AN: Hey guys, what's up? Sorry it took a while to get back with you on the story, I had to wait until I got enough great ideas. Not to mention my computer broke since my last chapter. The computer I normally use is the one with all my stories on it, but the internet has broken since then, and it completely lags so much! And I use my dads computer to check emails and stuff, but i cant upload any stories, cuzim not really allowed to write stuff on my dads computer lol. Now, I must say, all these ideas were awesome, and I really liked what you guys got in your minds! It was so hard to pick just one idea, so I decided that I would combine all of yours in the best way I can, and I hope you all enjoy it! I'll post replies at the end so that way you guys know who wanted what and all that. Oh, and I decided to make this chapter a songfic, too. The song is Never Alone by BarlowGirl. I hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Recess or Never Alone

Lyrics are written like this, but if they aren't, then you can tell 'cause they're separated from the story.

TJ sat by himself at a small table in the back of the most popular café in town. His mind continued to drift as classmates walked around him, minding their own business. It had been an entire year since Ashley Spinelli's disappearance, and TJ still felt tremendous sorrow in his heart. The rest of the world seemed to move on with their lives, but TJ's life was in slow motion since that day. He continued to wait for her face to burst through the doors, her warm smile melting the coldness he felt in his heart, her lips reminding him of her love.

I waited for you today

But you didn't show

No, no, no

I needed you today

So where did you go?

--

Another tear fell from his eye, softly landing on the tiled table where his arms lay. He would never be able to let go of her, never be able to move on with his life. He loved her too much to do that. No matter how much his friends and family try to tell him to move on, he would never be able to allow himself that pain, that torment, of loosing the one thing he loved most in the world.

"If only I had called her sooner," he whispered the same words he had said for the past year. "Maybe she would be here in my arms… maybe she would be safe, and maybe she would be happy…." His voice grew softer than a whisper, his head dropping down onto his forearms.

"If only I had called before she left," he continued on, only causing his pain to grow. "Maybe we could have talked it out… maybe her pain would have healed." Another tear fell from his eye, but it didn't fall as far as the first one, and it just brushed from his cheek to his hand. "But I was too late… she was already gone. I missed her… I can't believe I missed her like that."

You told me to call

Said you'd be there

And though I haven't seen you

Are you still there?

TJ felt a hand place on his shoulder, and he turned his head to look up at Vince, his face grim. "What?" He said, just wishing he could be left alone in his misery.

"TJ, come on," Vince said, taking the seat next to him, but not removing his hand. "It's been a year, man, you've got to move on."

"And just forget about her?" He replied back sharply. "I don't think so, Vince. I can't just forget about her."

"I'm not telling you to forget, I'm telling you to move on," Vince said, edge in his voice. "She's been gone a year, there's hardly a chance she'll come back. You've got to face the facts."

"If I face the facts, I'll loose every hope I ever had in the world," he countered. "And if I loose hope, I forget my most precious memories. If I forget my most precious memories, then I'll forget the one person I ever loved more than anything else in the world." TJ sat up, staring at his friend right in the eye. With a shake of his head, he said coldly, "You're asking the impossible."

With a final stare, he stood up and left Vince sitting alone. He quickly brushed past the crowd, stormed off to his car, and drove home.

I cry out with no reply And I can't feel you by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone

--

Ashley felt her lungs tighten in her chest, more tears streaming down her face as a doctor and a dozen nurses moved quickly around her. Glancing around the room at every face that passed her, she breathed through her open mouth, trying to concentrate on her breaths rather than her screams.

She dared not glance down at her legs, though. Flaming hot pain shot up her thighs and to her chest, and the numbness wasn't taking effect yet. Never before had she felt such pain, and she never wanted to feel it again. Cursing the world around her, she closed her eyes as she finally let out a loud scream of pain.

"TJ!"

She didn't even realize what she screamed, but she continued to shout that name out every time the hot pain shot up her body. With each cry, she felt safer, not in as much pain. Not knowing why, she continued to scream the name, longing for it's feeling of safety it brought to her.

And though I cannot see you

And I can't explain why

Such a deep, deep reassurance

You've placed in my life

--

"Miss?" a soft voice called for her, waking her up from her light doze.

Ashley opened her eyes slowly, the room appearing as if it were spinning. Blinking away darkness, the spinning stopping, she looked at a small woman standing over her. Her brown hair was pulled back into a bun, her face tan, and her eyes a soft brown. Her smile was warm, and Ashley took in its warmth as comfort.

"Are you alright, Miss?" The nurse said.

Ashley nodded, her words choked in her throat. She wondered why it felt so hard to speak, and she gently rubbed her throat, easing some pain.

"Oh, you strained your voice during the operation, Miss," the nurse said, as if reading her mind.

Ashley frowned, and the nurse continued. "You kept screaming out 'TJ, TJ!'"

"TJ?" Ashley whispered, her heart beating faster. "I was… screaming TJ?"

The nurse nodded, "You sure were. Screaming it pretty loud, too, if I do say so. Who is this TJ? Is he your husband?"

Ashley blushed, the thought of TJ as her husband brought warmth and joy to her heart. She didn't want that feeling to leave her.

"No, he's not… my husband," she finally said.

"Is he the father of your child, then?" the nurse asked.

Ashley smiled, the thought of her two-month-old son bringing more joy. "Yes, he's the father." She felt low for never telling TJ that he had a son, let alone that she was even pregnant. Regret filled her soul as she thought of the last time she had seen him. It was so long ago, yet it still felt as if it were only yesterday. She had carved the memory of his face in her mind, holding onto it tightly; never wanting to loose that small memory she had left of him.

The nurse smiled, "Do you need anything, Miss?"

'What do I need?' Ashley thought, her mind racing as she began to think more of TJ. She looked up at the nurse, "is there a phone I could use?"

"There is one here," replied the nurse, walking to the small table near the bed, a small pink phone lay there. "You may use it, just dial one before you dial the number."

Ashley nodded, and gave a smile of thanks. With a smile in return, the nurse stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

And she stared at the phone, her heart screaming at her to call TJ, to tell him where she was, how she was doing, that he had a son. But the most important thing she wanted to do was to call him to tell him she loved him. She just had to call him, feel the safety she always had around him. Feel the reassurance of his love, of his presence again.

We cannot separate

'Cause you're part of me

And though you're invisible

I'll trust the unseen

--

Just as soon as he stepped inside the house, the phone rang. With a groan, TJ picked up the phone, wondering why the world wouldn't just let him be.

"Hello?"

"Uh… TJ?"

He froze. That voice… it was a voice he had not heard in a year. "Y-yes?"

"TJ, it's me, Ashley."

He coughed; his words choked in his throat as every relating happiness emotion poured into his heart at once. "Ashley? Is it really you?"

"It's been a long time, TJ," she whispered, sounding like she was crying on the other side. "Too long…."

"That it has…" he said, feeling as though she had never left, as though he had just spoke with her the day before. "How are you?"

"I'm at the hospital," she said slowly.

"What? Are you okay? What happened?"

"TJ, could you come visit me? I really need to speak with you…."

"I'll be right there!"

Ashley waited patiently, twiddling her fingers that were placed on her lap, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. She felt as if she would burst out of bed and dance around for hours, but she continued to remain calm. She didn't want to seem too excited to see him, even though she felt that way deep down.

Doubt began to pour into her as she began to think of how long it had been since she'd actually seen him. She wondered if he still loved her like he did before, if he still wanted her. And what about her son? Would TJ want to claim him? Her nervousness grew, and she twiddled her fingers more rapidly.

"Miss?" Came the small voice of the nurse from earlier, followed by her tan face. "You have a visitor." From the look in her eye, Ashley could tell she knew that that was TJ, the father of her child, the man who owned her heart.

"Please, let him in," Ashley said, her voice shaking.

TJ stepped inside slowly, as if he were walking in on a sleeping lion without a weapon. In his hands was a bouquet of flowers – white lilies, her favorite. Ashley fought back the tears as he neared her, giving her a peck on the cheek. Oh, how she longed he would just kiss her lips, pull her into a tight embrace, and never let go of her again.

"Are you okay?" He whispered, his eyes pleading with hers to know the truth.

She couldn't tell him the truth staring at him, so she moved her eyes to the sheets, her fingers still twiddling. "I've been better, I can honestly say that."

"What happened?" He said, taking a seat, his eyes still on her face.

"I was in a car accident," she whispered. "The driver of the other car was drunk. Luckily, he hit more of the light post than me. I came out with a broken leg."

His eyes darted slowly to her legs, but then moved back to her face. "Why did you go, Ashley?"

She couldn't hold back the tears, her fingers still moving quickly as she tried to form her words. But she couldn't even speak; it grew too hard for her.

He saw the pain, and he reached for her hands, stopping her fingers, and wrapped them around his own. "Ashley," he whispered softly. "I missed you so much. I never stopped thinking about you since the day you left me." She could hear the pain in his voice, and she wept more. "I never forgot about you, Ash. I kept expecting you to return to me, to come home so things could become normal again."

"I'm sorry," was all she could manage to say.

"Ashley, what happened that made you leave for so long?"

She swallowed back her emotions; fighting the urge to break down and cry, forget it all. But she knew she had to tell him, and he was waiting for an answer. "I was pregnant, TJ…."

Ashley grew afraid of his silence, so she rambled on, "I know it's a shock to hear, but it's true. I found out I was pregnant, and I was going to tell you that night on the phone, because I didn't want anyone else to know, and everyone was around that day. But, when I got home, my parents found my test, and they questioned me about it. They began to tell me I had to get a job, that they wouldn't pay for an abortion and they wouldn't pay my financial needs. They said that if I got pregnant, that was my adult decision, and I had to become an adult if I wanted to keep that child.

"And I wanted to keep him, TJ. I wanted to keep him because he was your son, and I wanted to have him because I wanted to raise him with you. I wanted us to be a family; I wanted us to live happily. But my parents told me that I was too young, and that you would never want my child because we weren't married. So I was afraid… and I was angry… and I was hurt… so, I took off."

She began to weep, pulling her hands out of his to bury her face as tears poured from her eyes. For an entire year she kept the burden in her heart, locking it away where no one could see. Now that it was out, she was able to cry for the lost year.

TJ sat on the bed next to her, turning her around to face him, pulling her hands away from her face to look at her eyes. "Ashley, you know I love you more than anything, right?"

She nodded slowly, trying to avoid his eyes.

He grabbed her chin, and whispered softly, "I honestly love you, Ashley. And if we have a son, then we have a son. I want that child because he's yours, and I want to raise him with you, and I want a family with you and I want us to live happily."

She just looked at him, afraid to ruin the moment, afraid that if she spoke a word he would vanish and she would be left alone again.

He brushed his lips against hers, and whispered again, "marry me, Ashley. I love you so much, please, marry me."

With another wave of tears, she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him as if her life depended on it. "Yes!" She cried, kissing him again. "Yes!"

I cry out with no reply

And I can't feel you by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone

--

Ashley walked hand in hand with TJ, her leg growing stronger with each step. The doctor said she would be able to walk freely again in a matter of weeks, if she kept practicing like she had been. And she will, because that was the time when TJ came to visit her. He would come in the late afternoon, take her for a walk around the hospital, bring her back, and they would talk about the wedding, and about their son, Joey. TJ finally met his son, and he wept at the first sight of him. Ashley burned that memory in her mind, not wanting to loose the sight of her fiancé and her son finally meeting after so long.

"Did you tell the others, yet?" Ashley asked as they turned around the corner.

TJ shook his head, and he brought her hand up and kissed it gently. "I haven't told anyone about you yet. I want them to see you when you are fully healed. On our wedding day."

She laughed, "But how will they know it's our wedding day unless we tell them?"

He grinned at her, "Just leave that up to me, okay? I've got everything worked out perfectly."

She rubbed one of his fingers with her thumb, her eyes swelling with tears. "I don't doubt you."

They walked around another corner, Ashley's hospital room just down the hall. Her heart dropped as they grew nearer to it. TJ would be leaving soon, and she would be left alone again. She squeezed his hand, not wanting to let go of it again. He squeezed her hand back, as if he felt the same way. How she was able to find this kind of love, she didn't understand. But she never wanted to let go of it, even for a second.

And in four weeks, she would be marrying this man at her side, and she will forever be able to wake up with his face next to hers, his arms around her, and their son to care for. Just the thought of her wedding day sent her heart soaring. She couldn't wait until she would forever be his.

AN: what did you guys think? I'm thinking of putting their wedding in the next chapter, what do you think? Well, I hope you liked how I put all your ideas together, I truly enjoyed seeing what you guys had to say. Now, here's the next thing I want you guys to help me with. I'm having total writers block, and I don't know how I should put the rest of the gang's opinion on the marriage. Give me your input, please! Okay, moving on! I hope I didn't forget any of you! If I did, feel free to yell at me in your review.

Replies!

Goofy monkey child: yeah, they are cool lyrics, huh? I thought about your idea, and I really liked it, 'cause death is a major plot twist. Thanks for the idea, I hope you like what I put instead. I put she was in a car accident instead of death, is that good?

Taelia: thanks for the idea! I hope you don't mind that it's one year, though? But I hope you like what I put!

Tina: that's a really pretty poem! But, I'm a little confused, what did you think of my story?

Eathra: love the idea, used it, too. Hope you like how I put it! Thanks!

The next political dynasty: thanks! I hope you liked what I put, 'cause I loved your idea!