Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: I added your name to the A/N. :P Yeah, Ashley and her nerves... :P

Melissa: There's four more chapter, actually. :P

Chylea3784: Thanks. I really loved writing that.

C.C.C: I love the song too. AH/AY really did a good job. :P

Mz. Daydream: Four more chapters and then the end, but I'll have a new story up as soon as I finish this and Different Defenders, probably this weekend, I promise. :P

Chapter 34

Andros opened his eyes the morning after his wedding to find himself alone in bed. A bit disappointed, he rolled over, intending to close his eyes for another few minutes of sleep. However, the sounds he heard coming from the bathroom had him wide awake at once.

"Ash?" he asked in quietly, kneeling down beside his wife of less than twenty-four hours. Ashley was crouched down alongside the toilet, her hands gripping the toilet bowl hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

Andros watched in concern as she continued to hurl, her body entire body heaving violently. Inching closer to her, he carefully pulled her hair back from her face. His hands brushed against the back of her neck, and he was alarmed to find the cold sweat that had broken out over her entire body.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently when she finally stopped.

Ashley shrugged miserably. "I don't know."

"Here," he said, slipping his hand into hers, pulling her to her feet. Ashley stumbled, nearly collapsing into him. He frowned, steadying her with his hands as she swayed. Filling a cup with water, he handed it to her, letting her rinse out her mouth several times before nudging her towards the door.

"Lie down," he ordered her gently but firmly. Ashley didn't need telling twice and practically fell into the bed, closing her eyes as Andros drew the blankets up over her. She felt Andros crawl into bed beside her and smiled faintly as he wrapped one arm around her, his free hand stroking her hair absently.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Ashley admitted. "Yesterday I thought it was just nerves."

"Yesterday?" Andros repeated, frowning. "You were sick yesterday?"

"I don't think so," Ashley muttered, shaking her head without opening her eyes. "It went away after a few minutes. I think I was just nervous then."

"Maybe you should go to the doctor," Andros suggested, kissing her forehead lightly.

"I'm fine," Ashley insisted. "It was probably just something I ate."

Andros looked at her skeptically but shrugged. "Try to get some more sleep, then," he advised her.

"Where are you going?" she demanded, her eyes finally opening as the warmth of Andros's body left hers.

"Tawny's going to be awake in about five minutes," he told her with a grin, digging through his drawers for a clean pair of jeans. "And the first thing she'll do is come to wake up her mommy."

Ashley sighed. She didn't really want to be used as a trampoline this morning. "Thank you," she mumbled, yawning.

Andros laughed softly, bending down to brush his lips gently over hers. "Get some rest, Ash," he told her quietly, smoothing her hair back from her face. Ashley smiled against his fingers as they brushed against her lips, slipping back into the warm darkness of sleep all too eagerly.

Ashley had no idea for how long her eyes were closed, but when they opened again, all traces of her earlier nausea were gone. Smiling happily, she bounded out of bed and into the bathroom, showering and dressing quickly going off in search of Andros to let him know that she wouldn't be spending their first day as a married couple sick in bed.

She found him seated on the living room couch, staring off into space. She startled him out of his daze as she rushed over to him, plopping herself down into his lap.

Andros laughed, not wasting a second in wrapping his arms around her. "I take it you feel better?"

"Yeah," she said, nuzzling her face into his chest. "Whatever it was, I guess I slept it off... Where's Tawny?"

"Zhane and Karone came over about ten minutes ago," he told her, grinning. "They thought we'd, um, they thought we'd enjoy some time alone."

"So we've got the whole day to ourselves?"

"Until dinner," Andros confirmed, leaning down to plant several soft kisses at the base of her neck.

"I think we can keep ourselves busy until then," Ashley teased lightly, her skin tingling in the wake of his trailing kisses as he shifted to catch her lips between his own.

To her surprise, Andros pulled back abruptly and simply stared down at her for several minutes, saying nothing, just losing himself in her eyes. Slowly, one hand reached up to rest on her face, his feather light touch tracing the outlines of her cheekbones and jaw before coming to rest lightly over her eyelashes. Her eyelids fluttered open and closed at his touch and he pulled back a moment later, still gazing at her, almost in disbelief.

"You're beautiful," he told her softly, sincerely, and half in awe. "Not just here..." He stroked her cheek gently for a moment and then gestured at the rest of her face, before letting his hand rest above her heart. "...but here too."

The sentiment was nothing new; in fact, Ashley was certain that she'd heard those same words out of Andros's mouth a thousand times, yet something in the way he said the words rendered her completely immoblie, able only to gaze up at him, struck by the thought that those words were the sweetest that she'd ever heard.

"Andros..." she managed finally. "What..."

He shrugged, blushing self-consciously. "You're a beautiful person, Ashley Hammond," he told her quietly, holding her gaze calmly. "I just... wanted to tell you that."

At a complete loss for words, Ashley could only beam her brilliant smile up at him as her big brown eyes sparkled in delight. Shifting slightly to face him completely, Ashley pillowed her head against the arm of the couch, tugging on Andros's arm to bring him closer. His lips had just enough time to brush against hers before her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Hungry?"

Andros pulled back and straightened, giving her enough room to crawl out of his lap. For a moment, she didn't move, her eyes locked onto those of the man she had married a day before. He was gazing back at her in complete adoration, his soft hazel eyes shining with all the love he felt for her.

"Ash?" Andros spoke softly, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, snapping out of her daze. "I was just thinking... I love you."

"I love you too," he said with a grin, hooking one arm beneath her knees, standing without letting her out of his arms, knowing that if he could have kept her that close forever, he wouldn't have had a thing to complain about.

Her feet touched the ground again just outside the kitchen door and Ashley darted inside just ahead of Andros, her fingers resting on the Synthetron for a moment before she decided on some bacon and eggs. Ordering her food, she sat down at the table, waiting for Andros to join her, noticing that the bacon smelled much stronger than was normal.

Wrinkling her nose, she stared down at her plate, her appetite suddenly gone. She hadn't noticed before how sickeningly greasy everything seemed...

"Ash?" Abandoning his own breakfast, Andros caught ahold of her chin, forcing her to look at him. "What's wrong?"

Hit by another wave of nausea, Ashley ran for the bathroom, falling to her knees beside the toilet as her stomach proceeded to empty itself for the second time that morning. Once again, she felt Andros crouch down beside her, holding her hair and gently rubbing her back.

"Andros, I don't feel so good," she mumbled a moment later, falling back against him.

"I know, Ash," he whispered, stroking her hair for minute or two before easing her back to her feet. Keeping one arm around her waist, his other hand waved distractedly at the opposite wall, a small washcloth floating through the air to him.

"I really think you should go to a doctor now," he added as he carefully washed her face with the wet cloth.

Ashley shook her head. "It's probably just the flu," she said. "Once you get it, there's nothing you can do except wait it out."

"The flu?" Andros repeated.

"Loads of people get it every winter back on Earth," she explained. "You're supposed to feel horrible and throw up every five minutes or so. It's supposed to be awful."

"I know what it is," Andros said, frowning at her. "But we don't get the flu here."

Ashley sighed heavily.While there was nothing that she felt like doing more than collapsing back into her soft, warm bed, she knew Andros wasn't about to let her.

"I'll go to the doctor," she said reluctantly. "But if it's not the flu, it's probably just food poisoning."

"Just food poisoning?" Andros repeated skeptically. "That sounds serious, Ash."

"It is, a little," she admitted. "But I won't die from it."

"You'd better not," he cautioned her, guiding her out of the bathroom into the hall, draping her coat across her shoulders. She sighed heavily as he led her out the door, but didn't protest, knowing that he was right.

"It's not fair," Ashley complained aloud as she climbed into the car. "I'm not supposed to be sick the morning after our wedding."

"It's not fair," Andros agreed, laying a hand lightly on her arm for a moment before putting the car into reverse. "But you are sick the morning after our wedding, and there's no point in pretending that you're not."

"I know," she admitted. Her stomach growled again and she groaned. "Can we wait a few more minutes? I'm hungry."

"Ash, you were throwing up five minutes ago," he reminded her, concern now clearly evident in his face. "You probably shouldn't eat."

"But I'm hungry," she whined, knowing how childish she was acting when she knew he was worried about her, but not particularly caring. "Come on, Andros, please?"

He hesitated for a long moment, and then sighed, slowly moving back up the drive. "If you get sick one more time, we're not waiting any longer, all right?"

"Deal," she agreed, rushing back into the house, Andros following close behind. Ashley made a beeline for the Synthetron, doing her best not to glance at the now cold bacon and eggs still sitting on the table, knowing that she would end up in the bathroom a moment later.

"What is that?" Andros demanded, looking a little sick himself as he glanced at the plate in her hand.

"Peanut butter."

"Why is it green?"

"That's a pickle, silly," she said between bites.

The look on Andros's face made it very clear that he thought her breakfast of choice was extremely disgusting, but he didn't comment except to say, "I thought you hated peanut butter."

Ashley shrugged, her mouth too full for her to speak. Swallowing, she said, "Yeah, I do, but that's only because I used to eat it all the time, when I..."

Andros started as Ashley's face blanced snow white, her eyes growing wider than he would have thought possible. At her side an instant later, he gently pried the half-full plate from her hands, wrapping his arms around her as she swayed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes brimming with worry and concern. "Ashley!"

"Tawny," she choked out, trembling from head to toe. "When I was pregnant with Tawny."

"But..."

Andros stopped speaking abruptly, giving her arm a gentle tug to get her moving. He was trying desperately to keep her from spotting the hope suddenly shining in his eyes, but Ashley could see it clearly. She swallowed and bit down on her lip hard, knowing that the disappointment was going to crush them both.