Disclaimer: Andros's parents are mine! The rest is not.
TrueRomantic: Nope, he can't make it easy for her, but in this story, there's a reason for it besides Andros just being antisocial.
Funky in Fishnet: He'll loosen up, but it's going to take him a long time.
C.C.C: Sorry I made you wait again. Stupid real life. Grr... It won't be too long before Andros goes to Ashley.
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: I can't kill Ben, sorry. I need him again later. Andros can't make him unable to reproduce for the same reason. :P But when I'm done with him... And he knows Zhane and Karone are sleeping together. He'd just rather not know any more than that. :D
Jessica01: Yup, his parents are alive this time. I'll check out your story when it's up, I love it when we get to meet their parents.
Jenny: I did write! It just took me kind of a long time. :P
DV2: Here's more, sorry I made you wait.
DizneeDol: Not quite ASAP, but here's more.
Mel: He doesn't hate her exactly. It's kinda complicated. :P
Chapter 9
"Andros!" Adya's face broke into a bright, beaming smile as her eyes settled on her son.
"Hi, Mom," Andros managed weakly, a genuine smile on his face for the first time in months. "Dad. I... you're not on Centaur B, are you?"
If he could have, he would have laughed at himself for that last remark. It had been ten months since he had heard his mother's voice, and that was all he could think to say?
Kieran laughed quietly, his eyes sparking at his son. "No, Andros, we're not on Centaur B."
"Another mission?" he guessed.
Adya shook her head, smiling secretively. "Kin Won ordered us to take a vacation. He said we'd been away from our children long enough."
"But..." Andros started, then stopped, running his mother's words through his head another time. "Do you mean... that you're coming here?"
Adya nodded, her hazel eyes misting over. "According to this, we'll arrive in the Sol system ten minutes after our next hyperspace jump."
"When's that?" Andros was gripping the edge of his seat, struggling to maintain his composure. "Soon?"
"Now," Kieran informed him. "We'll see you soon, son."
The viewing screen faded to black as Adya and Keiran entered hyperspace. Andros simply stared at the blank screen, the last minute replaying itself as though it were a dream. The small blip on the edge of the radar screen convinced him that had in fact been real, and Andros shook himself out of his stupor, unable to keep himself from grinning.
"Deca?" He swiveled around to glance at one of her many eyes. "Where did you say Karone was, again?"
---
"Mom! Dad!"
Karone flung herself into her parents arms with a shriek, her arms wrapping themselves around their necks and refusing to unwind once again. On his mother's other side, Andros laughed - truly laughed - for the first time in nearly a year and a half at his sister's euphoria, although he wouldn't have denied he was feeling much the same way.
"Karone," Adya whispered. "Oh, we've missed both of you so much."
"We've missed you too." Letting out a long breath to hide her sniffles, Karone brushed impatiently at her watery blue eyes. "But you're here now."
"Yes," Adya agreed. "We're here."
"How long can you stay?" Karone's tone grew decidedly dejected as she thought of them leaving once again, but she knew that as they were, her parents were also needed.
"A few months," Kieran said, stroking his daughter's hair gently. "Kin Won said to stay until we were needed."
"You always are," she said with a sad smile. "But it's all right."
"And you are needed too," Adya said, carefully disentangling herself from a many-armed hug. "I've never been prouder of you... both of you."
The last was added along with a sharp, pointed glance at her son. Andros sighed inaudibly, his shoulders slumping visibly even as he forced a smile. When Adya rolled her eyes at the ceiling, he knew he hadn't fooled her.
"We're not alone anymore," Karone was saying, her arms still around her parents.
"Kin Won told us," Kieran said, nodding. "Are they here?"
"Not yet," she said. "But this is the best team we've ever had, and you'll love them."
Andros kept quiet as some of his happiness ebbed away. He knew how Karone had meant the words, but something inside of him cried out, wounded, knowing that the rangers were better off without him on their team.
What's wrong with you? he wondered, growing disgusted with himself. This is the first time you've been in the same room with your parents in two years, and all you can think about is yourself! How can you be so selfish?
"Andros?"
His mother's voice slowly penetrated his thoughts and he jerked himself back into reality, forcing another smile. The look he received in return promised a long talk sometime in the near future, and he sighed, his smile now more rueful than anything else.
"I'm fine," he assured her quietly.
Adya raised an eyebrow skeptically, but chose not to comment. "When do we meet these rangers?" she asked instead, turning her attention to Karone, though she kept one eye on Andros.
"Umm... sometime soon, I guess," Karone answered. "They'll be back soon... But you still haven't told us how you've been!"
"We've been all right," Adya assured her. "We've spent most of the past year away from Centaur B."
"We know," Karone said wryly. "The last twenty times we've called, you haven't been there... What kinds of missions are they?"
"Mostly for supplies," Kieran said, his eyes darkening. "And others... well, we just need to be sure that Dark Spectre doesn't know where we are."
"Spying?"
Adya nodded. "I hate it, but it's necessary, and there's no one else that can."
"We know," Karone said with a sigh. "But we're glad that you do it."
Adya smiled wanly. "How long has it been since you've talked to Kale?"
Karone's smile slipped. "Two years."
Andros nodded at his father's questioning look. He took a step back, as if the small distance would allow him to escape this next conversation.
"He was on Centaur B about a month ago," Kieran told them, not noticing the sudden unease of his two other children, or if he had noticed, he chose to ignore it. "He's changed."
"Changed how?" Karone asked, quietly laying a hand on her brother's arm. For once, Andros didn't flinch away from human touch and squeezed her fingers gratefully.
"He's quieter now," Adya said thoughtfully. "Less dramatic. Less... angry. Wandering around for so long has done him some good. He even mentioned something about a girl..."
"Kale has a girlfriend?" Karone asked increduosly. "He has changed."
"From the way he talked about her, I wouldn't be surprised if she was his bondmate," Kieran said with a smile. "You should talk to him for yourselves. I'm sure he would love to hear from you."
Karone winced as Andros nearly broke her fingers. "We'll try to contact him again soon," she promised her parents. Carefully, she worked her hand loose, flexing her fingers to be sure everything still worked. "I think he likes being alone, though."
"Well, yes," Adya admitted. "But he's still your brother, and the five of us haven't been all been together for two years. You should at least try while we're here. Maybe we can all be together again, at least for a little while."
"All right," Karone agreed with a smile. "I'll try later on tonight... but even if we can't find Kale, it's enough that the four of us are together, right? At least for now?"
Kieran nodded his agreement, smiling down proudly at his daughter. "You're still hopeful, Karone."
"You sound surprised," Andros said wryly, able to laugh a little at his words. Karone stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned, mimicking the gesture, his heart lightening suddenly.
"You're seventeen," Adya rebuked mildly, though she was laughing as well. "Why must you insist on acting like five-year-olds?"
"Because it's fun?" Karone suggested innocently.
"Because you spend too much time with Zhane," Andros retorted, quickly putting some distance between himself and his twin sister's fists. "He hasn't changed in years."
"Like you would know." Karone grinned, laughing at the face Andros made. "You spend too much time alone for your own good."
Kieran shook his head, laying a hand across his son's shoulder. "Some things never change."
"Yeah," Andros agreed, his thoughts putting some distance between himself and reality once again. "But some do."
