Disclaimer: Not mine!

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: I updated soon! Your brother's coming, don't worry. :P

Jenny: Well, I updated! That's a start. The epilogue is going to take a few more days, I'm still working on the whole parallel future dimesion thingy.

Mz. Daydream: Yeah, they're gone. For now. I'm thinking I'll try to work them into the epilogue somehow, which will be up soon, I promise. This chapter is mostly for someone who thought one brother wasn't enough. :P

Chapter 34

Smiling happily, Ashley gazed out at the barren, deserted world that a month and a half before had been the largest, harshest slave world there had been. Her smile slipped a bit as she recalled the long month she had spent there, but soon brightened again at the knowledge that all the captives were safe.

"Happy?" a voice whispered in her ear. Two strong arms slipped around her waist from behind.

"Very," she murmured, leaning back contentedly against Andros's chest. "I just wish we could have saved them all."

"So do I," Andros told her with a sigh, whirling her around to face him. "But we did the best we could."

"Sometimes... it doesn't seem like enough, though," Ashley said.

"That's because it's not," Andros said softly. "But... we might be rangers, but in the end, we're only human and there's only so much that we can do ourselves."

"We're only human," Ashley agreed. "But so were the people who ran this place."

Andros's eyes darkened. "True." He paused briefly, gazing out at the harsh landscape. "We'll never stop, Ash, but there's too much evil out there for us to do on our own."

"But we're not on our own," Ashley pointed out. "There are hundreds of other rangers in the universe, and someday..."

"Someday we'll win," Andros finished for her. He grinned. "I sound like you."

"About time, too," Ashley muttered just loudly enough to be heard. She felt him stifle a laugh and added, "Sometimes you're too gloomy for your own good."

"Yeah, but..." Andros stepped back just far enough to grasp her chin and pull her face up to meet his. He kissed her lips lightly before continuing. "That's what I keep you around for."

"Oh, really?" Ashley smirked, her eyes gleaming brightly. "That's all I'm good for?"

"Now that you mention it..." Andros grinned at her before tightening the grip he had on his wife, tucking her head beneath his chin. "I love you, you know."

"I kinda figured." Ashley's laughter was muffled but he heard it all the same and smiled down into her hair as she added softly, "I love you too."

"I wanna go home now!"

Ashley jumped as a small hand tugged at the bottom of her shirt. Pulling away from Andros, she glanced down at Marieke, who was staring up at them impatiently.

"I don't like it here," she continued. "I wanna go home!"

"So do I," Ashley agreed, bending down to scoop her daughter up into her arms.

"Mom!" Aidan dashed down the ramp, skidding to a halt just before he ran straight into his parents. "Dad! Jenny stole Seren!"

"I did not!"

Jenny was sitting cross-legged on the ground just inside the cargo bay, Seren sleeping in her lap. Andros stopped Aidan as he went to snatch her away.

"Do you really want her to wake up?" he demanded with a grin.

"No!" Aidan shook his head hastily. "Never mind."

Ashley grinned inwardly, remembering the closeness between Ryan and Tempest, and sighed. Somehow, she knew that her children would be in their place, fighting what seemed a long, hopeless fight, with love the only thing keeping them going, as it had been for her.

"It's all right," Andros said softly, laying a hand on her arm, the look in his eyes making it clear that he knew what she was thinking. "They'll be all right. We all will."

"Yeah," she said. "All of us."

"Deca, set a course for KO-35," Andros ordered.

"Daddy, can I watch a movie?"

Andros laughed as he watched Jenny attempt to stand without either dropping or waking Seren. Bending down, he carefully lifted the baby girl out of her sister's arm, cradling her against his chest, planting a kiss on the top of her small head.

"Go ahead," he said.

Jenny ran off, Marieke close close behind. Aidan watched them go, hesitating. In the end, he didn't follow them, and glanced back at Ashley.

"Next time, I want a brother."

"Umm..."

"First, we'll see if there is a next time," Andros said quickly, saving Ashley from having to reply.

"Umm..." Ashley said again. Andros turned to give her a sharp glance, his face softening into a grin.

"Aidan, I need to talk to your mom," he said, biting his lip to keep from laughing. Aidan took the hint and vanished down the corridor. Andros laughed quietly, before turning to Ashley.

"Sit," he said, settling down on the floor himself. Ashley joined him a moment later, watching him sheepishly.

"I was going to tell you tomorrow," she said with a rueful grin. "I thought it'd make a nice surprise for our anniversary..."

Andros laughed, slipping one arm around her shoulders. "It was definitely a surprise," he told her wryly. "How much longer?"

"A little less than eight months."

Seren stirred, her chubby hands waving around in the air as she stretched. A moment later, her bright eyes were open, shining up at her parents as they stared down at her adoringly.

"Give her to me," Ashley said quietly, careful not to startle the sleepy baby. "She's probably hungry again."

Andros passed her the little girl, smiling as he watched Ashley nurse their daughter. He pulled her closer to him, laying his free arm over hers, holding both his wife and daughter in his arms.

"She's got your hair," Andros observed, gently stroking the top of Seren's head as she continued to nurse. The soft fuzz that had covered her head had mostly disappeared, and her hair had begun to grow in, all brown.

Ashley nodded against his shoulder, lacing her fingers through his. "I like it when they have your eyes," she said softly.

"I like it when they have yours." Andros's smile grew wider. "Give me your hand."

Ashley gazed at him in confusion for a moment but did as he asked, offering him her right hand. Andros slipped a hand into the pocket of his jeans, his fingers clenched when his hand reappeared. Smooth metal, warmed from the heat of his body touched Ashley's fingers, her eyes widening when she saw what it was.

"Andros," she whispered, staring down at the two golden rings with tears suddenly smarting in her eyes.

"They're not the same ones," he said softly. "But I... I wanted to - "

"I know," she assured him, shifting Seren down into her lap for a moment as she selected the larger of the two rings, her other hand reaching for Andros's. "With this ring, I thee wed," she whispered, laughing a little.

"With this ring, I thee wed," Andros echoed just as quietly, slipping the ring onto her finger. He waited until Ashley was cradling Seren in her arms once again before pulling her close. "I love you, Ashley Hammond," he whispered in her ear. "Always and forever."

A/N: Wasn't that sweet:P Only the epilogue left now. It'll be up sometime this week, next weekend at the latest, I promise. Please review.