Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter six of "Not Here III: Going Around." This chapter has some Andros/Ashley. The next chapter will introduce the rest of the Astro Rangers and maybe some of the earlier ones. I am so ready to do that. There may be some chaos at the graduation ceremony. Who will cause it remains to be seen. Stay tuned for chapter seven.

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Chapter 6: On the Way to Graduation

Ashton, Anna, Andros, and Ashley were waiting to go ahead at a red light an hour-and-a-half later. Ashton was driving his daughter's van. Andros was seated behind him, as was Ashley behind her mother. A folder containing speeches happened to be between the couple. Ashley was munching on pretzel sticks. Anna looked in the visor mirror. She couldn't help but smile as Ashley swallowed and licked her lips twice.

"Look at you devouring those pretzel sticks, Ashley," Anna whispered with a laugh.

"I can't help it. I am hungry," Ashley said, grabbing another stick and nibbling on it.

"It is good you are eating now. You do not want your stomach growling during your speech," Andros said, glancing at her.

"No one does," Ashley agreed and swallowed with a loud gulp. She got two sticks and presented them to him. "You want some?"

"Sure," Andros said, taking the sticks and popping them into his mouth. He proceeded to chew. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Ashley responded and pinched his cheek. She observed him swallowing and smacking his lips. She laid the bag in her lap. "You ready to give your speech?"

"Definitely," Andros admitted. "What about you?"

"Oh, yes," Ashley said, giggling softly. She touched her tassel before knocking it forward. "It was nice of Justin to suggest we give our speeches first. He feels we are more important than the valedictorian is."

"I remember one teen mom having it rough on Fifteen and Pregnant. Her boyfriend ran out on her when he said he would marry her after the baby was born. She spent her days changing diapers, filling bottles, and washing smelly clothes. Her daughter never slept when she wanted her to and begged her occasionally. She had to stay up all night and work at two dead-end jobs to pay two hundred and fifty dollars a month for babysitting. She had no money. She was lonely and exhausted. She had only one friend left from before her new life. She told Tina and the other girls it would happen to them and that they had no idea," Andros explained.

"You proved you were not one of those deadbeat bastards, Andros," Ashton said, pointing his finger at the mirror. "You were determined to be a good dad. That determination only increased when you learned Ashley was carrying twins."

"It is a dirty job being a parent, but someone has to do it," Andros said, shrugging and laughing.

"That it is," Anna commented.

The light turned green. Ashton went ahead and moved his hands to the sides of the steering wheel. He tapped them while singing nonsense. He heard chuckling and looked at Anna, who raised an eyebrow. He scratched the back of his neck. He placed his hand back on the wheel.

"You just had to start singing nonsense, didn't you?" Anna asked.

"Yep," Ashton said, giving a sharp nod. "You are not going to stop me."

"I would rather not stop you. I like hearing it," Anna said, reaching over to touch his shoulder.

He put his hand over hers. "Great."

She smiled. "I am glad I am great."

Ashton took his wife's hand off his shoulder and kissed the back of it. He released his hold on it to return his to the wheel. A roaring engine caught the group's attention. It spotted a car going down the turning lane. Andros scoffed irritatingly.

"Why do people have to use the damn turning lane to try to get ahead of everyone else? Why can't they just be patient?" Andros griped.

"They believe they should be ahead of everyone else. Good things come to those who wait," Ashton responded firmly.

"Like the twins," Ashley said, closing the bag and laying it aside. She laid her hands on her stomach. "It's two months to go before they are finally here."

Andros looked at her and laid her hand on her stomach. "That's right."

Ashley laid her hand on his shoulder. "No one will stop us from accomplishing our goals. No one."

Andros slipped his arm around his fiancée and kissed her forehead. He kept his lips there for thirty seconds before pulling away. He flicked her chin before running his finger up and down her nose. She giggled, causing him to become confused.

"What's so funny?" Andros asked, furrowing his brow.

"I remember how confused you were when I showed you routines from The Three Stooges. You could not understand why I would wave my hand in front of your face and move upward in which I would jerk it downward. The same goes for when I tried to run in a circle on my shoulder and said 'Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk' or 'I know the woids' in Curly's voice," Ashley responded.

"I had seen standup comedy and listened to voice impressions on other worlds, but I had never heard of The Three Stooges. Their routines looked downright weird to me," Andros pointed out honestly.

"Then you started doing the routines and talking like Curly. You even pulled the I-got-my-eyes-closed one many times," Ashley commented, moving her eyebrows up and down.

Andros pulled his hair behind his neck. "I read that Curly had an 'indestructible' head. He would have objects smashed on it. They include vases and pans."

"He was often allowed to improvise routines. His comic timing was exceptional," Ashley said, sighing in great warmth.

"Unfortunately, all those hits to the head caused issues. He began slowing down after being on The Three Stooges for many years. He had a severe stroke that ended his career. Shemp took over for his brother. It was to be temporary, but Curly never fully recovered. Shemp's placement became permanent," Andros explained sadly.

"He suffered several more major strokes before he finally died on January 18, 1952. His death was greatly mourned by his family, especially Moe and Shemp," Ashley added. "I want to introduce the twins to The Three Stooges. The comedy is clean. There is no foul language."

"Me too," Andros agreed.

"I say that is a very good idea," Anna responded with a smile. "Of course, you will need to explain to the kids why they cannot imitate what they see on TV, especially when it comes to The Three Stooges."

Ashley nodded in agreement. "That is true. For example, throwing bricks like Kevin did in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York can cause horrible damage if they land on cars or kill people if they strike them in the head."

"If a brick hit a punk in the head, I would not feel the least bit sorry for him," Ashton admitted.

"I wouldn't either," Ashley said, crossing her arms.

Anna smacked her lips. "Neither would I."

Ashton suppressed a yawn. "I do not blame any of you."

Ashton clicked his tongue twice. He began talking about the time he and Anna scared Kayla silly.

00000

Julian was driving a red car three vehicles behind Ashley's van. He looked over at Tracy, who was in the passenger seat. Kinwon and Tykwa sat behind him and his wife respectively. The car happened to be a Ford. It looked new with the exceptions of scratches along the driver's side. A tiny crack could be seen in the upper right hand corner of the windshield.

Julian clicked his tongue as he moved his hands to the top of the steering wheel. He tapped them on it while singing nonsense. Tracy rubbed the back of her neck with both hands. She moved them to her lap. She clasped them together before sighing softly. He looked in the rearview mirror. He could see Kinwon adjusting his tie.

"Ties are such a hassle to keep straight, aren't they, Kinwon?" Julian said, a soft chuckle leaving his mouth.

"No shit," Kinwon admitted. "I will tell you I am not wearing one to Andros and Ashley's wedding. I will go for a tuxedo instead. Bowties look to be much easier to handle."

"They usually are," Julian replied and ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth. "Some men wear flowers in the pockets. Would you like to have one in yours?"

"I would like that," Kinwon agreed.

"Great," Julian said, giving him a nod.

Tykwa straightened the skirt on her dress. She slid her hand over it to get rid of wrinkles. She folded her hands before laying them in her lap. She tapped her foot three times before clicking her tongue twice.

"It will be very nice to see Andros and Ashley give their speeches on teen parenthood to their graduating class," Tykwa said, a big smile forming on her face.

"Most high schools do not do such a thing for teen students expecting or raising children. They consider it too time consuming. They think it will encourage graduates to skip college and become young parents," Julian said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief.

"But Andros and Ashley want to keep their speeches short. They are not the biggest public speakers," Kinwon pointed out truthfully.

"That they aren't," Tracy agreed.

Kinwon huffed. "I do not know how such a speech would encourage anyone to become a young parent. I say it would discourage them until they feel they are ready for parenthood."

"Some people are not meant to be parents," Julian said, bluntness lining his voice. "There was a time where Earthlings were expected to start families. If they didn't, they were ridiculed and shunned."

"On KO-35, no one expects you to start families," Tykwa commented and pressed her lips together. "You are treated the same, whether you have a spouse and children or not."

"Children are the future, but you should not be a parent if you do not have the patience to deal with them," Kinwon added.

Tracy nodded in agreement. "Yep."

Julian gazed in the rearview mirror. He could see a van coming up on his bumper. The driver beat on her horn four times and shouted inaudible words. He let out an annoyed scoff.

"This bitch is riding my ass! I won't go any faster because there are too many cars around!" Julian yelled, anger showing in his voice.

"It sucks you can't back up and hit her," Kinwon said, looking out the rearview window at the van along with Tykwa.

"He'd back off if you did," Tykwa said.

"She might once she sues Tracy and me for all we have," Julian grumbled in a bitter voice. "People have to be in such a hurry these days. I know some things are so important that they can't wait, but we can't control the traffic."

Kinwon and Tykwa saw the van's left blinker start to flash. The driver moved it into the turning lane. She drove by and flipped Julian the bird. He narrowed his eyes at her as she went further down the lane. The van's blinker stopped flashing.

"Up yours, bitch!" Julian shouted and hissed to himself. He glanced at the rearview mirror and gritted his teeth. "You two are lucky KO-35 doesn't have traffic like this." He tightened his grip on the wheel a little bit. "In fact, it doesn't have much at all."

"Being nowhere near populated as Earth is has its advantages," Tykwa pointed out. "That's not to say it doesn't have rude people."

Kinwon crossed his arms. "You'll find rude people everywhere in the universe. It's not sunshine and rainbows. Cruelty and nastiness are all over the place, even on our home world."

"Life isn't always fair. We must make the best of it," Karone added.

Julian nodded in agreement. "Mm-hmm."

Julian removed his foot from the gas pedal and twirled his ankle around. He put it back on. Kinwon uncrossed his arms. He laid his hand on his leg. He tapped his fingers on it. Karone crossed her left leg over her right.

"I am ready to see Andros and Ashley's friends. I know they are excited about their graduation," Tykwa said eagerly.

"TJ said they would all be waiting at the front of the school when we arrived," Kinwon added.

"I have a feeling their reaction to see Ashley's grandparents will not be pleasant," Tracy said in some fear.

"I would not blame them. They were pissed when Ashley told them about what Ben, Kayla, and Gerald demanded of her," Julian murmured truthfully.

"It is so weird that piss means both getting angry and taking a leak," Kinwon said, a soft chuckle coming from him.

"So many words mean the same thing that it is not funny," Julian said, shrugging. "I did not create language."

"The expression 'This whomps' often means 'This sucks' or 'This hurts," Tracy pointed out while holding up a finger. "It is covered in the Recess episode called 'The Story of Whomps.' TJ made the word up to keep out of trouble for swearing. He had to go through a court trial before he could use it casually again."

"The Recess gang was as close as the Ranger gang is," Kinwon commented and stroked his beard. "They always looked out for each other, especially during very trying times."

"Everyone has been looking for Ashley throughout the duration of her pregnancy," Tykwa said. "They refuse to abandon her because of her circumstances."

"It is not right for friends to bail out on each other, but it is understandable. Some do not want to get caught up in drama," Tracy whispered, crossing her arms.

"Some friends will stay out of the drama in the beginning. Then they get involved," Kinwon added.

"That allows them to process the situation and choose whether getting involved or not would be the wisest course of action. One thing is clear. Everything has an equal and opposite reaction," Julian said.

"Yep," Tracy agreed with a nod. She began talking about how she and Julian got together.