Andros hated the beginning of a new semester. He knew what the headaches were going to be, and when they were going to happen. He sank down on the couch and sighed. At least he would be able to be close to Ashley; Cassie and Teena had been kind enough to set aside rooms for him. Especially after what happened last time....
"I can tell what you're thinking about. One day, I'm going to get a picture of you with that look on your face, and you can see what you look like." Ashley sat beside him and lay her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her close to him. He was worried about her; she was beginning to look pale again.
"I'm just so scared it's going to happen again, Ash. It was bad enough losing..." She covered his lips with a finger, and he fell silent. Losing the baby had been bad enough, but he'd almost lost her the same night. Two days before had been Carlos' accident, and his near fatal brush with the Color Withdrawal. Everything at once had almost been too much for him to bear.
"How's Carlos doing?" It didn't surprise him that she'd followed his train of thought; she did that a lot. He was getting good at following hers, finally, after 6 years or so of marriage.
"He won't talk to me. He seems to be doing fine, until something happens...." He shook his head. "TJ says he won't talk to him, either. He was never this quiet."
"I wish I could just... beat him over the head, or something." She sounded frustrated.
He chuckled. "I know. But don't, okay?" His hand covered her stomach, and the barely noticeable bulge there. She'd begin to show soon. "I don't want you in danger. Wait it out, and if he's still here when you've recovered, you can do it then."
She mock growled at him. "I'm going crazy," she said. "It's only been two weeks, and I know I have to be careful, and available for observation, but Andros, I can't be this cut off."
He should have known. "Ashley, I don't know what to tell you." She rubbed at the nutrient patch on her arm, and he wondered if she needed another. He was sure Cassie had given them extras, just in case she did, but he wasn't sure where they were. "The almighty doctor has spoken. I'm just her boss, leader, whatever." He'd almost given up trying to define his role in Cassie's life. "Friend. And she says you can't exert yourself. She defined that, not me, and she's the one in authority over this. Besides," he added as she opened her mouth to protest, "Justin agrees with her, and she's taking orders from him." He chuckled. "And both Cassie and TJ are about to take Carlos up to the simudeck and beat on him. Chances are very good, though, that he knows that and is avoiding them. And Adam, never mind Justin." He shrugged. "Now, back to your boredom...." He kissed her. "You could help Karone with the paperwork."
"She said no." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, I asked. She said no."
"Hm. Medical should be getting busy, if the complaints I've heard are any indication. I can't remember another group of students complaining so much about Adam's class."
She chuckled. "Did you know you say that at the beginning of every semester?"
He could feel himself blushing. "No, I didn't."
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Low stress? Not likely. Besides," he added, kissing her again, "I have enough distractions, I don't need another one." She laughed.
"Okay, okay, I get the point." She looked at him, then brushed a stray hair out of his face. "Have I told you I love you yet today?"
"No," he almost whispered. He was so scared he'd lose her, afraid this would be the last time she'd ask him.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too."
When he left their rooms the next morning, Carlos and TJ stood outside, waiting. They almost looked like two best friends having a fight, both studiously ignoring the other. Sighing in frustration, he nodded in greeting and started for his office. Carlos fell in step behind him as always, leaving TJ to guard the door.
"Who was that girl?"
Andros nearly tripped in surprise. "Which girl?" He certainly hadn't expected Carlos to initiate conversation; ever since he'd quite literally appeared in Andros' office, Carlos had hardly said anything at all unless asked a question, and even then his statements had been sparse.
"The one in Medical, who left yesterday just after we got there."
"I don't know. Why?" He could find out, if it meant that much to him, anything to keep him talking.
There was silence behind him for a minute. "She... There was something familiar about her, that's all."
"Jerome could probably find out for you," Andros offered.
"Hm," was all the answer he got, and Andros didn't try to press him.
Zhane met them at Andros' office, and he looked worried. "We caught sight of people snooping around your house, but they didn't try to go in or anything," he reported, once Andros was settled in. "Have you gotten anymore threats?
Andros shook his head. "One more, in yesterday's mail."
Zhane scowled. "Ashley didn't see it?"
"No. I made sure of that."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"We aren't leaving the school, and if Cassie and Justin have anything to say about it, Ashley is stuck in Medical." He sighed. "And going crazy."
Zhane chuckled. "And driving you insane in the process."
"No..." The smile faded from his face. "I'm so scared for her." He leaned back. "All I need to do is fall apart again."
Zhane smiled. "That is what I'm here for. Relax a bit, okay? Justin is supposed to get back sometime next week, which will make things go easier, at least a little bit. Droz was saying something about..." He paused, thinking. "About a sentient machine. Adam, Jason and Skull all went a little pale, until he said it wasn't from the Machine Empire. Although why Skull would know about it..." He shrugged.
"A sentient Machine? Like Storm Blaster?"
"I don't know. He wants to talk to you about it, when you get the time." He smirked. "He knows it will be a while."
Andros answered his smirk with a wry grin. "Good. Because it will be a while." He paused. "Can you handle it?"
The question wiped the smirk off of his friend's face. "No."
"No? Why not? You'll have to, one of these days, might as well get practice now." He took pains to sound completely reasonable. "You take a look at it, find out what's going on, and give me a report."
"I'm dealing with the threats," Zhane muttered.
"Is it safe for Jerome to look at?"
"No." This second no came out faster than the first.
"Then put him in charge of security for a while, he won't mind, and talk to Droz."
Zhane sighed. "All right, all right." He eyed Andros for a moment. "You enjoyed that far too much, you know?"
"I'm in charge and under a lot of stress. I'm allowed to enjoy things sometimes." He finally grinned. "Besides, what can it hurt?"
"Me?" Zhane said.
"Ah...." Andros' thoughts drifted for a minute. "How's Karone? I haven't talked to her in a while."
"Swamped. But her job right now is more mobile than anything, so she had to tell Ashley no when she offered to help."
"I know." Andros grimaced. "She told me. She's going crazy, and that's putting a lot of strain on her, too. To go from such intense activity to almost none has got her in knots."
Zhane shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you. I wish I did."
"Yeah...." Andros sighed and shrugged. "Go tell Jerome he's in charge for the next couple of hours, and check out this machine that Droz is so interested in. If you can, give me a report after lunch." Zhane nodded and turned to leave. "Hey, Zhane," Andros said, stopping him. "Thanks."
Zhane turned around and grinned. "Sure, Andros." He left. As the door closed behind him, Andros noticed that he stopped to talk - try to talk - to Carlos, like he did every time. Andros shook his head and started on the mounds of paper work that accompanied the beginning of every semester.
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