"Andros!" Cassie yelled as he landed in the center and spun around to face the voice that was calling out his name. He had not expected to meet anyone here, as he had wanted a quiet day to himself, but that was not going to happen now.
"What did I forget this time?" Andros asked as he relaxed after realizing who was there with him.
"You didn't forget anything, I just wanted to drop in on you and I'm glad that I did. You look like you've had a bad day," Cassie said as she reached for his hand and gently took it in hers.
"They took Jenny today and I don't think that I can go through that again. Cassie, we've got to find a way out of this. Kim and Tommy can't continue to do this to their child and I can't continue to do this to you," Andros said as Cassie gave him a concerned look. He had never talked about leaving the ranger world, but it was obvious that he felt that was his only choice now. Too many things had changed and had forced him to decide that he had to get out while he still could. He knew that he would eventually not have a choice about staying or going and he did not want to reach that point. He still wanted to have some control of his life.
"Andros, it's all that you've ever known are you sure that you're going to be able to get away from this? Are you sure that you even want to?" Cassie asked as Andros looked over at her. She had to know that he was serious about this, otherwise he would have not bothered to say anything to her. He didn't want to get her hopes up about his leaving the ranger world until he was absolutely sure about leaving.
"Cass, I need to do this, not just for me, but for us," Andros said as he reached over and wrapped his arms around her as she leaned back against him. It had been so long since she had felt him hold her like this. She had missed him, she had missed being able to be with her boyfriend, missed seeing him every day and having him hold her like this. She just didn't know how long it would last. Things were always broken apart when they least expected it.
"Do you think they'll let you?" Cassie asked as Andros looked over at her and laughed.
"It doesn't matter if they will let me anymore, I have to do this for me Cassie. I'm tired of being a ranger, I'm tired of seeing Kim be hurt and worry about her child and what will happen to Jenny if something happens to her. She always thought that Tommy wouldn't be involved and that she would be able to make sure that Jenny would have one parent if she died. Hell, I'm afraid to even start a family because of this. I want a family with you Cassie; I want to be able to grow old with you and the only way that that is going to happen is if I get out of this soon," Andros said as Cassie looked up at him and he gave her a gentle kiss. "God I've missed you Cassie."
"I've missed you too, Andros," Cassie whispered as he smiled down at her and then his communicator beeped and he let out a disgruntled groan.
"What do you want?" Andros asked as he heard a stifled laugh. "Kimberly Ann Hart, answer me."
"I just wanted to remind you that you don't need to have too much fun," Kim said as Andros groaned and Cassie laughed.
"I could tell you the same thing," Andros said as he could hear the silence from Kim and knew that she had turned as red as the ranger suit she wore. "Don't worry about me Kim, now have a good night with your babies."
"I will, Andros," Kim said as the frequency went quiet and he waited for a moment to see if Kim would try to contact him again.
"What is she talking about?" Cassie asked as Andros looked over at her and he looked down at the floor.
"Last night she had a little bit of fun with Tommy," Andros said with a smile as Cassie looked up at him and just shook her head. "Are you okay? Why'd you come here?"
"I just needed to see you Andros, I haven't been around you in so long and I need you, more than I have ever realized it," Cassie said as Andros looked over at her and then gave her another kiss as she relaxed against his body. "Take me to bed, Andros. Take me with you."
"Cass…"Andros whispered as she pulled him down and kissed him hard before he could even try to complete his thought. She wanted to get her point across to him before he was able to even try to think of an excuse to not do what she wanted. "You came here to seduce me?"
"No, just to have my way with you," Cassie said as she smiled up at him and Andros then picked her up as she laughed.
"I think I can let you do that," Andros said with a smile as she held onto him and he walked back towards his room.
-----------------
"Mommy! Mommy!" Jenny yelled out in her sleep as she tossed and turned in her nightmare. "Daddy! Mommy!"
"Wake up baby, wake up," Kim whispered, as she gently shook her shoulder as Tommy walked in behind her and watched as Kim struggled to wake her up as she thrashed about. "Come on, baby, wake up, it's all right. Mommy's here"
"Mommy," Jenny said as she woke up with tears falling from her cheeks and Kim wrapped her up in a tight hug. "He got me Mommy."
"He's not going to get you again baby," Kim said as she stroked back her hair as she looked back over at Tommy and he walked over to the two of them.
"You want me to get anything?" Tommy asked as Kim shook her head no and he looked between the two of them.
"Can I come sleep with you?" Jenny asked as Kim looked back at Tommy and he nodded that he would be fine on the couch.
"I'll go downstairs, Kim," Tommy whispered as she nodded, although she had been having a rough night herself. She knew that she was likely to be yelling out for Tommy in a few hours, but she also knew that Jenny was going to need some time before she got used to the idea of the two of them being together.
"Daddy, where are you going?" Jenny asked, half awake as Kim carried her towards Tommy's room as Tommy headed down the stairs.
"I'm just going down stairs, everything is all right baby," Tommy said as Jenny reached for him and he picked her up carefully and she immediately curled against him and went to sleep. "What do you want to do now?"
"She not going to let go of you tonight Tommy," Kim said as he looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled. "We might as well just go back to bed."
"Are you sure? I'm sure that I could disentangle myself somehow," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. She did not want to risk Jenny waking up again screaming out for either of them without them being very close.
"I don't want her to wake up terrified again Tommy and I don't know if I can even sleep without you," Kim answered, honestly, as Tommy nodded his head and carried Jenny on into their room. Kim stood back and watched him as he cradled the little girl in his arms and placed her in the middle of the bed and then crawled in next to her as she immediately wrapped her arms around him and she saw the smile light up his face as he looked over at her and saw something in her eyes that made his smile fade. "I've waited far too long to see her with you, Tommy."
"We all make mistakes, Kim. There is nothing you can do about it now, but we've got this now, we just don't need to mess it up," Tommy said as Kim crawled in and he reached over and gently ran his fingers through her hair as she smiled over at him as Jenny squirmed and Tommy looked down at her.
"That's so much easier said than done Tommy," Kim whispered with a sad look in her eyes as he reached over and gave her a gentle kiss.
"It's different this time Kim. We're in this mess together and if we can't figure out a way out of it, at least we have each other," Tommy said in a serious tone as Kim nodded and then snuggled closer to their sleeping daughter as Tommy watched her before giving himself back over to the tiredness that was overtaking his body. They had had a long day and they were hoping that this night would erase so much of what they knew would haunt them for years to come.