Disclaimer: Marieke: Maura… I got a little present for you!
Maura: Really?
Marieke: Yes, really. Here's an apple, I got it of an old lady. She said she was going to give it to her step-daughter who lives with 7 man… She decided you were a better cause.
Maura: Why thank you. –bites in apple, falls into a deep sleep-
Marieke: -laughs evilly- No prince charming will want to kiss you after I'm finished with you. –call plastic surgeon to make Maura ugly-
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: Yeah, that's why she now vowed not to tell Andros after all. She's too scared of losing them.
Phantom Rogue: She doesn't know how happy Andros's marriage is. She's not under the illusion he would step out of it for her. YOU GAVE MISTY TUNA! HOW DARE YOU! TUNA IS A FORBIDDEN FISH FOR KITTIES!
Johnny: She ends up confessing it to him. But I'm not saying any more about that.
Star Fata: Yeah, she hates this one with passion.
DarkHonda: SHE does, why do you think Maura took the twin and not Andros? She's the one who fought for custody.
Megarider: No… no real Maura. She is here… HATE HER!
SSL: Nope, they won't, it's just a nightmare to scare her and a silent warning.
Mita427: This soon enough?
Jenny: Wow… a short review. Love this chapter!
Slytherin-Angel44: -sighs- Voldie-Poo… are you a wizard or are you not? I mean… I always thought wizards could erase memories?
SweetSas: Don't jump out of a window! We'd miss you too much! We were just scratching the old paint of the doorposts.
DizneeDol: Yeah, so Ashley's scared for her children and won't tell Andros… yet anyway.
BellaCordelia: Hope you did get a good night sleep and weren't pestered by nightmares because of me.
The-power-of-love: Always.
Zeopurple: How else would I be able to write a happy ending?
Tay: Ashley will definitely win in any situation, she's got Andros's support. Yes, the dream stays a dream.
Mz. Daydream: YAY! I got you hungry! Andros wouldn't… Maura would in his name.
Lady Kimiko: Yep, they'll be sixteen by then. Ashley's got her life on perfect track.
Enigmaforum: Maura back in this chapter. Chris and Chyler don't just SEEM cute… they ARE cute! They're stripey… naturally.
Dragoneyes5000: Yeah… poor Cat and Food… blame Phantom, she was annoyed by her sister's fish and so I killed some for her. The twins are the sweetest.
Secrets Untold
Chapter 22: Never Easy
"One last push." Ashley urged, slightly nervous.
This was the first baby she was delivering unsupervised and the kid just happened at be premature too. She wanted it to be as perfect as she could make it. Soon the cries of the new-born filled the air and she had the baby brought away to Neonatology.
"Congratulations, you have a daughter." Ashley told the mother.
She didn't look too happy about the news and Ashley was almost certain that wasn't because of the gender. She seemed not happy having the baby at all. A shudder ran up and down her spine at the thought of not being happy with her twin or not to have seen the happiness in her eyes when Atalya had delivered her goddaughter, Tal.
"I need a coffee." Ashley muttered, leaving the room to have a well deserved break.
For half an hour she sat in the doctors' lounge, just enjoying her coffee and letting the stress of the day ebb away a little. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and a nurse came in with a chart.
"You delivered that premature baby about half an hour ago, right?" She asked. "You're name was on the chart."
"The girl from the women in 412? Yeah, I did." Ashley sighed. "What's up?"
The nurse handed over the chart and Ashley examined it. A sigh escaped her lips when she realised what exactly the information on the papers meant.
"I'll go inform her mother." Ashley told the nurse and got up. "Thanks for letting me know."
"No problem, though day?"
"You know it."
Reluctantly Ashley knocked on the door of the delivery room and entered.
"Miss Sprague, I have some bad news about your daughter. During standard tests on prenatal children, the doctor's discovered your daughter is deaf. She does have some residual hearing and hearing aids will go a long way in helping her in the future, but she'll need intensive stimulation and I would suggest teaching her sign-language too." Ashley told the young woman in the bed.
"But she's deaf?" The woman asked and Ashley nodded.
"I'm afraid so."
"I don't want her."
"What?" Ashley asked, surprised.
"You heard me, I don't want her. Give her up for adoption or something, I'm not taking her home."
Ashley sighed. She could already tell it was useless trying to persuade the mother otherwise. With another sigh she left and decided to visit the little nameless girl. At Neonatal Ashley entered tentatively and looked around.
"Can I help you?" One of the doctors asked, walking over to her.
"Yeah, hi, I'm Dr. Hammond. Not so long ago a little girl was brought in that I delivered. I came to check up on her." Ashley replied.
"Ah, Dr. Hammond, I'm Dr. Clark. Did you get the results of the tests?" The doctor inquired as he led her over to a crib with the small girl inside.
"Yes, I did and I told her mother. Our little girl over here is unwanted."
"Ah, well, besides the deafness, this little girl is perfectly fine. She was lucky."
Just then the girl started fussing, wailing moments later.
"She's probably hungry." Dr. Clark sighed, producing a ready bottle from somewhere off his right.
"Can I feed her?" Ashley inquired, stroking the little girl's hairs, if you could call it that.
"Sure, do you now how to?"
"It may be ten years since I was nursing a child and I might let my daughter feed my goddaughter when I'm baby-sitting, but I do believe I know how to feed an infant." Ashley smiled, gently picking the little girl up.
"I'll be right over there if you need me and don't feel shy taking one of the rocking chairs while feeding the girl."
"Thanks." Ashley smiled, finding herself one of the rocking chairs and set down.
She rocked slightly as she placed the bottle at the baby's lips and the girl started to drink eagerly.
"You need a name." Ashley decided as she watched the girl drink. "Normally we call girls we don't know the name of Jane Do. So how about we call you baby Janie until I find you a good foster family or adoptive mommy or something. I won't lie to you, placing you in a family is going to be tough, but I won't rest until we have. I won't let them take you to a home or orphanage. I'll be foster mom for you myself if I have to."
KO-35
Danne reluctantly followed her big brother into the house through the back door. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her mother kissing some guy. She was leaning against the kitchen counter and the man stood pressed up against her. He was shirtless and Danne suspected the shirt hanging over one of the chairs at the dinning table was his. Maura herself was dressed in a bathrobe.
"Mom?" She heard Cevil ask.
Maura quickly pulled back from the guy and looked at her children, cursing beneath her breath. Obviously not realising it was so late.
"You should go." She told the man, turning to her children sweetly. "Hi 'darlings'."
Danne watched the man quickly pull his shirt over his head and leave the house. When the door closed behind him, Maura's smiled turned into a frown and she turned to Danne menacingly.
"He wasn't here. Do you understand that?" Maura threatened. "Your father is never to find out or you'll wish you've never been born."
Danne nodded breathlessly and fled the kitchen the moment she could. Inside she could hear her mother coaxing Cevil into silence, promising him the newest Holo-Glash Games, all his favourite candy, a whole wardrobe full of the most expensive clothes of the most wanted brand in the universe and the newest most gruesome holo-movies around.
A single tear rolled down her cheek and she rubbed at it furiously before running upstairs to her room. She would hide out there until her dad would come home. She wouldn't tell him, she couldn't, but at least she could find some comfort from him. Comfort her mother wouldn't give her.
"Where are you daddy?" She whimpered as she curled up on her bed. "Where are you?"
A/N: Hope you liked it. Yes… I feel sorry for Danne! Review.