Disclaimer: Last I checked, most of this stuff was copyright by Disney. As far as I know, only Tawny and Ash's parents are mine.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: I swear, you are psychic or something.

Chapter 30

"It's nice out here," Ashley said finally, sighing contentedly. "Peaceful."

Andros simply nodded his agreement, too lazy to speak. Ashley snuggled closer to him, nuzzling her face into the junction between his neck and shoulder. The Karovan moon beamed down upon them, bathing them in a soft light.

"Andros?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he mumbled back.

"When's the wedding?"

He woke up a little at that. It had been nearly a month since their engagement, but they had yet to discuss the actual wedding. Andros hesitated briefly; he could have married her right then, but he very much doubted that he would help matters any by teasing her at that particular moment.

In the end, he settled for saying, "When do you want it to be?"

"Not for a few more months, at least," Ashley said after a slight pause. "I know we're pretty much living together, but..."

"I know," he assured her. "How about five or six months from now?"

"That's... I think that's good," she said tentatively.

"Ash, we don't have to set a date right now," he pointed out, placing a kiss in her hair. "Whenever you want, we'll have our wedding."

"I love you," she whispered, smiling as he stroked her hair. "You know,when I was a little girl... I think I started planning my wedding when I was Tawny's age. I'd dress up in anything white my mom had and dance around the house... I've always had this idea of my perfect wedding, but now... I've realized that perfect doesn't happen, and somehow, that makes everything else so much more special."

Andros smiled into her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo with a quiet sigh. He'd missed this side of her so much more than he'd realized, and was immensely grateful that she allowed herself to show it once again.

"If you want the perfect wedding, you can have it," he told her. "Ash, I honestly know nothing about weddings."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Ashley told him, a little sadly. "The white dress and the veil and the twenty tier cake and a fifty foot long train. It doesn't matter... Weddings are supposed to be about the two people who are standing up to tell the love of their live that they would die without them. They're not supposed to be about stuff. It was a nice fantasy, but Andros... as long as I'm marrying you, nothing else matters."

"I love you, Ash," he whispered. "But if you want both me and all that stuff, you can have it, you know."

"I know," she assured him. "I don't want it anymore."

"Is there anything that you do want?"

"Well... I do want the white dress," she admitted. "I've never pictured myself getting married in something other than a wedding dress."

"And Tawny needs a dress too?" Andros guessed.

"Yeah." Ashley grinned. "Especially if she's going to be our flower girl."

"Flower girl?"

"Umm... she's there, well, basically she's there to look cute," Ashley explained. "And then she'll have a little basket of flower petals to sprinkle on the ground..."

"You're going to give her permission to throw things?" he asked increduously. Andros's face was still buried in her hair, but Ashley could hear the grin in his voice quite clearly.

"Of course not, silly," she laughed. "Besides, flower petals can't hurt anyone... not like bubbles."

Andros blushed. "Oh yeah..."

"Just kidding," she said with a grin. Her tone suddenly serious, she added thoughtfully,"You're good with her, Andros."

He didn't speak for a moment, but she didn't need to see his face to know that he was smiling broadly. "That... means a lot to me, Ash."

"It's true," she told him. "Where'd you learn to be so good with kids, anyway?"

"I don't know," Andros said after a momentary pause. "I've only been around Tawny."

"You're a natual, then," Ashley said, smiling as she relaxed against him, knowing that no matter what lay ahead for them, Andros would always protect Tawny just as fiercely as she would, and love her just as much as she did.

Andros laughed suddenly, the sound echoing back to them quietly. "You know," he said softly. "If you'd told me a year ago that I'd have everything, I would never have believed it, but now... I wouldn't trade this for anything."

"I'd never have thought that this would mean everything to you," Ashley admitted with an apologetiic grin. "I mean, it's so..."

"Normal?" he supplied wryly. "Peaceful? Happy?"

Ashley shifted in his arms and he had to grin. "Yeah..."

"This is what I was fighting for," he said, shrugging, his tone turning serious. "By the time I met you guys, I'd lost hope of ever having this back. You know this, but Ash, I'll never be able to thank any of you enough for giving me back that hope."

"Anything for you," Ashley said with a little grin, pressing a kiss to the crook of his neck, the only part of him she could reach without having to turn her head. The pressure on her midriff suddenly intensified, causing her to gasp for air as Andros nearly crushed her in his arms.

"I love you," he whispered. "Ash, I love you."

"I love you, Andros," she whispered back. "I still can't believe I have the rest of my life with you."

"Neither can I," he admitted a moment later. "I was so sure that once the trial ended, you'd want someone better."

"Andros, there is no one better than you," she said firmly. "You were the one that never left my side during all that. You never even let go of my hand... Other people might have done that, but they would never have accepted Tawny the way you did. You were so... sweet to her, and I know you wanted nothing to do with her."

"At first," he admitted. "But now... Ash, she's as good as mine, and I swear to you that I'll never treat her any different that if she was my own daughter."

"I know you will," Ashley whispered, her voice suddenly choked. Her smile slowly slipped away, leaving her on the verge of tears.

"Ash?"

"Andros, I want children," she whispered, the longing in her voice enough to break his heart several times over. "I want them so much."

"I know you do, Ash," he said, stroking her silky soft hair. "I do too."

"Then why do you want me?" she demanded. "You can have a family. You want one."

"I have one," he said vehemently, his tone softening as he added, "I can live with just Tawny, but Ash, I could never live without you."

Her eyes spilled over just as he finished speaking. Sighing heavily, Andros hugged Ashley close, helpless to comfort her. It wasn't fair, he thought bitterly, placing a tender kiss on the top of her head. So much had been taken from her that could never be returned, and the twenty years Terry had been sentenced to pay didn't amount to anything at all for Ashley.

"Ash," he said hesitantly, unsure of how she'd react to his words. "If you wanted... in a few years, maybe, we could... adopt a child."

"That's not the same," she wailed, sobbing into his chest. "I want my own children. I want to give birth to them and nurse them and rock them to sleep their first night."

Andros held her silently after that, not willing to risk upsetting her again. Wordlessly, he rocked her back and forth in his arms, wishing that there was something - anything - that he could do to mend her broken heart.

"Adoption," Ashley repeated slowly some minutes later, taking several shuddering breaths to bring herself back under control. "Do they do that here?"

"Not specifically on KO-35," he said, and her face fell. Hurriedly, he added, "But it's not hard to find a child that needs a home."

"I want my own children," Ashley whispered again. "But if that's the only way that I can have a child with you..."

"We don't have to decide anything now," Andros pointed out.

"I want children," Ashley said firmly, her heart quickly warming to the idea. "My family was so small..."

"How many?" he asked tentatively, unable to guess how she would take the question. He relaxed only when he saw the hint of a smile that appeared on her face.

"I want a huge family," she confessed. "Five or six."

"Five or six?" Andros repeated, not entirely sure just how he should react to that.

"How many do you want?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I could be happy with any number."

"I only wanted one or two," Ashley admitted sadly. "But then the doctors told me I'd only have Tawny and I wanted so many more... "

"You'll have them," Andros promised her. "Maybe not how you imagined, but if you want children, we'll have them."

"Thank you," she breathed in his ear. "That's all I really want now. Our own family."

"We've got that," Andros reminded her, and she had to smile, albeit a brief smile. "It's just a little small right now."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed. "We do."

"You don't mind if we wait a few years to come back to this, do you?" Andros asked hesitantly, eyeing her anxiously. "I promise you, I would love to have more children with you, but... Tawny seems enough for now, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Ashley admitted. "She is definitely enough for now. I honestly don't think I could handle another child right now."

"Then we'll wait a year or two?"

Ashley nodded almost happily. "I love you so much," she whispered, squeezing his fingers. "Thank you."

"I love you, Ash," he whispered back, kissing her lips lightly.

"Andros?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you cold?"

"Yeah," he admitted, standing up without letting her out of his lap, the result being Ashley ended up cradled against his chest. "Do you think you can sleep now?"

Ashley nodded into his chest as he carried her inside. Tawny was asleep when they returned to the living room, and Ashley fell drifted off soon after, but Andros lay awake for some time afterward, replaying their conversation in his head several times. He fell asleep determined that one way or another, Ashley was going to have the family that she'd always dreamed of.