Disclaimer: Not mine at all.
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Not so happy? I think I've decided... Tell you later if you're on. Or did I already tell you?
Chylea3784: There's definitely going to be a happily ever after somewhere. I'm addicted to happy endings. :P
Jeanka: It probably will be not so happy.
Arwennicole: They'll have a happy ending, but it might not be for awhile, but don't worry, the sequel will pick up almost directly where this one leaves off.
TrueRomantic: I know, it does seem wrong to make them unhappy, even though I think I'm probably going to go that way. I promise I'll write a story someday where it's completely fluffy and the worst thing that ever happens is Andros freaking out a bit when he hears he's going to be a daddy. :P
C.C.C: Here's more, and it'll probably be not so happy.
lareinaSelena: It won't be as sad as my original ending was, but it won't be exactly happy, either.
Just Jill: I can't seem to finish a story without the feedback I get from all of you. :P I chose an ending, though.
Jessica01: Nothing horrible happens, just nothing good, either. The sequel will be happy, though.
Jenny: I like all of the possible plotlines that I was considering for the sequel, and all of them will end up as stories eventually, one of them as soon as I finish STL Part 3 and the sequel to this one. And don't worry, the sequel will be completely A/A. :D
Amanda: I think it probably is going to end with a good cliffy.
Tasha: I'll never break them up and keep them that way, I can promise you that much.
Chapter 22
Ashley woke slowly, her mind reluctant to return to the world of the living. Her eyes blinked open and then shut again as drowsiness threatened to overwhelm her. Vaguely, she was aware of two eyes fixed on her, but she was too tired to care. Then a hand was stroking her cheek gently and she opened her eyes again, this time in annoyance.
"I was sleeping," she complained, burrowing her face into her pillow to escape the hand.
"Sorry," a voice whispered in her ear. "I thought you were awake."
Her eyes opened then, reluctantly. Chagrin slowly took the place of irritation as stared into Andros's hazel eyes. He relaxed as her eyes softened and reached out to her, resting his palm against her cheek once more.
"Sorry," she offered sheepishly. "Morning."
"Morning," he answered softly, a smile of pure joy upon his face. He hugged her close without warning, and Ashley laughed in surprise, squirming to get her arms around him in return. It was difficult; he was holding her so tightly that her arms were pinned to her sides.
"I love you," she murmured, nuzzling her face into his bare chest. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Ash," he replied. He said nothing else for several minutes, and Ashley was perfectly content to lie in his arms as one of his hands toyed with her hair.
"Last night," he said finally. "Last night, you said you wanted to go to KO-35."
Her hair tickled his skin as she nodded. "If you want to go, I'm going with you."
Andros smiled and hugged her a little closer to himself. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair. "You don't know what that means to me."
"Andros..." Ashley pulled back to stare up at him sadly. "You're talking like I'm making a huge sacrifice for you. And I'm not."
"Ash--"
"It's not that I wouldn't," she continued. "You know that. There's nothing left for me here, Andros. I want to leave almost as much as I want to be with you."
"But this is your home," he said softly, staring at her in confusion. "There's always going to be something for you here. Your friends are here. Your life is here."
"No, Andros," she said gently, placing a kiss on his chest. "My home is with you. I can always come back to visit my friends, but my life isn't here. I belong with you, Andros, just as much as you belong with me."
"So... you really want to?"
Ashley laughed and kissed him again. "Yeah," she said, smiling up at him. "I really want to."
Andros smiled and buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. "You'll like it there, Ash," he assured her. "It will probably be chaotic at first, but after a few months, everything will settle down."
"I was a ranger," she reminded him with a grin. "I can take anything, Andros, don't worry."
"I know," he said softly. It was easy, really, to forget her strength. "But I didn't mean it like that."
"What did you mean, then?"
"I meant that once KO-35 goes back to how it was--before the war, I mean--then we'll find somewhere to live," he said softly. "I know I'll end up working with the government somehow, but you can have your design business or whatever you want to do."
"Yeah..."
Andros frowned into her hair. "What's wrong, Ash?"
"It's nothing important," she insisted quickly. "I didn't mean to say anything."
"It's important to you," he said quietly, trailing his hands up and down her spine. "Talk to me?"
She sighed and buried her face in his chest once again. Her words were muffled, but he could make them out clearly. "It seems so shallow sometimes," she mumbled. "You're going to actually help people, and all I'm going to do is make them look nice."
Andros frowned and pulled back, tilting her face up to meet his. "You're not shallow, Ash," he told her gently. "I've never known anyone as kind as you are, or as sweet, or giving. And besides," he added as an afterthought, "you've been a ranger. You're allowed to be a little selfish if you want."
"But--"
"You're not shallow, Ash," he repeated firmly. "I just thought that's what you wanted to do."
"It is," she admitted. "But you're going to help people..."
"Ash," he said softly. "I don't know how to do anything else, that's all. I want you to do what makes you happy, whatever it is."
"Designing makes me happy," she admitted. "But--"
"No more 'buts,'" he interrupted firmly. "I won't let you make yourself unhappy like this."
With a sigh, Ashley nodded uncertainly. She cocked her head at him and smiled slowly. "Since when do you decide what I'm not allowed to do?"
Andros smiled back in answer and caught her hand, kissing her fingers lightly. "I love you."
"Love you," Ashley murmured, burrowing her face into his chest. "I can really have my own design business?"
"Yeah." Andros smiled and nodded, stroking her hair with one hand. "We'll be all right, Ash."
Ashley nodded, pulling back just a moment later to stare at him intently. "Andros..."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she assured him. "It's just... When you think about the future, do we have a family?"
Andros sighed and tightened his hold on her. "Yes," he murmured. "A little girl and then after that a boy."
"So you still want a family?" she asked again, just to be sure. "I mean, now that we have a choice..."
"Well, maybe not right now," Andros said slowly. "But someday soon, Ash."
"How soon, Andros?" Ashley paused, adding quickly, "I don't mean now, I just wanted to--"
"A few months, maybe," he said, silencing her with a kiss. "A year. I want children with you, Ash."
Ashley smiled and nuzzled herself closer to him, his words reassuring her that everything would be all right.