Disclaimer: Marieke: Maura, can you get any lamer?
Maura: What? It's useful.
Marieke: No… You know what's useful?
Maura: Well?
Marieke: -ties Maura's tubes-
Summary: The return of Andros's parents changes all future plans of Andros and Ashley. It's doubtful they'll ever see each other again. But there's a secret Ashley's carrying around just dying to come out.
Arwennicole: Ashley loves her children very much. Andros and Zhane at that moment… were just two idiots. YAY! Can't wait for chapter 8 then.
Phantom Rogue: Yeah, that's why chapter 9 was named Forever Linked, he was acting strange because Ashley was in labour too. I don't believe being hung over is very fun either, luckily… I can't tell for experience. NO MORE TWINS!
Lady Kimiko: That's okay, I've been tracking everything I can on Chris lately, so it's still fresh in my memory. Zhane's memory isn't so bad… Tommy's, now there's a bad one. And as I told Rosa… NO MORE TWINS. But you can stalk Chris with me… that makes… um… six or something, at least.
Star Fata: He was just too drunk to realise it and has already forgotten it now. I feel silly when reviewing all the time, so, don't worry. I felt silly putting up that whole penname of you too, else I wouldn't have done it. Away for a while? On vacation? Have fun!
Slytherin-Angel44: Here's the next chapter. Maura will betray him somewhere in the 20 chapter wise. And, um… I just finished chapter 26 yesterday, working on 27, it's setting their meeting up.
Tal: Oh yeah, you can have SO much fun with Karone and people just make her a perfectly goody good sweet girl. No matter how much she loves Zhane… Andros comes first. The kids should consider themselves lucky for that drunk stuff, or they'd be married at the age of 16 too.
Jenny: Ever heard of the term: vacation? GO ROSA! TAPE THAT MOUTH SHUT. You're a good girl, having finally changed that one line.
C.C.C.: Glad you liked my little fun trip with them. In ER a drunk sang that song that way… it was just too perfect for Zhane to go to waste. If Maura had found him? She'd probably ban him from alcohol.
Mz. Daydream: Glad you like it.
Kamali Shen: Well, you'll have to wait a whole lot longer. And then you'll hate me for it.
Mita427: Keep your cool, things won't be so easy for Andros in a while.
Zeopurple: Yeah, well, there'll be more than enough time to pamper Karone in the future. It's better Andros doesn't remember. I'd hate to have to marry Chris and Chyler when they're 16.
The-power-of-love: That's okay, fanfiction was being a pain in the backside. Glad you like it.
JDPhoenix: I think… this really is the meanest story I've ever written for them. I'm surprised the Megaship hasn't crashed into my room while I'm asleep at night just yet.
Secrets Untold
Chapter 11: Baby Shower
"Karone." Cassie smiled happily and hugged her friend. "Finally we get to see that pregnant belly of yours."
The baby kicked just before Cassie could pull away and with a smile, Cassie placed her hand on Karone's belly after an approving nod from the other girl.
"Feels like a fighter." Cassie commented.
"Just like his daddy." Karone grinned.
"So it's going to be a boy?" Cassie asked, unaware of the ongoing argument between Andros and Zhane.
"We don't actually know for sure – they're just convinced it is. I still say it's going to be a girl, but, of course, no one listens to me." Andros cut in, sharing a quick hug with Cassie.
"Well, you do realise mommies are mostly right about their kids gender, right?" TJ shot to Andros as he hugged Karone. "Two more weeks, right?"
"Yeah." Zhane replied, coming up behind Karone and wrapping his arms around her as best he could, lovingly stroking her belly.
"Well, good luck. You'll need it once the kid is born. Trust me, they scream their lungs out at the most impossible times of day or rather… night." Carlos grinned.
"How about we get on with this and let them open the presents before the baby is joined by 3 other siblings, shall we?" Andros called from the circle of garden chairs a few meters away.
"Dream on! I'm not having four kids." Karone laughed and shook her head, but made her way over to her brother anyway.
Andros gallantly helped her sit down in the only comfortable chair Zhane had been forced to drag out of the house. Karone smiled brightly as Zhane and Andros dropped down on the chairs on either side of her. It was as if both of them had gotten her pregnant, not just Zhane - but it was cute.
If Zhane wasn't her husband and Andros wasn't her brother, she probably would want him as the father for her children (though uncle was a pretty fair deal). Andros was a natural when it came to calming down screaming kids – and dealing with them in general. She bit back a sigh when she though of the nephews and nieces she could have had if Andros and Ashley had gotten married before he went to KO-35 rather than plan to have it afterwards.
"Presents." Maura's sugar sweet voice rang through the air and she passed large, rectangular package to Karone. "Open mine first."
Then she made motions to sit down next to Andros, only to find Cassie, TJ and Carlos all having taken up the first three chairs next to him. She made a sour face, but dropped down next to Carlos without a word. From Andros's reaction, Cassie could tell this was the unwanted wife they had been told about.
They had never actually met or seen Maura before. Andros would always call them from Zhane and Karone's house (and that was where they could reach him too) or at his work. Cassie turned to watch Karone unwrap the package and made a face when a pack of diapers appeared. The smiles on Zhane and Karone's faces were painfully, and obviously, forced as they thanked Maura for her well-planned gift.
The next few presents were eagerly welcomed as Karone unwrapped socks, baby clothes, bottles, hats, stuffed animals and toys.
Coming across a tall wrapped box, Karone stripped away the colourful paper and opened the cardboard box, pulling out a tall, fire engine red…
"Thanks, man," Zhane commented brightly, the others finding it difficult to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "A fire extinguisher! I've always wanted one!"
Shaking his head, Carlos handed over another box, admitting at the same time.
"Really just wanted to see if you guys would the me seriously." As Zhane made motions to hand back the extinguisher, Carlos shook his head, waving him off. "You can keep that."
"Really?" Zhane exclaimed happily. "I wasn't joking when I said I really wanted one!"
Giggling and shaking her head at her husband, Karone smiled brightly when a book filled with bedtime stories appeared as the wrapping paper fell away.
"You can read them." She grinned turning to Zhane. "Thanks, Carlos."
"You'll have years of fun with it." Carlos promised.
Next was TJ's present, a Rainbow Brite doll.
"See, TJ agrees it's going to be a girl." Andros declared.
"Nonsense, it's going to be a boy, Andros. Will you just stop that girl bogus?" Lynette told her son sternly, even with a hint of a smile appearing on her face. "Though a future girl could have fun with it." She mused.
"Boys can play with dolls too." TJ shrugged. "Anyway, my sister picked it out."
"Well, it's cute." Karone smiled. "Thanks."
"Here." Cassie smiled, handing over her present. "I hope you like it. I checked, it's actually something native from Earth apparently. Couldn't find any other planets having it."
"Like birthdays?" Zhane chirped while Karone opened the package.
"It's a mobile." Cassie explained when Karone picked up the wheel with little stuffed animals hanging down from it. "You hang it above the crib where the baby's head lies. It'll move in the wind. Some have wind-up functions and run circles while playing a lullaby, but this is a plain one. The animals reminded me of you."
Zhane shot her a questioning look as he poked one of the silver goldfish dangling down. Karone just laughed and fingered the little purple panther next to it.
"It's beautiful… thank you so much." She smiled.
"Now my present." Andros grinned.
Karone looked at him suspiciously and gasped when he pulled out a gigantic teddy bear. It easily reached up to his waist and was completely covered in purple fur with silver spots in its ears, on its tummy, under its paws and around its nose. A silver ribbon was tied around its neck and it had two big, loving baby blue eyes, almost the exact same colour as Zhane's.
"Wow… Andros." Karone breathed in shock. "It's… wow!"
With a surprising speed and grace for a woman so close to her due date, Karone launched herself into her brother's arms.
"There's no doubt you're going to be the best uncle in the whole universe." Karone told him silently as she clung to him.
The rangers smiled at the scene in front of them, but Zhane poked the teddy bear.
"Andros… It's purple." He commented, sounding almost bewildered.
Karone turned a little, keeping one arm around her brother's waist and one of his around her shoulders as she stared at her husband with a blank expression.
"I told you many times before; it's going to be a girl. So naturally I'm buying a present fitting a daughter." Andros shrugged.
"You're crazy." Zhane informed matter-of-factly.
"No more than you." Andros replied lightly, seeming to momentarily forget his own marriage and being drawn back into the time before Maura.
It was a relief to both Zhane and Karone to see Andros hadn't completely lost his free spirit just yet and the mere reunion with three of their Terran friends was enough to bring that boy back. They could only hope things would stay that way. If not… Maura would have a very unwanted, silent victory without even knowing it and that scared the hell out of both of them.
A/N: Hope you liked it. Update soon.