Disclaimer: Do you really think I own anything? Come on, now...

Mz. Daydream: I think I answered that question already...

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Isn't Andros so cute:D Here's more.

GreenDayfan1: Yeah, she's pregnant. And getting married... hee hee... Yay, no mistakes!

Just Jill: Yup, they're getting married.

Jenny: Actually, the only other time I've used "Marry me" instead of "Will you marry me?" was in Mirror, Mirror Part 2 when Ashley tells Andros she's pregnant and she doesn't know whose baby it is. I like chocolate chip cookies. And if we use Marieke and my Christmas special, then you don't have an excuse for not having it ready by next year:D

Chapter 7

"What am I doing?" Ashley wailed aloud, her mind trapped in a spinning daze of emotions as she paced back and forth, each movement accompanied by the soft swish of the skirt of her wedding dress.

"Getting married?" Cassie suggested with a grin.

"That's not funny!" Ashley snapped, her nerves already frayed. "I can't do this!"

"And why not?" Cassie demanded, hands on her hips. "You want to, don't you?"

"Y-yes," Ashley said, unable to mask the tremor in her voice. "I think so..."

"You think so?" Cassie repeated, her light tone leaving her. "Ashley, please tell me this is just nerves."

"I hope so," Ashley said softly, sinking down onto the only couch in the small room. "But I..."

"You what?" Cassie prodded gently, joining her on the couch. "Ash, what's going on?"

"I'm scared," she whispered, hugging her arms to herself. "Cass, I don't know what I'm doing."

"Okay." Cassie sighed. "You love Andros. Andros loves you. You know that much, right?"

"Of course I do," Ashley exclaimed, shooting a slightly insulted look at Cassie. "That's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

"I just can't help feeling that this is... I don't know," Ashley cried. "Cassie, it's been fourteen months since he asked me on our first date."

"So you think it's too soon?"

Ashley nodded.

Cassie sighed. "Okay... Ash, do you think marrying Andros is going to be a mistake?"

"No," she answered instantly.

"So you don't think you're making a mistake?"

"No."

"Then why don't you want to marry him?"

"I didn't say that." Ashley bit her lip. "I do want to marry him."

"Just maybe not today?"

Ashley nodded slowly, tears slowly welling up in her brown eyes. "I..."

"If that's how you feel, you need to tell him that," Cassie said gently. "He'll understand."

"I know he would," she whispered, wiping her eyes with the tissues Cassie pressed into her hand. "But... I can't."

"Ashley, you have to," Cassie said, alarmed. "You can't marry him if you feel this way."

"I can't tell him," Ashley insisted. "Because he'll understand."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Ashley shook her head. "He'll tell me that it's all right, Cass, and then he'll look down with that sad look of his on his face. I don't want him to look like that anymore. I can't hurt him, Cassie, I just can't."

"Ash, this is just my opinion, but marrying him because you don't want to hurt him isn't a good enough reason."

"It's not the only reason," Ashley said weakly.

"What are some others?" Cassie asked. "Not because you don't want to hurt him, not because you're pregnant. Why do you want to marry him?"

"I love him," Ashley whispered. "Isn't that enough?"

"You tell me, Ash," Cassie said gently.

"I... " Ashley swallowed hard, and nodded. "It is. I love him, Cassie, and if I woke up one day and he wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to keep living."

"Are you sure about that?"

Ashley nodded her head firmly. "It's the only thing that I am sure of."

"So you love him and you can't live without him," Cassie said, half to herself. "But you think you're marrying him too soon."

"Yeah," Ashley said uncertainly. "No..."

"Ash, this is a yes or no question," Cassie said, a trace of an amused smile on her face. "It can't be both."

"Do you think it's too soon?"

"I'm not the one getting married," Cassie reminded her. "It doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what you think."

"I..." Ashley hesitated. "It doesn't feel like it's too soon, but then when I think about it, we haven't even known each other for a year and a half..."

Cassie sighed before saying slowly, "Ash, you've always followed your heart, no matter what anyone else thought. What's your heart telling you now?"

"That we'll be okay," Ashley whispered. "I know it can't be that simple, but it just feels like if we're together, everything will be all right. Always."

"And your head? What's that telling you?"

To her surprise, Ashley actually laughed. "Cass, my head is still trying to tell me that falling for Andros is going to hurt me. I don't think my head's going to be of much help right now."

Cassie laughed as well, but eyed her best friend warily. "Ash, you're gonna have to make a decision in about ten minutes."

"I'm getting married today," Ashley said decisively, resting one hand gently upon the growing bump on her stomach. "I love Andros more than anything, and we'll be fine. We'll be fine, and in a few months, we'll have a little baby together."

"And all those doubts of yours?" Cassie challenged. "What about them?"

"Just nerves," Ashley told her firmly. "That's all. You can't blame me for being nervous, Cass."

Cassie sighed and shook her head, smiling ruefully. It wasn't her place to talk Ashley either into or out of marriage, and even if it was, there was nothing she could do to change Ashley's mind once it had been made up.

"You sure?"

"I'm positive," Ashley said, a slow, shaky smile spreading itself across her face. "It's almost impossible to believe, but Andros is the most perfect guy for marriage."

Cassie's laugh was genuine this time. "It is hard to believe," she admitted. "I mean, when he abandoned us on that planet, did it ever occur to you that you'd be marrying him sixteen months later?"

"Of course not," Ashley answered immediately, the dreamy grin on her face making Cassie wonder. "But he's not that person anymore."

"He's got you to thank for that," Cassie said. "Has he?"

"No," Ashley said slowly, thoughtfully. "He doesn't need to. Andros and I know what we mean to each other, even if there's a lot we've left unsaid."

"Unsaid for a few more minutes, anyway," Cassie said wyly, glancing at the clock. "You still getting married?"

Ashley nodded her head up and down, giving her best friend a shaky smile. "Yeah," she said, swallowing hard. "I'm getting married."

"Then let's go," Cassie said, gently grasping her by the arm and leading her out the door. Karone ran up to them just as they stepped out of the door, nearly flattening them.

"Everyone's ready," she said, panting slightly. "Carlos is waiting for us at the end of the hall."

Ashley smiled, grateful for her friends. Already closer than family, that's what they had truly become, and now, they were all with her on her wedding day. Carlos flashed her a bright smile as they approached him and linked his arm through hers as Cassie and Karone stepped in front of them.

Slowly, they made their way down the aisle, step by step working their way to the altar, where Andros stood, having trouble not to fidget. He froze once his eyes landed on Ashley. The smile he gave her was forced and small, but the light shining through his soft eyes as he caught her eye was all that Ashley needed for her lingering doubts to vanish into thin air. Reaching for his hand, she laced her fingers through his, ready to spend forever with him.