The faintest tinge of grey streaked the eastern sky, quietly announcing the dawn's imminent arrival. Not even strong enough to threaten the stars above yet, the glimmer was nonetheless a long-awaited sign that one of the most important days of her life was about to begin.

She stared out across the valley, back toward the district crouched low between the hills. Festival lights flickered gaily throughout Keyota and the surrounding meadows, fires that had burned through the night joined by the sparklers and luminescent halos of late-night revelers. Last year that had been her, dancing and celebrating with Andros and her Kerovan friends.

This year, she would be celebrating with Andros again. But this time she would be with friends she had known longer than those she had met here, and by the end of the day she would be wearing a wedding ring instead of a glowing halo.

"Wishing you were there?" a soft voice asked from behind her, and she started.

"Sorry," Andros murmured, amusement in his voice as he joined her. "Thought you heard me arrive."

She glanced over her shoulder automatically, and saw his hover settling itself gently in the matted grass of the foothills. The little solar-powered vehicles were quiet, but she should have caught the hum as it swept up the hillside. "I must have been distracted," she said, turning back to the view across the valley. She felt his arm go around her shoulders, and she leaned comfortably against him. "And no... I don't want to be anywhere but here."

"Even if we aren't supposed to be alone together until tonight?" he asked, a grin in his voice.

She shrugged a little, feeling an answering smile on her own face. "It's not our fault Zhane and Kerone are late."

They both contemplated the horizon for a few moments, watching the tinge of grey lighten almost imperceptibly toward blue as the dimmer stars began to fade from the sky. The silence was companionable, and she felt no need to fill it with words. They would say all they needed to say today, and they had been over it a dozen times before. Now she was content to simply watch the dawn creep closer in the company of the person who would be her husband before the stars came out again.

"There they are," Andros said at last, pointing toward a shimmer of violet light in the waning darkness. The glow of teleportation faded, but the illumination did not wink out entirely. A bright purple globe preceded the three individuals, casting dim shadows all around them in the predawn light.

"I can't believe this is really happening," she whispered suddenly, watching Zhane and Kerone pick their way up the hillside in their direction. She felt like she had been waiting for this forever, and now that it was finally here it felt unreal.

"Me either," Andros agreed, hugging her. "But it must be..."

He trailed off, tilting his head to one side, and she gave him a curious look. He pointed upward without a word, and she looked up in time to see a flicker of light falling toward the planet. The distant thrum of engines was audible to her a second later as an ambassadorial shuttle much like the one Andros flew shot across the sky, heading for the Keyota district. The sunburst pattern on the side caught the light just before the ship dropped below the terminator into twilight.

She felt laughter bubble up inside of her as the little ship disappeared into the valley, lost in the hover traffic of the district's festival celebration. "They always have to make an entrance."

"One of them planned that approach vector," Andros agreed, sounding as amused as she felt. "They wanted to make sure we saw them."

She lifted her hand when Zhane waved, calling hello as Andros' sister and his best friend approached. "You're breaking tradition!" Zhane shouted, letting Kerone help him over one of the exposed rocks.

"And you're late!" Andros shouted back, not relinquishing his hold on Ashley. "I was on time for your wedding!"

"Yeah, well you didn't have a baby to feed!" Zhane retorted good-naturedly, bouncing the little girl higher in his arms. "You babysit, and we'll be on time!"

"No deal," Ashley murmured, careful to keep her voice low enough for only Andros to hear as their friends came closer. She wasn't sure exactly how much of her mother's sorceress ability Zeri had inherited, but she was positive there would turn out to be some in the girl, and in Ashley's opinion *any* was too much on her wedding day.

She felt Andros stifle a chuckle. "Agreed," he said softly. "Make sure we have normal children, okay?"

She elbowed him for that remark on principle, even if she knew he was only kidding. They had taken care of Zeri often enough to know that no matter how cagey and mischievous she could be, she was equally adorable and surprisingly even-tempered. But "normal" was a word that would never apply to any of the Astro Rangers, let alone their children.

"Hey, Ash," Zhane greeted her, as they came near enough to speak without shouting. He gave her a half-hug, drowsy baby in one arm and her in the other, and she couldn't help laughing.

"Happy wedding day," Kerone added with a smile, hugging her brother first and then trading with Zhane to hug Ashley too. Ashley saw the globe that had been lighting their way fade out of the corner of her eye as Kerone let her go. "Sorry we're late."

"It's all right," Andros assured her, releasing Zhane and grinning at Ashley. "Ashley's made me break enough traditions already that one more doesn't really matter."

"Combining," Ashley corrected firmly. "We're combining traditions; that's called sharing. It's no wonder you had trouble in kindergarden."

"Hear that?" Zhane asked, apparently addressing baby Zeri. "That's called bickering. And when you're old enough, Aunt Ashley and Uncle Andros will teach you how to do it too. Maybe on *your* wedding day."

"I don't see why she can't just learn from you, Zhane," Kerone remarked, swinging her backpack off her shoulder and letting it settle on the ground.

Ashley giggled at Zhane's chagrinned look. "May I?" she asked, holding out her arms for Zeri.

"That will be Cassie and Saryn," Kerone said, glancing out over the valley.

"Where?" Ashley asked, not daring to look up as Zhane settled a now-sleeping Zeri into her arms.

"You saw them come in too, huh?" Andros' question overlapped with hers

"They were hard to miss," Zhane said, stroking Zeri's pale blond curls as she snuggled contentedly against Ashley. "Unlike you, he can never resist the chance to show off that fancy shuttle."

"Teleporting," Kerone answered Ashley. "They're about a hundred meters down the hill from here."

"They probably don't want to walk far with the twins," Andros said, raising his hand to wave and ignoring--rather pointedly, Ashley thought--his friend's comment about shuttles.

"I can't understand that," Zhane put in dryly. "So where's everyone else? I'm starving!"

Ashley lifted her eyes from the child in her arms to glance toward the horizon. The night was fading to blue, and the stars had almost all gone out. The sun would be up soon, and they were still missing half their party. "I'm sure they're on their way."

The entire hall had been turned into a temporary hostel for offplanet visitors during the festival. Sleeping was not a large part of the three-day celebration, but not many people could make it through seventy-plus hours without it. Most of the exhausted could be found sprawled in various positions across the floor, except for those few prescient souls who had thought to bring a cot or hammock.

TJ was not one of the prescient souls. On the other hand, he was lying on a sleeping bag, and that seemed to be a major step up from the bare floor. In his slightly less than half-awake state, he considered the muffled giggling which had apparently woken him. It seemed odd that giggling could possibly have dragged him out of a sound sleep when all around him people had been coming and going, having conversations, and playing with noisemakers all night.

It could be the fact that the giggling, now silenced, had been coming from right beside him. Or the fact that the quiet laughter had been a distinctly alien. There was a time, years ago, when it would have been laughter first and alien second. But he had been offplanet too infrequently of late for the sound not to startle him.

He squinted up toward the ceiling, watching it slide slowly into focus. It took him a moment to place the view, but he did eventually rouse his mind enough to remember the day before and some of the overnight in the converted hall. KO-35... He hadn't been here since Zhane and Kerone's wedding.

Then he heard the giggler whisper to someone else, in an accent that was no longer as familiar as it had once been. Nonetheless, in context he placed it immediately, and he rolled his eyes. "I'd tell you guys to get a room," he mumbled, still groggy, "but I know it wouldn't do any good."

"Good morning to you too," Carlos' voice replied, sounding suspiciously unclouded by sleep. "We didn't think you were ever going to wake up."

"It's the middle of the night on Earth," he grumbled, sliding his right arm out from under the jacket he was using as a pillow. He blinked at his watch, but it was still set to California time, and he no longer remembered exactly what the time difference was.

"It's the middle of the night here too," Carlos informed him. "But since we're supposed to be there at sunrise, do you think you could be more specific?"

He grumbled some more, but he did remember that Carlos had given up wearing a watch shortly after he had settled on Aquitar. The Aquitians were apparently more attuned to the rhythms of their planet than TJ was to his, and with Aura to depend on Carlos claimed he had gotten out of the habit.

TJ reached across his girlfriend's sleeping form, gently tugging her left wrist out from under the edge of their combined sleeping bags. The silvery hands, set as close to Keyota time as she could make them, glinted up at him in the dim light. "Is 'late' specific enough?" he inquired.

"What?" Carlos' surprised exclamation drew a few murmured complaints from the other sleepers around them.

"We are not late," Aura interjected at last, sounding just calm enough to be smug. "It is not yet ten in the Ranger dome on Aquitar, which means another two quarters until sunrise in Keyota."

TJ cleared his throat, trying not to smile at having one up on the girl who could do calculus in her head. "Aura? You know where they're having the ceremony, right?"

There was a rustle as someone shifted, and he heard Carlos murmur, "Those hills just to the west as we came in."

"Hills," TJ agreed. "Elevation?"

"Oh," Aura said. A moment later, she admitted, "I did not take that into account."

"Tess?" TJ didn't bother to gloat; he didn't have time. "Tess, wake up," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her shoulder. "Time to get going."

He heard Carlos and Aura stirring behind him, but he was focused on Tessa's bright green gaze as her eyes fluttered open. She smiled sleepily up at him and he had to smile back, but he warned, "We're going to be seriously late if we don't get a move on."

"Why does that sound familiar?" she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut and stretching her arms above her head. "You know, vacation is supposed to mean that you *don't* have to say that every morning."

"You shouldn't have taken that lab job this summer," he teased. "I'm not the one who has to be at work at seven-thirty every day."

She made a face. "You're right. We need a vacation from vacation."

"That's why you're here," Carlos interrupted. "So let's go."

Tessa sighed. "I'm not sure, but I think there might be something wrong with the world."

"With the universe," TJ corrected, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Any culture that believes in being at weddings for sunrise has a few issues."

"Stop complaining and move," Carlos suggested.

"They're here!" Zhane crowed. "We can finally eat!"

Andros rolled his eyes, amused. His friend would never grow up. Some things, like the wind and the stars and Zhane would just never change. *And what would I do if they did?*

"With a minute and a half to spare," Ashley murmured for his ears only, as a second hover parked itself beside Andros' and spilled the rest of their friends out onto the grass. "I was sure they were going to sleep in."

"They might have," he agreed quietly, smiling. "It's a good thing we have Aura to keep them in line."

She grinned back at him, and he clasped her hand briefly before they went their separate ways to get breakfast for their friends. "I love you," Andros whispered.

"I love you too," she murmured. She squeezed his hand and nodded toward the horizon, where the edge of the sun was just peeking above the foothills on the other side of Keyota. "Happy wedding day, Andros."

Their wedding day was very much like Zhane's and Kerone's, Carlos decided. From sunrise to sunset, surrounded by their closest friends and not allowed to be alone together until nightfall. Family members--Kerone and Andros had been each other's only mutual exception--didn't seem to be allowed at Kerovan weddings, and he wondered wryly if KO-35 too had a "Romeo and Juliet" story.

On the plus side, the "no family" rule had gone a long way toward keeping this wedding private, and he knew that had been a priority. It was the reason for having the wedding during KO-35's solstice festival, when all the Astro Rangers could both arrive inconspicuously and slip away from the celebration unnoticed. It was also the reason for having it so far from the district, as Zhane's and Kerone's had been more than a year ago. Andros and Ashley would be married before Keyota knew it had happened, let alone the interstellar media.

At least, they would be married if the garlands ever got done. As far as he could tell, spending the day making garlands for the ceremony was part of the custom, no matter how terrible one was at the activity. After his own handfasting to Aura, though, he had found himself unable to complain about other culture's odd customs. KO-35 had nothing on Aquitar when it came to strange traditions.

"You'd think I'd have gotten better at this after the first time," Cassie complained, echoing his thoughts. "Is there a class you can take in flower weaving or something?"

"Hey," Ashley said, as she lay on her back and stared up at the clear blue sky. "At least yours don't have thorns."

"Roses were your idea," Andros reminded her, holding one of the garland flowers above her face teasingly. "I seem to remember suggesting laisas."

"I want roses," Ashley insisted, pushing the flower away.

Andros just laughed, picking up one of the roses lying near her half-finished circlet. He reached out and tapped her nose with it, and she sniffed appreciatively. "That's the real thing," she agreed, pleased.

"Fletcher!" Cassie dropped the garland she had been struggling with and reached out to catch her son's hand before he could snatch up one of the roses. "Those are prickly," she told him, scooping him up into her lap. "They'll hurt your fingers."

The auburn-haired twin stared up at her with wide eyes, sticking his fingers in his mouth as though to protect them. Carlos couldn't help smiling as Cassie hugged the boy close, glancing over at Aura as he did so. He knew how much she wanted a child of their own someday--Billy had assured them that it wasn't impossible, but they were still working on the genetics.

"You couldn't have gotten roses without thorns?" Cassie was asking.

Ashley shrugged, still playing with the rose Andros had given her. "I'm philosophically opposed to thornless roses," she replied absently.

"Since when?" TJ wanted to know, looking up from the garland he and Tessa were working on.

"Since a while ago," Ashley answered.

"Hey!" Zhane's startled exclamation prevented her from having to elaborate. Carlos glanced over at him and blinked. Zeri was balanced rather wobbly on her feet, one small hand grasping Zhane's knee as she grabbed for an amorphous and insubstantial glitter of purple hovering in the air. Kerone lay on her stomach beside the pair, her head on her arms and an unfinished garland in front of her. Her eyes were closed.

Zhane reached for the violet shimmer as Zeri missed, collapsing into his lap as her precarious balance was lost. Instead of dissipating, the glow flared at Zhane's touch and then vanished altogether. He rubbed his eyes, looking from Zeri to Kerone with a look of amused exasperation on his face. "She obviously gets that from her mother."

"I've never seen her do that before." Andros was staring at them in surprise.

"That's because she hasn't," Zhane said, picking his daughter up and setting her back in the grass between him and Kerone. "We weren't sure Astrea's magic *could* be inherited, but I guess that ends that discussion."

"And I thought ours were trouble," Cassie said, giving Saryn a wry look.

He smiled, but didn't answer. Carlos had to wonder again exactly what those twins were capable of, since the moment had never seemed quite right to ask. They saw so little of each other these days that it was hard to find moments that *were* right, and between Saryn's reluctance and Cassie's protectiveness it didn't seem wise to pick one of the wrong moments.

Of course, Zhane had never been that inhibited. "Are the twins empathic?" he asked curiously.

Saryn's head came up at that, his smile gone, but Cassie just shrugged. "Yes," she admitted. "You must have noticed that they don't talk much."

"Aloud," Saryn amended quietly. "We would prefer that this not become public," he added, something uninterpretable in his tone.

Zhane looked affronted. "So much for my plans to call IN as soon as we get home. Come on, Saryn, none of us would let something like that get out. I just wondered, and I couldn't remember either of you saying anything one way or the other."

With good reason, Carlos suspected. He knew Saryn's empathy would bar him from his chosen career on his own planet if knowledge of it ever got out, and the more Carlos understood about the situation the less fair it seemed. Aura would say that life was about growth, not fairness, but he couldn't help wondering what growth came from hiding all the time.

"You know we trust everyone here," Cassie said quickly, smiling. "And Carynn and Fletcher wouldn't be in any danger, not from Elisia. It's just that Saryn's technically breaking the law..."

The two-year-old playing on the far side of Saryn made a sound, hauling herself onto her feet and padding closer to him in the grass. The dark-haired twin collapsed on the ground next to him, staring up at him with oddly bright blue eyes.

Saryn smiled, and Cassie laughed. The two of them exchanged glances, and then Cassie smiled fondly at their daughter. "Yes," she agreed, tightening her arms around Fletcher. "Special."

Carlos' eyebrows went up, and he caught Aura's eye. *Did she talk?*

*Not that I could hear,* Aura answered silently.

Ashley rolled over onto her stomach and studied them. "You said they don't talk aloud--do they talk with their minds? Do you mind me asking?"

Cassie shook her head, but it was Saryn who answered. "I do not mind. They do not speak nonverbally, but it seems they can project emotions as well as receive them."

"That's not really uncommon for empaths," Cassie put in. "At least, not on Elisia."

"No," Saryn agreed. "And it allows them to convey relatively complex impressions to us--and to each other, we assume. As Cassie just observed, 'special'. That was the gist of the impression Carynn projected."

"Say it aloud," Cassie coaxed Carynn. "Special."

Carynn very clearly refused, shaking her head and resting her cheek on Saryn's knee. She blinked at Cassie, but she made no sound.

Cassie only glanced at her watch and shook her head. "Naptime," she said ruefully, managing to dislodge Fletcher from her lap and passing him to Saryn. "They're all yours."

Carlos didn't miss Saryn's instinctively wary glance around the circle before he seemed to remember where he was. He dropped a hand to each child's head and smiled a little. Fletcher squirmed into a more comfortable position in the grass, and slowly, each twin's eyes slid shut.

"Oh, now *that's* a good trick," Kerone commented. "I wonder if you could teach me to do that."

"How long have you been awake?" Zhane demanded.

"I wasn't asleep." She studied the twins carefully, her chin propped on her fists in the same gesture that Zhane was wont to use when he was thinking. "I wish I could put Zeri to sleep just by thinking at her."

"You've done that before," Zhane said, looking puzzled. "You've done that to *me* before, never mind Zeri," he added wryly.

"But that was magic." She seemed to remember the garland in front of her, and she rolled over and sat up in one fluid motion. "It's not the same."

Carlos felt a tug on the garland he was working on, and he looked down to find the child in question playing with the other end. "Want to help?" he asked, grinning. "You could probably do a better job than I am."

Zeri's hazel eyes lifted at the sound of his voice, but the question failed to hold her attention. Instead she batted at the garland again, making a sound that was somewhere between a purr and a question, and he grinned. He took the end of the garland from her and draped it around her neck, like a very lopsided lei.

Ashley laughed as Zeri froze, holding completely still for a moment as she considered the flowers. "She's a little short to hold them up for us, I think."

"Maybe she could throw flower petals," Cassie suggested. Carlos couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "Your very own flower girl."

"She'd be as likely to throw them at you as at Ashley," Zhane interjected dryly. "If she didn't decide that she'd rather keep them for herself."

Zeri turned, trying to take the end of the garland with her as she crawled away. Carlos chuckled, reaching out to disentangle the flowers from her shoulders. "Sorry," he told her. "It's not finished yet. Why don't you go steal Andros'?"

Zeri's face scrunched up into a childish expression of distaste when he wouldn't let her keep the flowers, and she made a noise of protest. She turned toward Aura instead, heading determinedly for the next nearest garland. Aura deftly lifted hers out of the way just as Zeri reached for it, and the girl ended up knocking over Aura's water bottle instead.

"Oh, hey," Carlos said, realizing it was empty. "Let me get you some more water."

Aura caught Zeri gently under the arms and before she could go for the flowers again, smiling up at him in thanks. Zeri, though, complained immediately, and Aura turned her attention back to the girl on her lap. "If you are good," she said solemnly, "I will make you your own garland."

Zeri stared at her with wide eyes, probably entranced by Aura's accent as much as anything. She certainly didn't understand the words, but she seemed willing to sit still as Aura picked up a few of the loose laisas and twined them into a short, flowery necklace. Zeri crowed in delight when Aura settled the laisa chain over her head, and Carlos laughed as he grabbed another water bottle out of the hover and brought it over to her.

"That's very becoming," he told Zeri, but she paid no attention. Scrambling out of Aura's lap, she crawled over to Zhane to show off her new accessory.

Zhane just shook his head at her. "Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled," he declared fondly. "Go show your mom."

Zeri must have understood "mom", for she turned her hazel gaze on Kerone as soon as Zhane said the word. Kerone smiled at her and held out her left hand, producing a translucent violet bubble that bobbed invitingly in the air. Zeri grabbed for it as soon as it appeared, and though her fingers passed right through it, the bubble did seem to move when she batted at it. Then it bounced higher again, and Zeri lunged after it.

*Like playing with a cat,* Carlos thought, amused, as Kerone scooted the bubble of light around in the air in front of her daughter.

He heard Aura sigh, almost inaudibly, beside him. Without having to look he reached over and found her hand, squeezing her fingers gently. *Not that different,* he told her, repeating what Billy had said to them. *One of these days, Aura; I promise.*

"Smile!"

Andros laughed. "I thought you said you take pictures afterwards at Earth weddings."

"You're too cute to wait," Ashley teased. She sidestepped Carynn as the girl ventured farther from her father and her twin in the long grass, and she readjusted the recorder. "Now shut up and smile!"

Andros grinned at her, and the little light on her recorder flashed as it captured a 2D representation of him. Nearby, his best friend was soothing a cranky daughter while Andros' sister helped Cassie mark out an area in the grass. Aura and Carlos followed, planting thin poles in the ground behind them while Tessa tried to remember how to string the garlands.

"Come on Tess," Andros heard TJ say. "You can't figure out a few flowers? You're the one getting a degree next year."

"In astrophysics!" she retorted playfully. "Not horticulture!"

"Smile," Ashley declared, turning the recorder on them before they could stop arguing, and Andros laughed again.

"Give me that," Cassie said, her tone amused. She left Kerone with Carlos and Aura and snatched the device from Ashley's grasp. "You're a menace--go stand with Andros."

Ashley skipped over to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Happy wedding day, Ash," he whispered, kissing her gently. He felt her smile against his lips, and there was a quiet click as Cassie triggered the recorder.

Wedding dresses weren't part of a typical Kerovan marriage ceremony, but they had been one of two things that Ashley absolutely insisted on. The other had been the arrangement of the hanging garlands--where Kerone and Zhane had hung theirs on the wedding poles in a traditional circle, Ashley had informed Andros that she wasn't getting married without walking down the aisle. So the garlands were arranged in a keyhole shape, with an "aisle" that opened into a circle at the end.

"Do I look okay?" Ashley asked, smoothing the waist of her sleeveless white dress. "I feel like I'm getting grass stains on my skirt every time I move."

Cassie laughed. "You're only going to wear it once; it doesn't matter how dirty it gets!"

Ashley did not look appeased, and Cassie shook her head in fond amusement. "Ash, you look fabulous. You're not getting grass stains on your skirt, the waist is perfectly smooth, and your hair looks great."

Ashley's eyes widened at the mention of her hair. "My halo!"

Cassie held out the rose circlet, trying not to giggle. Her friend had been living on KO-35 for far too long if she could say that with a straight face. "Hold still," she warned, lifting the circlet and settling it gently on her friend's head. The Kerovan sun had lightened Ashley's hair to the point where she looked almost native, and the yellow roses nestled against brown-streaked gold hair.

Ashley reached up to adjust the roses automatically, and Cassie caught her hands. "It looks perfect," she said firmly. "Don't touch it."

Her friend squeezed her fingers but made no move to disobey. "Cassie," she whispered, swallowing hard. "Why am I so *nervous*?"

"Because you're about to tell the love of your life that part of you would die without him," Cassie answered. She didn't have to think about it--she'd turned that question over in her mind a million times or more when Saryn had hesitantly offered her a ring. By the customs of Elisia they were already bonded for more than life, so it had surprised her--almost to tears--when he tried to follow Earth custom as she had followed Elisia's.

She had lain awake long into the night, and she knew he had too, listening without speaking while she wondered at her own reaction. Now she could tell Ashley, "You're admitting that you've given up control of part of yourself to someone else, and that's scary. It's hard to realize you depend on someone else that much... but it's wonderful too."

Ashley stared at her, rather strangely, for several moments. "Yeah," she said at last, her tone soft. "I think that's it. You thought about that a lot, huh?"

Cassie held up her left hand without a word, the thin gold band on her third finger glittering in the fading afternoon sunlight. Her friend smiled. "Yeah, I guess you would have... Thanks."

"There are places you can't go alone," Cassie said quietly. "You're a different person than you were before you loved Andros--but would you want to go back?"

Ashley's eyes sparkled. "No," she said fervently. "I love him."

"Yeah," Cassie agreed. "But if you're this nervous," she added, trying not to giggle, "just think what he's going through."

Ashley didn't bother to stifle her giggles. "What a horrible thought! I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"Good," Cassie said with a smile. "I'll go get my guitar--are you ready?"

Ashley nodded quickly, letting go of her hands at last. "Yeah," she said, taking another deep breath. This one was clearly meant to calm her giggles, rather than her nervousness. "I'm ready."

Andros, strangely, looked calmer than Ashley seemed. He stood silently beside Zhane, waiting for the girls to be ready with a relaxed look that had become his norm of late. Though it seemed long ago now, she could remember a day when he had been more reserved than Saryn. Time and trust had melted some of the stiffness from his countenance, and the love he shared with Ashley had changed both of them for the better.

She strummed the opening chords of "Here Comes the Bride" as soon as Ashley appeared, and she saw Andros' face light up. She smiled to herself, letting her gaze slide over Andros and across the semi-circle of friends gathered around him and Zhane. Carynn and Fletcher were behaving beautifully, each twin clutching one of Saryn's hands while the traditional wedding music of their mother's home filled the air. Saryn caught her eye when she looked up again, smiling at her, and she smiled back.

As the last few chords faded into quiet, the semi-circle shifted to surround the radiant couple. Cassie put her guitar down and went to join them, stepping into the circle to echo Zhane's position on the other side of Andros and Ashley. He quirked his lips to acknowledge her, but it was Ashley who spoke.

"We're here today," she said, her voice quiet but strong, "because I've asked Andros to marry me."

"And we're here," Andros added, picking up where she left off without hesitation, "because I agreed when Ashley asked. Ashley is more than my love; she's a part of my soul that I never want to give up."

Ashley didn't take her eyes off of him as she replied, "And Andros is a part of my heart that I can't even imagine being without. We've invited you, our closest friends, to witness our wedding."

"We hope that you understand the strength of our love," Andros continued, "and that you all know something like it." There was the hint of a smile on his face as he said those words, for he knew perfectly well that all of them did.

She felt Saryn's gentle caress in her mind as Andros and Ashley paused, glancing around to include everyone in the circle. "Thanks, you guys," Ashley said quietly. "Not just for coming, today, but for being the best friends either of us has ever had."

"Thank you," Andros added. "For giving me Ashley... and for teaching me how to love her."

She saw Ashley swallow at that, and her friend's hand wasn't quite steady when she held it out to Cassie. She put Andros' ring into Ashley's hand, tapping her friend's fingers gently and smiling warmly at her. Ashley returned the smile, clenching her hand tightly around the ring as Zhane handed hers to Andros.

"Andros," Ashley began, as they turned back to each other. She hesitated a moment, but the brief silence only served to emphasize her words. "I've cared about you since the day we met. You felt so much and shared so little--I wanted to understand you, to find out what made you like that. But as I got to know you, your hurt and your happiness, your past and what drove you toward the future, I found that that wasn't enough. I realized that I didn't just care about you for you; I cared about you for me, too... and that was when I knew I loved you.

"You saved me more times than I can remember," she said. Her eyes were bright with memories and maybe tears, but her voice was steady. "You kept our entire team alive with your experience and your determination. But more than that, you were there whenever I needed you. Planetary Ranger or not, you took me seriously those first few days on the Megaship, and you stayed up with me that summer when the nightmares of the Psychos kept me from sleeping.

"You came back with us to Earth after Zordon's energy wave, and you yelled at that reporter for me after graduation..." She trailed off, biting her lip as a smile warred with the brightness in her eyes. "You even helped me apply to colleges, and I know how much you hated that idea. But you never told me not to, and you never tried to pressure me into coming here instead."

She took a deep breath before she added, "I'm glad you didn't, because then I might not have come, and the last two years have been wonderful. Because of you I've found something I love doing, and the best thing about it is that I can do it with you. I may not know what the future will bring, but I know that I never want that part to change."

Ashley reached for his left hand with her right, clasping his fingers loosely in her own. "Andros... you opened up the universe to me, but you'll never give me anything more important than your love. So for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, I promise to love you and to stand by you, and to never ask any more or less than the same of you." She slid the ring onto his finger, repeating more quietly, "I'll love you always, Andros."

Andros turned his hand over, catching her fingers before she could pull away. Ashley didn't move and he just stood there for a moment, gazing at her. Cassie thought at first that he was savoring the moment, but when he took an unsteady breath before speaking she realized that he was struggling to compose himself too. She tried to suppress a smile, for she knew that reaction all too well. They were declaring their love for all time, and here they were, both of them trying not to let tears get the best of them.

"Ashley," Andros said softly, squeezing her fingers as he finally started to speak. "You say I saved you, and maybe I did once or twice, but I never would have been able to if you hadn't saved me first. You met me when I didn't care about anyone or anything, and you made me open my eyes and my heart again. You were the hope I'd given up on, and when you laughed I remembered what happiness sounded like.

"At first I tried to tell myself that your optimism was silly, impractical. But I found myself listening to it anyway... at first because I wanted to believe in you, and then, finally, because I did start to believe. Where I saw only the dark of night in deep space, you saw the brilliance of the stars, and I began to realize how much I was missing.

"You've always done that for me," he continued, his gaze flickering to their joined hands and then back up to her face. "You've shown me what I don't see. You showed me that there's always something worth living for, no matter how hopeless things seem. Everyday I remind myself to appreciate what I have, because everything can change in a moment... You showed me that, too.

"The moment I met you, it all changed. The moment I realized I had to protect you, and couldn't... that was when I knew I loved you, but I was too scared to tell you. The moment you disappeared into the Megaship after Zordon's energy wave and I was still standing outside--when the door closed, I knew I could never be whole without you. I didn't know what we were going to do the day you told me you got accepted to UCLA... until the next day when you told me you weren't going.

"The only thing I know about the future," Andros added quietly, "is that there will be a lot more moments like those. But in the past, love has been enough to get us through, and I can't believe that will ever change. I'm honored to be the person you want to call your partner for life, and I promise to love you and to stand by you. I don't ask anything more or less than that of you..."

He reached for her other hand, sliding the ring onto her third finger. "I'll always love you, Ashley Hammond," he told her, lifting his gaze to search her expression.

A single tear had spilled down Ashley's cheek, but she paid it no mind as she threw her arms around him. "I love you too," she whispered, hugging him hard as he put his arms around her and returned the embrace.

Cassie brought her hands together, unable to resist clapping for the two of them. She laughed when Carlos and Tessa echoed her, and then again when TJ announced, "Time for some real pictures! Cassie, where did you put that camera thing?"

"Congratulations, guys," Carlos added, as Cassie pointed the recorder out to TJ.

"Congratulations," Zhane agreed, waiting for them to separate so he could give his friend a hug.

"I can't believe I have to wait until sunset to kiss you," Ashley complained. She let Andros go with a good-natured sigh, and Cassie stepped forward to hug her friend affectionately.

"Congratulations," she said aloud, and then, more quietly, "That was really beautiful, you know."

"Yeah," Ashley murmured, hugging her in return. "I know." Then she giggled a little, admitting, "It should be; we worked on it forever."

"All right, everyone get close together," TJ ordered, turning the recorder over in his hands.

"Do you even know how to use that?" Tessa inquired, standing beside Aura as they all obediently gathered closer. Andros put his arm around Ashley's shoulders and she lifted her left hand to weave her fingers through his, their identical wedding bands glinting in the evening light.

"Of course I do," TJ said, sounding affronted. "Just give me a minute."

"A short minute, I hope," Zhane put in. "I'm starving!"

"As you have been all day," Saryn reminded him. "As this is nothing new, I see no reason for TJ to hurry."

"Hey!"

From her place between Kerone and Saryn, Cassie saw Ashley turn her head to smile at Andros. He grinned back, but he placed one finger over her lips ruefully. "Sorry," he apologized. "I can't concentrate when you look at me like that, and it's bad luck to kiss the bride before the sun goes down."

"Why is that?" Aura wondered aloud. "What a strange superstition."

"Oh, like you should talk," Carlos retorted.

"Everyone smile," TJ declared, and the recorder clicked open.

The last sliver of fiery light slipped below the horizon, and the air darkened almost imperceptibly. Andros glanced over his shoulder, scanning the pale blue of the western sky before turning back to her with a grin. "I think we're safe."

She smiled, leaning closer without a word. She saw him close his eyes, and then his gentle kiss was soft on her mouth. She let her own eyes slide shut, savoring a kiss she had been denied since the night before. It had only been for a day, but she had been surprised by how much she missed it.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," Carlos put in helpfully, and Ashley giggled, lowering her head.

"Thanks, Carlos," Andros said, his tone amused. He lifted the roses from her head with a smile, running his fingers through her hair to smooth it out. "Tess, I think these are yours."

"It's only fair," Ashley agreed, reaching up to take the halo from him. She had gotten Kerone's last year. "You're the closest to single."

"Other than Carynn and Zeri," TJ said with a grin, as she passed the roses to his fiancée.

Carynn looked up at the sound of her name, and Zhane leaned over his own child to tousle her hair affectionately. "Maybe next time, kid."

Carynn ducked her head, scrunching her face at him. Then she turned her frown on Saryn, but he shook his head. "Tell him," he insisted gently, pointing at Zhane.

Zhane's eyes widened as the girl looked back at him, and Saryn sighed. "No, Carynn. Aloud."

Carynn pouted, but she opened her mouth and spoke clearly for the first time all day. "Ca-*rynn*," she pronounced, staring at Zhane determinedly.

Ashley gave Andros a puzzled look, but he just nodded toward Zhane.

"Right," Zhane agreed, not at all condescendingly. "Maybe next time, *Carynn*."

Her mission accomplished, Carynn seemed to lose interest in Zhane, but Saryn shot him a grateful look. Zhane just winked at him, and Ashley smiled to herself. Zhane was better with children than she would have imagined... as opposite as he and Kerone were, they made wonderful parents. She hoped it would be the same way for her and Andros.

She felt Andros' hand touch her shoulder, as though he knew what she was thinking, and she turned to smile at him. She heard Cassie say something about the twins' bedtime, and she knew Kerone was getting out the candles, but she wished this day didn't have to end. It had been so perfect, having all of them together again and saying "always" to Andros for everyone to hear...

Andros put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him. She watched Tessa laughing at TJ as he stole her rose halo and placed it, rather comically, on his own head. She saw Aura help Carlos to his feet, and the two of them began to gather the remains of dinner back into the basket from which it had come.

Closer by, Cassie scooped Fletcher up into her arms while Saryn snapped a couple of colored glowsticks, passing one each to Cassie and Carynn. Carynn waved the red one wildly in the air, and Cassie gave the blue one to Fletcher. Zhane broke another one for Zeri, shaking it until it glowed before handing it over to her.

Then Kerone was coming around with candles for the rest of them, purple sparkles weaving around her fingers as she passed them out. It took Ashley a moment to realize that she was coloring the white candles magically, matching them to each Ranger's color. "Thank you," Ashley murmured, as Kerone turned over her gold candle with a smile.

"You're welcome," Kerone answered gently. "Sister."

Ashley felt tears sting her eyes, and she swallowed hard. She couldn't talk without her voice wavering, but she gave Kerone a fierce hug and the other girl seemed to understand. Violet sparkles made another candle bright crimson as she turned to Ashley's husband, and Andros hugged his sister too. He whispered something Ashley didn't hear before he let her go, but whatever it was, it made Kerone smile.

As she passed out the rest of the candles, Ashley reluctantly accepted Andros' sparker. "You know this means it's almost over," she murmured, too quietly for the others to hear. Though the candles had been postponed to allow for the Earth tradition of food and dancing after the vows, the last ceremony of their wedding day was finally at hand.

"No," Andros said, surprising her. "I know this means it's just beginning."

She smiled a little at that, feeling her heart lighten. "Yeah," she agreed slowly. "I guess it really is." She rested the wick of her candle against his and lit the sparker, holding the flame under the wicks until they both started to burn.

He caught her eye above the flame and smiled at her, and then they each took a step back, turning to face their friends. She held out her candle, lighting Saryn's with her own and watching him touch the wick of his candle to Cassie's. On her other side Andros lit TJ's candle, and the flame traveled around the circle in either direction until every candle cast faint, flickering shadows in the rapidly fading light.

Zhane's candle had been lit last, so he spoke first. "I wish you both happiness," he said, his voice solemn as the first stars began to twinkle above them.

"I wish you love," Kerone added. She held Zeri in one arm, raising the candle in her free hand. Zeri put the end of her glowstick in her mouth, sucking contentedly on it and paying no attention to the people around her.

Fletcher was too big to hold that way for long, and Cassie had set him down as soon as Kerone handed her a candle. She held his hand now, candle in her other hand and a smile on her face as she told them, "I wish you freedom."

"I wish you peace," Saryn offered, Carynn's hand clutching his.

From beside him, the little girl with the red glowstick echoed, "Peace," and Ashley's smile widened. She heard some of the others chuckle, and then it was TJ's turn.

"I wish you fun," TJ told them, a grin in his voice, and this time Ashley laughed too.

"I wish you truth," Tessa said, when they had all quieted down again. TJ held out his candle and tapped it against hers, as though they were wineglasses and she had made a toast.

Aura tilted her head slightly, her loose dark hair shifting a little in the breeze that had sprung up. "I wish you courage."

"And I wish you honor," Carlos said, completing the circle. Ashley tried to suppress her smile, tempted to tell him that he had known Aura too long.

"Thank you," Andros said quietly. "Thanks for being here today, all of you. And thanks for being our friends for so long."

"Thanks for your good wishes," Ashley added impulsively. "Thanks for coming, and... for being so great."

Saryn and TJ took a step back and the others followed, circling around behind the newlywed couple and putting their candles out as soon as they were out of sight. Ashley lowered her gaze, listening to their footsteps in the grass. She knew the night was for her and Andros now, and by custom the others would respect that, but she was glad no one was leaving KO-35 until tomorrow evening. One day didn't seem like nearly enough time to catch up on everything that had happened.

"Hey," Andros murmured. He switched his still-lit candle from one hand to the other and slid his arm around her again. "I can't tell if you're happy or sad."

She sniffed a little, smiling as she realized she was crying again. "Happy," she whispered, turning to look at him. "Very happy."

"But you miss them all," he said quietly, not deceived by her smile. "I know, because I do too."

She sighed, feeling another tear slip down her cheek. She could hear the muted voices of their old friends, talking and laughing and joking with each other as though they were never apart. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the flash of one of the kids' glowsticks, and it was a bittersweet reminder of how much things had changed over the last few years. "Yeah," she admitted softly. "I do miss them."

Andros took her candle gently from her hand and blew them both out, setting them down in the grass. Then he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her and holding her safe and warm against the melancholy that threatened at the edge of her thoughts.

"We're still a family, Ash," he whispered after a moment. "Just because we don't see each other as much as we'd like doesn't change that. You could ask any of them and they'd tell you the same thing."

"I know," she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. "And they'd be right. You're right. We all have our own lives. It's just--" She tried to smile, though she knew he couldn't see her. "I liked it when our lives brought us together instead of keeping us apart."

She had meant it to be a joke, but her voice cracked on the last word and he hugged her harder. "Shh," Andros whispered. "Just because we don't all live on the Megaship anymore doesn't mean we're being kept apart."

"I know," she repeated, swallowing. She blinked rapidly, trying to dry her eyes. "I'm sorry... I can't believe I'm crying on our wedding night."

"Don't be sorry," he said softly. "I just want you to be happy."

She sniffed, but this time her smile was genuine. "I am happy, Andros," she whispered. "Honestly. Just being with you makes me happy."

He was silent a moment, and then he murmured, "I've known you a long time, Ash." There was a smile in his voice as he added, "And if this is you happy, then I've never seen you sad."

She couldn't help giggling at that. She buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him harder for a moment, then she pulled back enough to catch his eye. "I am happy," she repeated, smiling at him. "How could I not be? I'm married to the most wonderful person in the universe."

"No, you're not," he told her, kissing her gently. His eyes twinkled at her in the twilight, and his gaze was warm as he smiled back at her. "I am."