," both Ash and Mary-Lynnette said, "we'll see ya in two weeks!" Ash said happily, giving each of his sisters a hug before turning and putting an arm around Mare's waist, stepping out of the door, and shutting it after themselves.



"Goddess Mare, do you think you packed enough stuff?" "I don't know, I hope so. Do you think I did?" She asked worriedly. "I was being sarcastic! Of course you packed enough, we're only going for two weeks. I packed all of my clothes in one suitcase!" "Well then I guess I know what to get you for Christmas then." "Yeah, and I know exactly what not to get you for Christmas!" "Are we ready to go?" Mary-Lynnette said, changing the subject. "Yep." "Great, can I drive?" "Sure, I got a new car. A 2002 black Porsche." "A PORSCHE!!!! You were right, you aren't poor!" Ash just laughed. "Well let's go." "Okay just let me lock the door, if I don't Claud will kill me." "Alright I'll be loading the bags."



On The Way To The Airport:



"Uh, Mare, I kinda forgot to mention something when I told you about the trip to New York," Ash murmured quietly. Mary-Lynnette could tell something was wrong by his tone of voice. "What do you mean you forgot to mention something?" Mary-Lynnette asked suspicously. "Well, we're notexactlygoingtobeallalone," he said quickly. "Say that a little slower?" "Well there's a Circle Daybreak meeting happening while we're there. Not the whole time, just two days. And I kind of told them that I would introduce my soulmate to them. Cause see most of the Circle Daybreak members have soulmates. Are you mad?" "Ash, why would I care about meeting your friends. I would love to meet your friends. When do I get to see them?" "I think the second or third day we're there." "Great I can't wait." "Good they'll be happy, especially Quinn!" "QUINN!" Mary-Lynnette said in an incredulous tone, "the one you were afraid would kill me last year!?" "Yeah it was hiliarious, he was one of the most ruthless vampires in the Night World, like me, and he met his soulmate. This is the funniest part, she's Rashel Jordan-the best vampire slayer in the U.S., possibly the world. But now they're part of Circle Daybreak and only kill bad people. Um, sweetheart, you'd better slow down, the exit to the airport is coming up soon." She eased up on the gas pedal.



The car pulled into the airport about half an hour early. Ash and Mary-Lynnette dropped their luggage off at the luggage drop off and were about ready to go get something to eat in the food court when someone came flying at Ash with a stake. Ash heard him just in time and swung around. When he saw the stake in the guy's hand he kicked it out of his grasp. "You know, you are really stupid to try to stake me. Do you even know who I am?" Now the slayer looked really scared and when Ash asked him this question he just stared blankly and shook his head. "Well I'm Ash Redfern, one of the most powerful and feared vampires in the Night World. Nice to meet you, I honestly don't give a crap what your name is." The slayer tried to run but Ash's vampire reflexes were to fast for the human and he caught him before he could get away. Ash front kicked the slayer in the face sending him sprawling about eight feet away from them. Mary-Lynnette screamed but Ash reassured her that the slayer wasn't dead. He would just wake up in an hour or two with a really bad headache.



"Come on Mare, I've got to call Thierry and get him to pick this heap of junk up," Ash said pointing to the slayer, "and then we can get something to eat." They took the slayer into an office that Ash said would be okay to keep him in because the person who worked in the cubicle is a member of Circle Daybreak.



"Hello? Descoudres' Manor, may I ask who is calling?" a pleasant voice answered after the first ring. "Goddess Hannah, don't you have Nilsson to answer the phone?" "Ash, I should've guessed it was you! Yes we have people to answer the phone but it makes me feel more normal to answer the phone." "How normal could you possibly get living in a place two times the size of the White House?" "Do you always have to be so negative?" "I have my good days Hannah. And besides that's not what I called for. A slayer tried to attack me at the airport. I knocked him out and I have him here in a Daybreaker's office at the airport. So can you have somebody come down and get him. He might be an assassin for the Night World or he might just be a regular slayer. But either way we might be able to get information out of him or get him over on Daybreak's side." "Yeah Ash, I'll send someone down right away." "Okay, I'll see you later. Me and Mary-Lynnette are gonna miss our plane if we don't hurry." "Okay, I'll see you guys at the meeting." Ash hung up the phone after he heard the click on the other end of the line.



"Ready to go Mare?" "Yep, let's go. Who was that on the phone though?" "Huh, oh, that was Hannah. She's Thierry Descoudres' soulmate. The Lord and his Lady. . . literally. She's an old soul. Which means she's been reborn through the ages. This is the first life that she and Thierry have been able to be together. Maya, one of my descendants, kept killing Hannah so that she and Thierry couldn't be together. In this life Maya's plan was to turn Hannah into a vampire and then stake her. Then she wouldn't be able to come back because vampires can't be reborn. She almost succeeded too except Thierry found her just in time to save her. See Maya kidnapped her and took her to an abandoned mine. But it turned out alright in the end. Maya was getting ready to stake Thierry right after she said she would leave them alone from then on, but Hannah saw Maya getting ready to throw the stake and she staked Maya, ridding the world of one it's oldest evils while saving her soulmate at the same time." "Wow, they've definitely had a hard life, or lives I should say." "Yeah, you should ask her about her past lives sometime, they make really good stories." "Well I'm not going to get to ask any of your friends anythng if we don't get going!" "Yeah, I guess it would help if we catch our plane huh?" Ash said sheepishly.





On the plane the stewardess was coming around asking if anyone wanted anything to eat or drink. "Yeah I'll take a coke, do you want anything Mare?" "Yeah, can I have a Dr. Pepper please?" "Sure, I'll be right back with your drinks." The stewardess replied politely. The stewardess soon came back and gave them their drinks. "Check and make sure the can hasn't been tampered with." Ash told her. "Why?" Mary-Lynnette asked, confused. "Well, you're a human with a vampire, and if anyone here is a Night Person and suspects that you know about the Night World they may try to kill you." "Okay, now I'm not so sure I want to eat or drink anything!" "Here, let me smell it. I'll be able to tell if they put anything in it." Mary- Lynnette handed Ash her soda can and he lifted it to his nose and started sniffing the can. Mary-Lynnette couldn't help it, she started laughing hysterically. It just looked so weird to see Ash sniffing a soda can! Ash was looking at her with a VERY annoyed look on his face. "Fine then, laugh, I was trying to save your life ya know, but if that's all the thanks I get then you can save your own life!" Ash said snootily, while tossing her soda can back at her. "I'm sorry Ash, I couldn't help it, you just looked so funny," at this a small smile came to Ash's lips, "and thank you for sniffing my soda for me, Ash, I appreciate it very much." Now she started laughing all over again. Ash moaned and looked away. When Mary- Lynnette finally got calmed down she leaned over and kissed Ash "I'm sorry, do you forgive me?" Mary-Lynette asked playfully. "I suppose so," Ash replied, playing along with her. Mary-Lynnette snorted, "What do you mean 'I suppose so'?" Ash leaned across the seat and kissed her " I forgive you Mare." "That's better." "Good, now let's drink, I'm dying of thirst." "So my soda's okay?" "Yeah." "Good, then let's drink." Mary-Lynnette started tapping the top of her soda can, "What are you doing," Ash asked. "Making sure my soda doesn't explode when I open it." "Mare, that never happens." "Whatever, but better safe than sorry." Ash just shrugged and opened his soda can, except it didn't quite go that smoothly. Right before Ash opened his can Mary-Lynnette ducked and when he opened it it exploded in his face. "SHIT!!" Ash shouted. Everyone's head turned towards Ash. Mary-Lynnette was gasping for breath, she couldn't breathe, she was laughing too hard.



Ash was now standing up and shouting every obscenity ever invented and more. Mary-Lynnette was rolling around laughing, half in her seat and half on the floor. The stewardess and a bunch of angry parents with toddlers were trying to get Ash to shut up and sit down. They finally got him settled down and the stewardess brought him a towel. He started wiping his shirt off angrily while swearing under his breath. Mary-Lynnette gently took the towel from Ash's hands and started wiping coke out of his hair and off of his face. "This was a new shirt too dammit!" Ash said angrily. "I'm sure it'll come out sweetheart." "I'm all sticky too now, and I'm still thirsty!" "Well it's only 30 more minutes till we get to New York and then we can go to our room and you can get a shower and then maybe we can go out to eat." "Sure, it doesn't matter to me." "Okay then, that's what we'll do."



Once Ash and Mary-Lynnette finally got all of the soda out of his hair and off of his face that they could get, Mary-Lynnette laid down on Ash's chest and fell asleep.



Ash looked down at Mary-Lynnette's sleeping form. He gently pushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up. Ash smiled and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and was greeted with the soulmate link that was starting to become familiar.



He loved Mary-Lynnette with all his heart and he had really tried to make up for his past this last year and he'd done a lot of good things to make up for it, but he was still working on it. He was sure Mary-Lynnette would be proud of him but he still didn't think that he deserved her, she was so smart and good, and nice- "We will be landing soon, please obtain a sitting position and buckle your seatbelts as there may be some turbulence. Thank you." The stewardess' voice interrupted Ash's thoughts.



"Mare, wake up, the plane's going to land, you need to put your seatbelt on." Ash gently shook Mary-Lynnette awake. "Huh?" she asked sitting up groggily, not fully awake yet. Ash rolled his eyes lovingly and leaned across his seat to buckle Mary-Lynnette's seatbelt then settled back in his seat to fasten his own seatbelt. "It's been 30 minutes already?" Mary-Lynnette asked, now fully awake. "Yep, you slept for 30 minutes." Mary-Lynnette nodded and bent down to pick up her book while asking Ash who else was going to be at the Circle Daybreak meeting. "Huh? Mare, you're gonna have to sit up and talk to me, I can't hear you with your head under the seat." Mary-Lynnette sat up with a brush in her hand, "Finally, I couldn't find it before!" she said to herself. "I asked you who else was going to be at the Circle Daybreak meeting." "Oh, well, Poppy and James, Thea and Eric, David and Gillian, Keller and Galen--Galen is the prince of the First House Of The Shapeshifters, Rashel and Quinn, and Hannah and Thierry. And it's amazing, Thierry's letting the Wild Powers come! Delos and his soulmate Maggie, Jez and her soulmate Morgead, and last but not least the Witch Child/Wild Power Illiana Harman. Plus a bunch of friends that joined a few years ago. Oh, I almost forgot, we had a really good group of agents recruited a few months ago from some hick town--Bedford, I think it was called. But anyway, you should see the people in this group, not only are they some of the best but they're beautiful too! None of them are Night People either, except I think some of them may have some witch blood in them. There's a lot of them, Mo, Joette, Sarah, Jill, Linz, Em, Katie, and Amanda. I'm pretty sure that's all of them, but I might be missing a few." "Wow, that's a lot of people! How old are these people?" "Well most of them are around our age--16, 17, 18, 19. Except for that really good group that I mentioned. They're about 13 and 14." "Cool I can't wait to meet them!" "Yep."



"Do you have all of your stuff Mare?" "Yeah, what about you?" "Uh huh." "Great, so how far is our hotel from the airport?" "Um. . . About 10 minutes I think." "Are we gonna walk or what?" "I was gonna suggest a cab because of our luggage. It's also probably one of the faster ways of getting there." "A cab sounds like a good idea then." Ash just nodded his head.



The stewardesses voice came on over the intercom, "Thank you for flying Delta, we hope you had an enjoyable flight. When you exit the plane please use the door closest to you and exit in an orderly fashion."



Ash and Mary-Lynnette picked their luggage up from the building and left.



Mary-Lynnette was amazed as soon as she stepped out of the plane. All the buildings and the people were breathtaking! She looked out to the horizon and saw a building that looked like it had 100 floors, it was so big. "Ash, what building is that?" "That one?" he pointed to the building she was looking at. "Yeah." "Oh thats one of the twin towers, there's actually two of them, but the second one's covered by that building in front of it." "Oh, can we see it Ash?" "Sure Mare, after I take a shower and we get something to eat. It looks better in the dark." He whispered this last part into her ear. She smiled and grabbed his arm, "Then we'd better get going," she whispered back. Ash grinned and pulled Mary- Lynnette along the sidewalk.



They stopped at the corner of the nearest intersection and Ash flagged down a taxi. "Millennium Hilton Hotel" Ash told the Japanese driver. The driver took off at full speed. They got there in 5 minutes when the ride should have taken 10 minutes, at least! They pulled up to the hotel and Ash paid the driver while Mary-Lynnette got her luggage. Ash turned around and got his bags, and then put his arm around Mary-Lynnette's shoulders and led her through the doors. Mary-Lynnette was staring around distractedly in the lobby while Ash checked in and got the luggage keys. When Ash finally got done and tapped her shoulder, she shrieked and whirled around. Ash caught her before she fell, "Jeez, Mare, it's just me!" she slapped his arm and frowned, "Could you at least try to make some sort of noise when you come up behind me like that?!" "Mare, you were in a trance. I could have blown a fog horn in your ear and you wouldn't have heard it!" "Yeah, you're probably right, thanks for catching me though." "No problem. Come on let's go up to our room." "Our room?" Mary-Lynnette asked suspicously. Ash wisely chose to ignore this question and instead just said "Come on," and took her to the elevator. Mary-Lynnette was still watching him with narrowed eyes, he took this time to become very interested in his shoes. The elevator finally came to a stop on the top floor. "I didn't know there was a room on the top floor?" Mary-Lynnette asked Ash. "Of course there is, haven't you ever heard of the Presidential Suite?" Mary-Lynnette's jaw dropped as he said this "Y-Y-You got the. . . Presidential Suite?!" she asked in awe. "Duh." he replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, I already told you that I wasn't poor. Plus, Thierry pays for most of the reservations for Circle Daybreak members." "Oh, I see."



Ash unlocked the door and stepped inside with Mary-Lynnette beside him. He looked around and nodded with approval. He took all the bags in one hand and grabbed Mary-Lynnette's hand with his other. He led her to the bedroom and put the bags down. "I'm gonna take a shower. You can relax, or look around, or basically do whatever. Or you could always take a shower with me." he gave her one his evil grins when he said this. "That's okay, I think I'll look around and maybe unpack my bags. You can unpack yours later if you want." "Sure I'll be out in a little bit." "Okay."



Mary-Lynnette flopped back onto the bed and just relaxed and thought for a few minutes.



She got up and decided to unpack her things. She accidentally unzipped Ash's suitcase. Mary-Lynnette picked up one of his shirts and held it to her chest. She inhaled the scent of it, it smelled like him. Mary-Lynnette loved the way he smelled, like cinnamon and pine needles and autumn leaves all rolled into one. She put the shirt back and zipped his suitcase up. Once she'd finished unpacking she took a look around.



The place was huge! The only thing she found odd and maybe slightly disturbing was that there was only one bedroom. Oh well, she'd deal, she allowed herself a small smile at the thought, of course she'd deal, this was Ash she was talking about!



It was amazing the way he made her feel! With one look he could flip her world upside down. But in a sort of good way and at the same time kind of unnerving. But the completely amazing thing was how much they had hated each other when they first met, and how that hate had turned into an unconditional love. Though when you thought about it, love wasn't that far from hate. They both take passion and energy to feel, you have to have one to have the other.



She moved away from the window she had been staring through. She thought she'd just heard the bathroom door open--or one of the bathroom doors, on her exploration around the suite she had found about three bathrooms--she wandered into her's and Ash's bedroom to find Ash coming out of a steamy bathroom brushing his hair wearing only a towel.

Mary-Lynnette turned bright red. Ash looked mildly startled for a few seconds then grinned. He held out his arm to the bathroom in a grand gesture, "I do believe you wanted the bathroom." "Uh, yeah." Mary- Lynnette grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom, shutting the door after herself. While she got ready to take her shower she could hear Ash in the other room getting dressed. She took a quick shower then got dressed in the bathroom.



She came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair. She thought she heard a blow dryer in one of the other bathrooms. Mary- Lynnette found Ash in a bathroom, drying his hair. She started laughing to herself, she had never seen a guy blow dry his hair. Of course she should have expected it from Ash, he cared as much about what he looked like as a girl did. But then again if she were a guy and looked as good as Ash did then she'd probably act the same way. Anyhow she liked the way he took his time to look nice.



Ash heard Mary-Lynnette's laughter coming from behind him. "What's so funny?" "You, I've never seen a guy who blow dries their hair." Ash scowled and said, "Well would you rather me look like Justin Timberlake and have some kind of curly afro?" "No that's plenty alright, I like your hair straight and flat much better than Justin Timberlake's curly afro thing." "That's good," he turned back around to finish his hair.



Mary-Lynnette had to notice how good Ash looked today. He had on baggy white khakis and a black and red sweater. She noticed how blonde his hair looked today. She also saw how much his features had softened since last year, they didn't have the same evil glint to them. His eyes still had the mischievious glint to them, but she liked that about him. She turned around and walked away into the other bathroom to do her hair too.



Mary-Lynnette's hair was naturally curly so she just pulled up the sides and let the rest dry and fall in long spiral curls.



Mary-Lynnette came out of the bathroom to find Ash sitting on the couch yelling at the TV. "Oh come on, we do not look like that! And we do have a brain we do not just stand there and let a little blonde slut kick our asses!" "Ash, what are you watching?" "Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Here, come watch it with me, you can help me criticize Buffy's sloppy techniques." He patted the seat beside him. "Oh yay." She curled up beside him anyway. Ash put his arm around Mary-Lynnette's shoulders. "So when do we get to go eat." Mary-Lynnette asked. "How bout now?" "That's fine with me. When do you need to. . .you know," she clicked her teeth. Ash laughed and said, "Not tonight, I fed earlier. Probably tomorrow afternoon." "Oh, okay, I just wondered."



Ash got up pulling Mary-Lynnette with him. Ash grabbed her coat and held it out for her to slip into. "Why thank you Mr. Redfern." "My pleasure Miss Carter." he said in his most charming voice while holding out his arm to her. Mary-Lynnette took his arm and they walked out of the hotel together.



Outside Of The Hotel:



Ash stopped right outside the door, "Well where do you want to eat?" "Um, I don't know, I've never been here before, remember?" she told him jokingly. "Of course. Well, hold on, let me guess what kind of food you like." He put his fingers up to his temples and closed his eyes, "I am sensing that you like Italian food." "You cheater, you read my mind!" "What can I say, it's a gift. Anyway, there's a bunch of beautiful little Italian cafes in Little Italy." "Great, what are we waiting for?!" She started to drag Ash down the sidewalk but didn't get too far because he pulled her back. Mary-Lynnette went flying back into Ash's chest. He caught her to keep her from falling backwards. "Uh, Mare, I think you forgot something." She gave him a puzzled look. "The taxi." "Oh please, we can use the exercise Ash. Don't you want to walk with me?" "Well, when you put it that way, how can I resist?"



The walk was only about three blocks. Ash was enjoying every minute of it. He loved every minute he spent with Mary-Lynnette. He couldn't believe that he was actually here with her, talking to her face to face. The year away from her had been the worst of his life. But he was one of the lucky ones, he had found his soulmate--his other half. There were people who didn't even have that. Just now he was listening with interest to Mary-Lynnette talking about college.



"I applied to a couple of colleges, I just hope I get into one of them!" "Mare, do you really think that you won't get in, you have great grades. I just don't think I can leave you again for that long though!" Mary-Lynnette thought about that for a moment and then changed the subject, "So Ash, what have you been doing lately. Do you have a job, any future plans? You know, the usual." Ash gave her an odd look but answered anyway. "Well, I have a sort of spy thing going for Thierry. I get paid for it, so I guess it's considered a job." "If you could have any job in the world though, what would it be?" He thought for a moment before answering, "Um, probably an astronomer, and then I could be with you." "Really?" "Yeah, you know I've always been interested in the stars and the solar system since I was little." "So you mean you would go to school for me?"



Ash stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stepped in front of her. He grabbed her hands and looked her in the eye, "Mary-Lynnette, I love you with all my heart. I would do anything for you, anything to be with you." Mary-Lynnette searched his eyes for a few moments then reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Ash wrapped his arms around her waist and turned the kiss into a more passionate one with all of his longing from the past year behind it. She reached up and put her arms around his neck winding her fingers through his hair, amazed at it's softness as usual. Mary-Lynnette felt Ash's hands slipping under her shirt. She pulled back, slightly breathless. "Ash, we're in the middle of the sidewalk!" Ash sighed, looking slightly disappointed, "Yeah, yeah.." ~We can finish this later though right?~ Ash said changing to telepathy. ~We'll see, and it definitely won't be in public, that's for sure!~ She heard Ash laugh. "Come on sweetheart, let's go eat." Mary-Lynnette let Ash put his arm around her waist.



Mary-Lynnette hadn't gotten much sleep last night because she was so excited about going to New York with Ash. Now she was weaving back and forth tiredly. Ash gently pushed her head down on to his shoulder. ~Mare, are you all right~ Mary-Lynnette could sense Ash's concern. ~Yeah I'm okay, I just didn't get much sleep last night~ ~Maybe we should take a taxi the rest of the way?~ ~Sure, that would be great.~ Mary-Lynnette could sense Ash chuckling, ~Just don't fall over, okay?~ Mary-Lynnette lifted her head up and narrowed her eyes at her soulmate. ~Ha, Ha, I'm not going to fall over.~ ~Either way, why don't you just take a quick cat nap on the way there.~ ~Alright.~



Ash flagged down a taxi and helped Mary-Lynnette into the car. He told the driver where they wanted to go and then looked back down at Mary- Lynnette. She had already fallen asleep on his shoulder. Ash stroked her head and let some of his strength flow into her.



Ten minutes later Ash gently shook Mary-Lynnette awake. "Come on Mare, wake up, we're here." "Okay, okay, just stop shaking me. I'm awake." Ash paid the driver while Mary-Lynnette stretched out her cramped neck muscles. "Need any help there?" "Sure." Ash stepped behind Mary- Lynnette and rubbed her neck. She moaned and leaned back into his arms. ~That feels so good. I should have taken you up on the offer to massage my neck the first time you offered. When we first met.~ ~Ah, yes, our lover's quarrels~ ~Ash, we weren't and still aren't lovers!~ ~Yea, well, hopefully that will end soon~ Ash leaned down and kissed Mary-Lynnette's cheek.



Mary-Lynnette rolled her eyes and grabbed Ash's arm, dragging him along the sidewalk to the cafe.



The cafe was a beautiful little spot, and Mary-Lynnette decided to eat at the tables outside on the sidewalk. "Ash?" "Yea?" "Do you eat any human food?" Ash laughed, "Of course I eat human food. Blood might be my main meal but that would be really boring if that was all I ate! I like all kinds of foods." "I just wondered, because your sisters hardly ever have any food at their house." "Yea, I've noticed that, they seem to only have candy and stuff."



They ordered their food and then went shopping. Mary-Lynnette bought some new pajamas at Victoria's Secret. Ash kept trying to pick nightgowns out for her. Every time he held one up for her to look at she went into a laughing fit. "Ash, those are some of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen!" He just snorted and held up another one, "How about this one Mare? This one, I have to say is my favorite." Mary-Lynnette's eyebrows flew into her hair when she saw it. "I'll bet it's your favorite! It's completely SEE-THROUGH!" "I don't mind, and you're wrong, the straps aren't see-through." She glared at him in return. "Okay, okay, I surrender! You can buy whatever you want to. After all, it is your choice." "Good, I've already found what I want anyway." She held it up. It was a white, midriff baring spaghetti-strapped shirt with a pair of short, irredescent, silk, sapphire shorts. Ash looked at it and sighed, "Well, it's not exactly the most revealing thing, but it'll look great on you." She grinned, "Thank you." Mary-Lynnette went up and paid and then they left.



"Are we going back to the hotel now?" Ash asked. "Yea, if you want too. I'm starting to get tired." Ash grinned and cast a mischievious glance her way, "Really?" Mary-Lynnette smacked his arm playfully, "Do you ever think with anything above your waist?" "Only on a few occasions." She rolled her eyes and stepped into the taxi that had stopped in front of them. Ash stepped in after her and the taxi took off.



Back at the hotel Ash opened the door for Mary-Lynnette and shut it after himself. Except it turned out slightly different. When Ash started to shut the door something ran into the door and slammed it into the middle of his back. He yelped and jumped forward. Because the door was wood it hurt him.



Mary-Lynnette heard Ash yelp and then felt a sharp pain in her own back. She dropped everything and ran to door. She found Ash bent over rubbing his back. She rushed over to him. "Oh my God, sweetheart, what happened?" "I don't know, I was shutting the door and something hit it and the door went flying into my back." "Okay, why don't you go lie down in the bedroom and I'll look at your back." "Okay, but can I have a glass of Coke?" "Sure, you go on in and I'll bring it in to you." "Thanks."



Ash went on in to the bedroom while Mary-Lynnette went to the kitchen to get Ash's drink. Then she went to the bedroom to check on Ash's back. She walked in and Ash was sprawled out on his stomach on the bed with his head buried in the pillows.



Ash heard Mary-Lynnette come in and sat upright. "Here." She handed him the glass of Coke, "Thanks Mare." "No problem. Take your shirt off so that I can look at your back." Ash pulled his sweater off over his head. "Oh God Ash, how hard did the door hit you?!" "Is it that bad?" "Uh, well. . ." Ash tried to twist his head around to look at his back. "Ash, stop that! You're going to sprang your neck!" "Mare, you worry to much." "Either way, just let me look at it." Ash turned around and sat still. His back had a huge black and blue mark in the center of his back. Mary- Lynnette gently touched it. "Ow, ow, ow!" Ash reached around and grabbed her hand, "What are you trying to do to me?" "Sorry. Um, maybe we should call Thierry about this." "Sure, it doesn't matter to me. You'll have to call on his private line though." "Okay, well what's the number?" Ash told her the number while she dialed. It rang three times before someone answered it. Ash crawled over to where she was sitting on the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist and started to lay kisses down her neck while listening in on the conversation. "Yeah, he got hit with a wooden door. . . . . .No it didn't puncture the skin. . . . .Yeah, it left a big bruise. . . . . .Okay, yeah, I'll tell him. . . Thanks. . . .Bye." Mary- Lynnette hung the phone up, turned around, and almost gasped. She was lying on top of Ash's chest. When she turned around she had fallen on top of him.



Ash grinned up at her, "Wow Mare, I never knew you were so forward." "Ha, ha, very funny Ash. Thierry said that your back would heal in a few days." ~That's good~ Ash had changed to telepathy. ~Well then, I'll let you relax~ Mary-Lynnette replied, starting to get up off of the bed ~No, why don't you stay in here~ he said with a grin. He pulled her back down on top of him. Ash gently pulled her head down to his and kissed her, savoring every move her warm, sensual, mouth made. Mary-Lynnette began to unbutton Ash's pants. ~Mary-Lynnette, are you sure?~ She smiled against his lips, ~Yes, as long as you don't think we'll hurt your back~ ~I'll live~ Ash pulled Mary-Lynnette down under him, not breaking their kiss. He pulled her shirt off over her head. Mary-Lynnette was twisting her fingers through his hair while Ash was raining kisses down her neck, he brushed her bra straps off of her shoulders. . . . . .





Mary-Lynnette was trying to wake Ash up, he was lying at her feet, unconscious. She looked around her. She realized where she was now, she was in her and Ash's meadow. All of a sudden she felt something sharp and metallic at her throat. Mary-Lynnette gasped. It was a knife! ~ASH! ASH! HELP! WAKE UP!!!~ she saw Ash's eyes flutter open. He looked at her and immediately tried to tackle her attacker. Mary-Lynnette could now see that the person with the knife was Jeremy. She felt a sob rack her body. When she saw Jeremy take a stake out of his jacket and Ash drop with it buried deep in his chest she knew it wouldn't be the last, but the first of many. She heard somebody screaming and realized that it was her, screaming Ash's name out loud, over and over. Now she felt somebody shaking her, but she was sure that it wasn't Jeremy.



"Mary-Lynnette?! Mary-Lynnette, wake up, it's all right, I'm right here." Mary-Lynnette sat straight up into Ash's arms. "Are you all right?" Mary-Lynnette could see the concern in Ash's face. He gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Yeah, I'm alright, I just had a nightmare." Ash probed her mind lightly to see what the dream was about, and was shocked. He lifted her face up to his to meet her eyes, "Mary- Lynnette, why didn't you tell me that you were having nightmares about that night?" She averted his gaze and shrugged, "I didn't want you to worry." "Mare, I love you, you can tell me anything, I have a right to worry about you, I'm your soulmate. Now how long have you been having these dreams?" "A while, they started about two weeks after you left." "Well, tomorrow at the Circle Daybreak meeting I'll ask Thea for something that will stop the dreams." "That would be great." She snuggled closer to him. He laid back down bringing Mary-Lynnette with him. ~Why don't you try to go back to sleep, I'll stay awake until you fall asleep.~ ~Okay. Good night Ash.~ She laid down on Ash's chest while Ash stroked her back.





The doorbell rang. ~I'll get it Ash~ Ash was still in the shower.



Mary-Lynnette opened the door. "Hi!" a spirited little red-headed vampire said while holding on to the arm of a larger brown-haired vampire. "Um, hello, is there anything I can help you with?" Mary-Lynnette politely asked. "I'm Poppy and this is my soulmate James. You must be Mary- Lynnette, may we come in, Ash has told us all about you." Mary-Lynnette blushed slightly, "Yeah, sure, come on in. Ash is in the shower right now but he should be out in a few minutes." Mary-Lynnette stepped back to let them in and felt warm arms wrap around her waist. Okay, so Ash was already out of the shower. "Hey Poppy, Jamie!" James stepped forward menacingly to glare at Ash, "It's James, Ashy Boy." Now Ash came forward and started glaring. Their soulmate couples rolled their eyes. Poppy laid a hand on James' arm while Mary-Lynnette threatened Ash. ~Ash if you don't behave I'll kick your shins!~ Ash instantly recoiled. Poppy laughed, "What did you say to him? We can never get him to behave so perfectly!" "She uses physical violence." "Really, I like her already!"



Mary-Lynnette shut the door while every else took a seat. Ash patted the seat beside him on the couch, "Come take a seat sweetheart."



"Alright, now to get down to business," James started, "there's a meeting planned for tomorrow night at 6:30, it's being held in the penthouse of the building at the corner of 37th and 46th street. Thierry owns it." "Okay that's works for us." "Then we'll see you there, Poppy wants to go shopping and we have reservations for lunch in fifteen minutes. I think Quinn said something about him and Rashel stopping by later, they were muttering something about finally meeting the woman that tamed Ash Redfern." Ash rolled his eyes heavenward while Mary-Lynnette chuckled. "Well we've got to leave, we'll see you later." Mary-Lynnette walked them to door and shook hands with both James and Poppy, "It was great meeting the both of you." "You too." Mary-Lynnette shut the door after they had gone and turned, studying Ash. He hadn't moved off of the couch and he looked to be deep in thought, as he had most of the morning. She came over and sat down beside him, "Ash, honey, are you alright?" As soon as she spoke Ash jumped about a foot off the couch. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, I'm great. I was j-just thinking." He stammered. Mary-Lynnette looked at him puzzled but bought the story.



The doorbell rang again and Rashel and Quinn were standing there. They sat down and talked for a while. Quinn and Rashel really liked Mary- Lynnette, and vice versa. After a little while Ash excused himself to kitchen asking Quinn to come with him. Quinn looked at him oddly but followed none the less.



"Sup man?," Quiinn asked when they got into the kitchen. He had noticed that Ash had seemed withdrawn lately which wasn't really like him. Ash flung himself down into a chair at the table and Quinn took the seat next to him. Ash began to explain. "Quinn, you're my best friend, and you know better than anybody how hard the year away from Mary-Lynnette was for me. And I love her more than anything in the world, I would do anything for her, and I was thinking lately about proposing to her." Ash looked up to see what Quinn thought of this. He grinned, "That's great man, go for it. I just can't believe it! I never thought I would see the day when Ash Redfern would settle down." Ash smiled slightly at that thought, "Honestly, I never thought I would live to see the day that I would settle down, but I never anticipated having something as good as Mary-Lynnette dropped into my life." "So when are you gonna pop the question?" "Tomorrow I think, but I told you this because I was hoping you would help me find a ring." "Sure, how about I have Rashel take Mary-Lynnette out shopping and me and you can search the jewelry stores for the perfect ring?" "Thanks man, that sounds great." Quinn replayed the plan to Rashel through telepathy and within minutes everyone was out shopping for something.



It was eight hours and about eighty jewelry stores later when they finally found the perfect ring. It was a star sapphire with a thin twisted golden band and lovely diamonds around the jewel. He was sure Mary- Lynnette would love it.



He came home to find that she had enjoyed her evening shopping with Rashel and had bought some more clothes. Just now Mary-Lynnette and Ash were lying on the bed watching TV. Ash hit the mute button on the remote and turned to look at his soulmate, "Mary-Lynnette, I was thinking, how would you like to go out on a date with me tomorrow night to a very romantic place?" Mary-Lynnette smiled, "I would love to. Will it be formal?" "Sure, if you'd like it to be." "Heck, why not, I just got a beautiful new dress." "Okay, well

then, that's settled." He turned back to the TV and flipped the mute button off.



Mary-Lynnette was getting ready for her date, she couldn't wait, she had been waiting anxiously all through the Circle Daybreak meeting, which she had greatly enjoyed. She was wearing a new dress that she had gotten yesterday. It was dark black in color with glitter that caught the light sewn all through it and tight up at the top, bunched under the bust line and then flowing slightly. It was very strappy, so much that it had taken her fifteen minutes to get it on! She had her hair piled beautifully on top of her head. She was almost ready. She could feel Ash out in the living room. But the feelings she was getting from him were odd: apprehension, nervousness, impatience (the latter not being too unusual).



Ash was pacing the floor, thinking. 'What if she says no,' he thought, 'c'mon man, deep breaths, don't fall apart here. Great, now I'm talking to myself!' Ash reached down and felt the ring in his pocket. He was in the middle of thinking about what he would say to Mary-Lynnette when suddenly the door to their bedroom opened and she stepped out. His breath instantly caught in his throat. She looked so beautiful.



Mary-Lynnette smiled shyly. Ash walked over, took her hand and kissed it. "Ready?" He asked softly. Mary-Lynnette shook her head yes, not sure whether her voice was steady or not. Ash looked very sexy in a black and white tux that contrasted with his hair.



~You have to close your eyes.~ Ash changed to mental communication. Mary-Lynnette chuckled but decided to play along. Ash stepped behind her and put his hands over her eyes, ~Just to make sure~ he told her. Ash could feel her smile beneath his hands. ~Ash, love, where are we going?~ ~Now you know I can't tell you that. You'll find that out soon enough!~ Ash could sense Mary-Lynnette's anticipation.

He could also feel his heart painfully beating against his rib cage.



Ash led her up to the roof on top of the hotel. He had a small table set up in a corner with roses on it. Soft music coming from speakers that he had set up, and a telescope in the other corner. ~Are you ready?~ he asked her. She nodded. "Now don't open your eyes until I tell you. Okay?" "Okay." Ash stepped out from behind her and came around to her front and stood. "Alright, open your eyes." Mary-Lynnette opened her eyes and gasped. She reached up and kissed Ash, "Ash, it's so beautiful!" Ash grinned and led her to the table. "Hungry?" he asked. She shook her head hastily. Ash hadn't let her eat much all day, and know she knew why when he uncovered the food. There were all of her favorites laid out on the table: steak, salad, lobster, peanut butter cream pie, butter pecan ice cream.



Ash lit two red candles and sat down across from her, "So do you like it?" "Are you kidding! I love it!" "Well dig in then." Mary-Lynnette and Ash ate supper and talked, and then Mary-Lynnette wanted to look at the stars so they went over and gazed up at he night sky through the telescope that Ash had brought onto the roof.



"Mare! Do you hear that?" "The music?" "Yea, it's one of my favorites! C'mon, let's dance!" The song that was on was K-Ci & JoJo's 'All My Life'. Ash grabbed her hand and half dragged, half pulled her onto the middle of the roof. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck and they swayed contentedly to the music.



When the song was over Ash disentangled himself from Mary-Lynnette's embrace. "Mary-Lynnette, can I ask you a question?" She looked at him oddly but said sure. Ash closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, then got down on one knee and took one of Mary-Lynnette's hands in his. Mary-Lynnette's eyes widened slightly in a mix of confusion and recognition. Ash looked up into Mary-Lynnette's clear blue eyes, and then started speaking. "Mary-Lynnette, I've known you for just a short while, and in that time you've managed to change my whole life and make me do something that I never thought possible... fall head over heels in love with someone. I don't care if the world comes to an end tomorrow as long as you're there with me, as my wife. He let go of her hand and still kneeling took the ring out of his pocket and opened up the case. "Mary- Lynnette Carter, will you marry me?"



Mary-Lynnette looked down at her soulmate with unshed tears in her eyes, "Of course I'll marry you Ash Redfern. Ash grinned and took her hand and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.



He stood up and as soon as he was standing Mary-Lynnette threw her arms around his neck. Ash reflexively wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up at him through tear filled eyes, ~ I love you so much Ash ~ ~ I love you too sweetheart ~ ~ I'm so happy ~ ~Me too, I think we should celebrate ~



While he was saying this he picked her up in his arms. Mary-Lynnette grinned, "And what exactly did you have in mind?" He leaned down and kissed her passionately, ~ I have a few ideas ~ He told her. ~ Well then, maybe we should go down to our bedroom and try them out ~ As soon as she said this Ash was already flying down the three flights of stairs to their room, flinging open the door and stepping into their room. Mary-Lynnette looked up at him, "Wow , that was fast!" "Vampire speed comes in handy sometimes." ~ Just shut up and kiss me! ~ ~ You don't have to tell me twice! ~ And then he was kissing her and easing her onto the bed.



His kisses were turning into short passionate ones travelling down the side of her neck. He quickly took her dress off, while she was sliding his jacket off of his shoulders. They ripped the rest of each others clothes off and climbed under the covers.