"Can I hold him?"

"Okay, but if you wake him up, I swear," she left the threat hanging.

Cassie just laughed as she took the sleeping baby from his mother, "I think I know how to do this, Ashley. I do have two of my own."

Ashley stuck her tongue out at her best friend. It was a childish gesture, but then they were still almost children themselves. Becoming Rangers had forced them to grow up fast, though none of them had thought twice about trading the few remaining years of their childhood for the advantages of being a Ranger. They had gained far more than they had lost.

True, they would have had substantially more normal lives. But Ashley knew that she never would have met Andros, and she would never have had their son, whom Cassie now held. She wouldn't trade that for anything. Their lives would have been so different. There would have been college and then jobs, back on Earth with never a thought of living on another planet. Their futures had changed the minute that they had been chosen as the successors to the retiring Turbo Rangers.

Somehow her future plans had been altered and forgotten along the way, as Rangering opened up the entire galaxy to her. Did she miss her dreams of fashion design and the life she could have lived on Earth? She smiled at her son and knew she had made the right choice. She was right where she wanted to be. And what of Cassie? If she had never been a Ranger, she never would have met Saryn, Ashley thought, as she watched Cassie's well-behaved twins playing with Cassie's dog, Jetson, a short distance away.

Cassie and her children had come to visit from Elisia. Saryn was preoccupied with trade talks so Cassie had taken their ambassadorial shuttle to KO-35 to see Ashley, Andros, and their new son. Only Andros wasn't there. He wasn't there a lot lately. Work often took him away from the family he loved.

"Come on, Ashley," Cassie said, interrupting her thoughts. "Spill it. Why the name?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she answered, avoiding the question.

"Don't get me wrong," Cassie assured her. "It's cute, but Autolycus?"

Ashley sighed dramatically, as if it were a great chore for her to answer the question. Truth be told, Ashley loved her son's name in part because of its originality. "If you must know, it's Andros' middle name."

"Middle name?"

"Yeah, it's tradition in his family that the father's middle name becomes his son's first name," Ashley explained.

"Middle name," Cassie repeated again, mulling over the idea. "So you're telling me that Kerovans, who don't use last names, have middle names? With no last name, how is it the 'middle' of anything?"

Ashley shrugged, "Maybe middle names are universal because of the whole discipline thing. You know, when your parents are correcting you, and you know you did something really bad because they call you by your full name."

"This can't be true, Ashley," Cassie laughed. "I mean, come on! Autolycus is the 'King of Thieves'!"

"Are you saying that Andros lied to me?" Ashley smirked.

"All I'm saying is that Andros watched too much "Xena: Warrior Princess". A bad habit picked up from Zhane, no doubt," she teased her friend. "I'm just kidding, Ash," she relented. "You know I love the name."

A burst of purple sparkles announced the arrival of Ashley's sister-in-law. Marriage and motherhood had done nothing to slow Karone's use of her sorcery, and Zeri didn't seem to mind at all. Unfazed by the teleportation, the toddler cried out cheerfully when she saw Cassie's twins playing on the rug.

With Karone's arrival, Ashley hit upon an idea. "We could always ask Karone. She would know!"

"I would know what?" Karone asked, setting her wiggling daughter down on the floor. Zeri had been anxious to get down, and hurried over to Carynn and Fletcher to play with the large Labrador.

"If Andros has a middle name, and about this family tradition of naming sons after fathers," Cassie giggled as Ashley smirked at her again.

Karone looked at them both before announcing simply, "I'm hungry," as if that statement would answer all their questions.

"You're intentionally being difficult!" Ashley jokingly accused, yelling after Karone as the sorceress headed toward the kitchen.

"I know," she called over her shoulder, disappearing into the next room.

"She may not be the Queen of Evil anymore, but she sure still has the attitude," Cassie remarked, shaking her head.

"Good thing too," Ashley replied. "Being married to Zhane she probably needs it." But Ashley's raised voice had awakened her son, and his cries filled the room.

"Your fault, Ash, not mine," Cassie said, passing him back to his mother. "Besides, I think he needs to be changed."

As the crying child settled in Ashley's arms, she immediately felt the heaviness of the soiled and wet diaper. And she frowned as she tried to remember the last time that Andros had been home long enough to change one.

Cassie noticed the sudden change in her friend's demeanor, and tried to continue their lighthearted conversation about Zhane and Karone. "It must be nice to have them living so close."

"Yeah, they've been a big help," Ashley sighed, and left the room without further comment.

Karone was standing in the doorway of the kitchen then, an apple in hand and a bottle for Autolycus in the other. She watched with a raised eyebrow as Ashley left. She turned her curious look to Cassie then, who shrugged in answer. Karone handed her the bottle and waved her on as she took a seat on the couch to watch the children. Cassie flashed her a grateful smile and headed off down the hallway toward the nursery.

Andros' and Zhane's status in the hierarchy of the Kerovan government afforded them the position that meant they could live in some of the nicer homes in the Keyota district. But all four had agreed that they didn't want to live anywhere 'in town'. They valued their privacy and wanted to raise their children in peace. So they had constructed their homes among the hills that overlooked Keyota, not far from the spot where they had had their weddings.

The house was large and roomy, but small enough to be cozy for a growing family. But when Andros was away, Ashley thought, the house felt far too big and very empty. She set Autolycus down on the changing table and pulled off his wet diaper. She was too tired to give the cloth diaper the washing that it required and threw it in the nearby hamper. Her son had stopped crying by the time she had a clean diaper on him and had put him back in his blue sleeper. He then suddenly started reaching up, grabbing for a bottle that Ashley didn't have.

"How long has he been gone this time?" Cassie asked softly, walking up behind Ashley with the bottle that Autolycus was so intent on getting.

"Too long," Ashley answered wryly, laying him down in his crib before giving him the bottle. "He had meetings on Aquitar and Triforia before he ended up at the trade talks on Elisia."

There had been a time when Andros and she had done much of this traveling together. As KO-35 had grown and rebuilt itself as a colony, they had also been working to reestablish their reputation as the premier shipbuilders in the known galaxies. And as time progressed, Andros' role in intergalactic trade agreements had grown; grown far beyond either of their liking.

But Andros was well liked and respected. And as the Kerovan Red Ranger, most planets would rather deal with him, a Ranger who was honest and could be trusted, than with any politician that KO-35 could send. Andros had found himself pressed into greater and greater roles, roles that he did not think he was suited for.

In the beginning he and Ashley had always done the job together. But the joyous news of her pregnancy had caught them both off guard. He had promised that they would both slow down. No more planet-hopping to negotiate treaties. But the slowdown never came. When the time came that Ashley could no longer travel comfortably, she had started staying at home, telling Andros each time that everything was okay, as she watched him leave her once again.

She had not been off-planet in months, and she knew she had missed so much. Andros had just left Aquitar, she remembered. That meant he had gotten to see Aura and Carlos' child, the baby girl that she had yet to see. She had been unable to travel when little Coral had been born. After all the discussion of the genetics and how it could be accomplished, Aura had become pregnant shortly after Andros and Ashley's wedding a little over a year ago. The first child born to an Aquitian and a human, the baby girl was the focus of much media attention. And the protective parents had shielded their child from the limelight. All the AstroRangers had journeyed to Aquitar to visit, all except Andros and Ashley. And now Andros had been there... without her. She did not want to minimize the importance of the work that Andros was doing. But she missed her husband, and she missed seeing her friends.

"Zhane stopped a lot of his government traveling when Zeri was born," Ashley said, watching her son suck on the bottle as she smoothed his thin blonde brown hair back from his face. "And no one in the government argued with him over it."

"That's true, but who would argue with someone who's married to the former Queen of Evil?" Cassie countered. "Ash, you know that Andros would much rather be home with you and Autolycus. He's just so loyal that he let himself get pressed a lot further into the thick of this politic mess than he wanted. He just needs a way out."

"Ash, I think you need to talk to him. You know he isn't doing this on purpose," Cassie consoled. "He does love you."

"I know. We've made it through more complicated times than this before. I don't know what's so different this time."

"Because you're lonely?" she offered. "There isn't much conversation to be had with a three month old. And as much as you love Zhane and Karone, they're no substitute for the man you love with all your heart."

Ashley laughed as she tried to wipe away her tears before they could fall. "When did you get all this figured out so perfectly?"

Cassie gave her a knowing smile, her eyes downcast. "I've been there, done that. I was missing Saryn for years before I even knew his name. And no matter how much you guys all tried to include me, it didn't make up for the part of me I knew was missing because he wasn't there."

"I'm sorry, Cassie," Ashley said, pulling her friend into a hug. "Here you're trying to cheer me up, and I end up depressing you instead!"

"Don't be sorry," she responded, hugging her friend tighter. "I've never been happier. And if those lonely days are the price I had to pay for my life with Saryn, then I'd gladly go through it all again." She stepped back to study Ashley's face. "Now, we just need to let Andros know what he's missing!"

Ashley started to laugh again, but quickly stopped, her hand covering her mouth as she turned to look back at the crib. Autolycus was asleep, his half-finished bottle lying beside him, forgotten. His hands, scrunched into little fists, were up in front of his eyes as if trying to keep out the invading light.

Ashley leaned over and kissed his forehead. He squirmed, his fists raising above his head, batting her away. Cassie couldn't help but giggle at him as Ashley switched off the light and left the room, motioning for her to follow.

They made their way back to the living room, Ashley quickly leading the way. Her step was lighter than it had been when she had walked this same path earlier. Entering the room, they were greeted by the sight of Karone sitting cross-legged on the couch, munching on her apple and watching the kids with much amusement.

She had spread a tablecloth on the floor on which the three toddlers now sat, having a picnic. She had made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but they seemed more intent on playing with their food than eating it. Fletcher had pulled apart his sandwich so he could play with the goo, finger-painting on the tablecloth. Carynn and Zeri were giggling as they squirted each other with their juice boxes. Jetson was running between the three kids, licking as much of the food off of them as he could get.

"Why do I let you let them do this?" Ashley asked, looking at the mess and the sticky children.

"Because I always clean it up?" the sorceress offered, purple sparkles swirling around her fingers.

"Good answer," Ashley laughed, her humor definitely returning as she made her plans. "Now where's Zhane?"

"Up on the MegaShip again," she answered. "He's got DECA helping him to design this ultimate jungle gym idea of his."

For weeks Zhane had been planning and scheming, and he had promised to build the children the greatest swingset ever. It would be swings, slides, bars for climbing and hanging, a complex architecture of plastic tubing and whatever else he could think of, all set under several shade trees in the perfect spot in the back between Andros and Ashley's, and Zhane and Karone's houses.

It would be one all the AstroRangers' children could enjoy when they visited. Of course, even Carynn and Fletcher, the oldest children at three years old, were too young to truly use and appreciate such a gift. But Zhane claimed that fact only meant that he had plenty of time to build it.

He had begun designing, using the simudeck on the MegaShip to quickly construct and tear apart whatever came to mind. DECA had agreed to help in computing the physics of the actual construction. Though many suspected she did so not for Zhane, but for her grandchildren, as she considered the AstroRangers' children.

"That's perfect!" Ashley exclaimed. "Can you call him? And Cassie, can you get a message to Saryn? And could you please watch Autolycus tonight?"

"Sure," Cassie added her answer to Karone's affirmative nod. "But why? What are you up to, Ash?"

Ashley smiled as she turned to head back down the hallway. "I'm going to remind Andros of where he belongs."