The sequel to Did You Really Expect This to End Well?

By Marie S

Sid observed her sleeping.  He wanted to pick her up and kiss her passionately and then shake her violently.  He wanted to make love to her and he wanted to kill her.  Looking at her smooth long pale neck he imagined wrapping his hands around it and squeezing until the life was gone from her. 

Right now he loved her…and he hated her.  His fist balled up and was stopped from striking only by his other hand.  Sid pivoted silently on his foot and rapidly left the room before he physically damaged the woman he loved.  He plucked his phone rapidly from his pocket and scowled as he called.   It incensed him to seek assistance from this inferior human he should have eliminated months ago. 

Again he considered killing Ashley and be finished with all of this.  Except his child was growing inside her and his pride and joy, Sydney, in the nursery needed her. How could his mate that he’d so carefully chosen have voluntarily chosen one of the others?  And that it was the barbarian general was inconceivable and incomprehensible.  Sid and his Ash-lee had achieved perfection together. 

A voice answered, “Dean Connero here.”

******

Dino’s lips were set in a grim line while he skirted around traffic on US 101 as he flew up the coast road.  He was driving far above the speed limit and was willing to chance a traffic ticket.  His destination was Paso Robles, CA.  The last time he’d been to the estate was as head of an extraction team to rescue kidnapped heiress Ashley Weston.

Ashley was his friend and had at one time been his lover.  Some fucking friend he’d turned out to be.  Although Dino had been keeping closer tabs on her than he had in previous years, he sure hadn’t done a great job over the last few months since she’d gone running back to her asshole kidnapper/lover, Sid.

He’d been busy with work and hadn’t talked to Ashley past a few brief phone calls and not at all during the last two months.  He’d received frantic phone calls from Ashley’s friends, Connie Everston and the retired cop, Bud White.  Ashley was in trouble.  And she hadn’t called him.

Dino had been avoiding Ashley.  He’d discovered he still loved her and tried to get her to stay.  She’d rejected him and gone running back to Sid.  Not exactly like that, but close enough.  Christ, he was a sad sop.

And then the kidnapper/asshole lover had called him and he sprang into action.  He hoped the bastard changed his mind and hadn’t left the estate.  Dino wanted him dead and was happy to be the one to pull the trigger.  Part of him would take great pleasure doing it.  He was worried at the condition he’d find Ashley in.  Asshole Sid had hinted it wasn’t well.

Dino gripped the steering wheel with whitened knuckles.  He’d known better than to leave things as they were when Ashley returned to her kidnapper.  Dino was the professional.  He laughed without mirth.  He’d been too close to this case.  His partner Terry had argued with him regarding the outcome.  He’d promised the retired cop, Bud White, he’d keep tabs on her.

He shook his head.  Ashley had made him face a few unpleasant facts about himself.  It had been easier to stick his head in the sand to ignore what she’d said.  Was Dino alone in this world because of his avoidance at forming any kind of meaningful bond with a woman he loved?  Would Ashley be with him if he hadn’t so easily walked away from her in the past?

Love ‘em and leave ‘em, Dino.  Yep, that was him.  And it had always been fine.  He’d been happy and carefree all his life.  So why did it feel so empty now?

He recognized the turnoff to the estate in Paso Robles.  Gravel flew as he sharply turned his truck up the hilly, twisting road.  He reviewed his conversation with Sid in his head again for about the thirtieth time.  Sid was leaving Ashley and his child for an unknown amount of time.  He felt she was unable to function adequately on her own at this time and would Dino come and take her to her father’s home.  Sid would come to collect them when he could once again be in her proximity.

Yep, that’s what the asshole said.  While Dino wanted to reach through the phone line and pummel Sid to death, he sensed something was extremely grave by Sid’s tone of voice and the shock that Sid called him at all.  He had told Dino he’d have asked the ancient cop to collect her but he was afraid the decrepit old man would keel over and cause the death of his progeny while doing so.

Yep, the asshole had said that, too.  Dino had surmised that Bud White presented less of a threat with Ashley in Sid’s eyes than he did.  He suddenly wondered if Sid was intending to slip away into the future and never return.  Dino was still trying to get used to the idea that he could travel through time at will and that Ashley had on more than one occasion.

As soon as Dino agreed to come and ‘collect’ Ashley and her baby daughter, Sydney, Sid had simply hung up on him in the middle of Dino questioning him.  And when Dino tried to call him back he got the canned message that the number had been disconnected and was no longer in service.

Then Dino had tried to call Ashley, only to get her answering machine on each dial.  Dino was already on the road when he spoke to Ashley’s friend, Connie Everston, and to Bud White.  White nearly ripped him a new one for not returning his call sooner.  Dino didn’t argue with him because the old man was right.  Connie was less judgmental toward Dino, but sounded direr about Ashley’s current condition.  She’d been threatening to drive and get Ashley herself that morning but her husband James had refused to let her near the estate because of Sid.

James had spent many anguishing months at the hands of kidnappers in Mexico and there was no way he was allowing his wife or child near Sid, who’d kidnapped Ashley originally.  The man made good sense.  Dino was the only reasonable choice other than Terry, who happened to currently be in London.  He’d just so happened to be nearby in the city of Angels. 

Dino ran his hand over his day’s growth chin stubble and glanced at himself in the rearview mirror.  There hadn’t been time to shave this morning.  He looked like hell with stubble on his face.  The thinning shock of red hair on his head was one thing, but the beard came in a combination of blond, red and now gray.  He really was getting old.  A wicked grin twisted his lips.  Old beat the alternative.

He scowled again when he thought about Sid as he drove through the opening gates of the estate.  This had been a tightly-secured estate whose perimeter hadn’t been easy to breach when they’d rescued Ashley.  Who had just opened the gates for him without even inquiring who he was?  Dino was increasingly worried at what he would find.  One of the few things Sid had said was that their nanny was attending to the baby until Ashley was able to do so.

Neither Connie nor White had the whole story beyond that something profound had happened in the last couple of days to make Sid and Ashley’s cozy little house of cards come crumbling down around them.  It looked like the only one to give him the whole story would be Ashley herself.  Would she be willing to even talk to him?

Dino parked behind the fountain on the circular drive in front of the home.  Just as he was about to knock on the door, it opened.  He’d noticed the gates to the estate had closed tightly behind him when he’d driven through.

“What the hell?” he’d mused out loud as he entered the foyer.  No one was present.  The door shut firmly once he was inside.  His hand went to his readied gun.  It must be Sid orchestrating this.  Dino wanted just one chance at him.    

Again in his brain the niggling thought intruded that Dino was more eager to dispense of Sid permanently than he was to see Ashley.  And he knew how screwed up he was to be thinking that way.  He was full of bravado and cowardice all rolled into one.  Neither were very attractive traits at the moment.

“Hello?”  he called out as he strode up the stairs toward the room where his team had discovered Ashley hiding in the corner of a closet.  He’d not seen a soul yet.  Of course if Sid was around, he figured he didn’t have one anyway. 

A small smile of satisfaction curled across his lips as he savored the idea of burying Sid’s body on an isolated part of the estate.  It would be convenient and Dino would make sure the body would never be discovered.  Yep, way too eager.

Just as he called out another hello, a door opened down the hall and Dino was hushed by a young woman carrying a small red-haired baby.

“Ssh! The missus is trying to sleep. I hope she is, anyway.”  Her brow furrowed.  She was not what Dino had been expecting the nanny to look like.  Her English was heavily accented, but understandable and very good, although not above a whisper.

Dino bowed slightly to the attractive, dark-haired Latina woman.  He’d been expecting an older middle-aged woman as the nanny.

“Buenos Dias, Senorita Juana.  I’m Dino Connero.”  As much as Dino was tempted to flirt with the woman, he could barely avert his eyes from the baby she was carrying.  Dino had seen a baby picture of Ashley in her father’s office.  This baby was the mirror image.  She broke out into a gummy grin.  There were no doubts.

“Buenos Dias, Senorita Sydney.”  He was relieved the baby resembled Ashley so much.  Dino recalled he and Ashley had once joked if they had a child it would be unable to escape without red hair.  He buried the sudden fanciful notion that this should have been his and Ashley’s child. 

“This way, please.”  Juana moved down the hallway toward the room from which she’d emerged.  

Dino entered the nursery of a child who was both loved and privileged.  It was obvious no detail or cost had been spared in the decorating of this room.  He saw signs of Ashley’s flourishes everywhere, but there were others.  Could it be Sid had been a doting father-to-be?  Dino refused to give the bastard any positive attributes.

He shut the door behind him at Juana’s behest and moved toward a chair opposite the rocking chair where woman sat down, cradling the baby.

“Mr. Sid told me to expect you.  You’re here to take Missus Ashley away?”  There was disapproval in her tone.

“I’m here to assess the situation.”  Dino would be damned if he’d immediately agree to what Sid wanted from him.

Juana scowled at him.  She obviously didn’t like his tone of voice or his attitude and leveled a look at him.

“It sucks.”

Dino’s lips pulled toward a brief smile.  The young woman was feisty.  She was very pretty with dark hair and dark eyes that were the opposite of Ashley’s fair beauty.  Dino had always had a thing for pretty senoritas.  Who was he kidding?  Dino had always had a thing for pretty women, period.

“Okay, care to elaborate?”

“I think men should leave Missus Ashley alone.”  Her look left no question that also included Dino.  “First and foremost Mister Sid.  He is too rough with her, especially in her condition.”

Dino’s eyes narrowed.  What had the prick done to her?  And then the ‘in her condition’ part sunk in.  Had the SOB gotten her pregnant again and then left her?  He was done making small talk with Senorita Juana and stood up.

“Where’s Ashley?”  It was as much a command as a request.

“I’m right here,” a quiet voice answered behind him as she came silently into the room.  “Hello, Dino.”

Dino pivoted around to face her.  She had a wan smile on her face that appeared to be all the effort she could muster.  Once again there were dark circles beneath her eyes from stress or lack of sleep or both.  Dino was reminded of when he and his extraction team had rescued Ashley months ago.  Except this time she wasn’t wrapped up in a blanket.  In fact she was impeccably coifed as Ashley normally was.  Her long red hair was braided down her back.  It made her look about 16.  Her eyes weren’t the eyes of a 16 year old, though.  Dino had never seen her look so bleak.

“Are you all right, Ash?”  His mouth asked the question although his shrewd evaluation had already decided she wasn’t.  That’s when he spied the dark bruises on her arms.  There was only one way to get bruises like those.  Someone had grabbed her too roughly and squeezed too hard.  There was more than one set.  Those bruises had occurred on more than one occasion.

Ashley followed his eyes and visibly flinched, not from the bruises but from her remembrance of Maximus’ similar reaction when he’d seen her arms.  Each time she thought of her beloved husband it felt as though someone ripped her heart from her chest.  She wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive Sid for forcing her to be present at his death yet keeping her from his side.

“Yes, Dino.  Thank you.”  Her mouth said the right words but they didn’t match her body language.  “Let me offer you a cup of coffee.  We can talk in the kitchen in just a few minutes.”  She reached out to her baby, who was lifting her chubby little arms toward her mother.  Ashley planted a kiss on the baby’s cheek as she in turn squeezed her mother’s cheek in her tiny fingers.  A genuine laugh sprang from Ashley’s lips.

It was the first time Dino saw life animate Ashley’s eyes.  He was mesmerized by the sight of Ashley with her baby.  He’d never had any doubt that Ashley would be a great mom.  This was simply the first time he’d seen her in that role.

Dino had no snappy or sarcastic comeback to her assertions that she was all right even though she didn’t look it.  With the kid in her arms she was fine.  He nodded and continued to watch her.  His eyes drifted down to see if she looked pregnant.  Her baby wasn’t very old.  Wasn’t she still supposed to look pregnant?  Hell, he couldn’t tell; she didn’t look like it to him.  Dino was quick to assess situations thoroughly with his eyes.  This was completely out of his realm of expertise.

After Ashley reluctantly surrendered her daughter to the nanny she led Dino to the kitchen and invited him to sit down.  This was a show kitchen, but it did look functional.  She busied around the kitchen, putting on a pot of coffee and getting out cream and sugar for it.  Finally she paused, put her hand on the counter and closed her eyes for a moment. 

“Christ, Ash!  Would you sit down before you fall down?  You look exhausted.  You don’t have to serve me like some perfect hostess.”  Dino reached out and lightly grabbed her arm to guide her to the chair opposite him.  She winced and recoiled when he grasped over her bruises.

Dino guided her into the chair.  He was glowering.

“I’m going to fucking kill him if I ever get my hands on him, Ash.  Is he here?”

She shook her head no and then burst into tears.  “I was trying to be a friend,” she said through her sobs.  “I haven’t seen you for a long time.  I’m about as far from perfect as a human can be.”  Ashley whispered something else, but Dino couldn’t understand her through her crying and her low tone.  What he thought she said didn’t make sense.

Dino knew she wasn’t crying because he threatened Sid.  It sure didn’t help, though.  He knew the kind of friend he’d been.  He ran his hand over his stubble in frustration and resisted the urge to pull her onto his lap and into his arms to comfort her.

“You are my friend, Ash.  You always will be.  I’m sorry I’ve been such a sad excuse for a friend.”

She looked at him with those sad, knowing and beautiful, big blue eyes.  He’d never seen that kind of pain in her before she tried to guard her eyes again.    

“Oh, Dino.  I can’t tell you the number of times I wanted to call you and talk to you.  I felt so guilty.  I had no right to put that on you.”

Dino snorted.  “The truth?  I was trying to manipulate you to keep you from coming back to him.  That’s rich, Ash.”

“Perhaps.  But you were trying to protect me, too.”  She paused.  “I’m beginning to think the only thing I really need protection from is my own fickle heart.”

“It’s not your fault the job that asshole has done on you, Ash.  He’s a pro.”

She surprised him by laughing.  It was not unlike his previous one.  “But he’s not a pro of the heart, Dino.  He’s a novice.  And I trampled that.  I never meant to.  I still love him.  It’s just not the same as when you’ve found the person you’re meant to spend your life with.” She stopped again.  Tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Her voice choked from her.  “His revenge was swift and cruel.  Maybe I deserved it.  I’m not sure I can ever forgive him for the last two days even though I know it sprang from his pain.”

Dino was completely lost.  Her stream of conversation made no sense to him.  She’d rejected Sid?  He liked that idea.  But what had he done to her?  Was it much worse than the visible bruises on her arms?

He reached out and touched her.  She slipped her hand in his and squeezed his reassuringly. 

“I have so much to tell you.   This will make the last I told you seem mild and mundane, Dino.”

It was time for Dino to gape at her.  How the hell could time travel to the 1950s, where she met Bud White as a young cop and that Sid was a time traveler, be mild and mundane?

“I got time, Ash.  Tell me.”  He squeezed her hand.  Her fingers were cold, but strong as she returned the squeeze.

If Dino had been incredulous before Ashley started her story it was nothing compared to how he felt as she neared the ending.  It was hard for him not to interrupt her with questions, but he kept him mouth shut.  He sensed she only had so much energy and it was quickly running out as she spoke.

Dino again realized that he constantly underestimated Ashley both for her strength and resilience.  Part of that came from her appearance since she was so petite and very feminine.  The other part was his overwhelming need to always want to take care of her and protect her whether she needed it or not.

This time he felt she needed some taking care of.  Momentarily he thought about what Juana had said.  Perhaps it would be best for Ashley if no men tried to take care of her or loved her.  The ones who’d claimed to do so up to this point in her life had failed pretty miserably, starting with her father.  There was a niggling feeling he kept pushing out of the way, but kept fighting its way to the surface.  Being Dino it was, of course, the first thing that spewed from his mouth.

“So, you married this Roman general?”  Certainly he sounded nonchalant.

“Yes.”  Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Sid left you there for months and then forced you to watch his death?”  Dino’s upset was betrayed only by the stroke of his chin.  Ashley saw it immediately.  She squeezed his hand again.

“Yes.  He claimed to me that my transport there was not something he did or knew about until I was pulled back here.  Considering his reaction, I do believe him.  He obviously hates Maximus…” she faltered for a moment and closed her eyes while tears silently rolled down her cheeks.  “He never told me how I happened to end up there though I believe he’d discovered it.”

“Then it could happen again?  You need to leave here, Ash.”  His jealousy over her marrying another was buried.  He considered the danger of her being in a battle zone in ancient Roman times.  Hell, there was somewhere worse than this place.  He was getting her out of here today.

“He hates me now, too.  If it weren’t for the babies…”  She trailed off.

Dino actually thought about what Sid might have done to her if it weren’t for Sydney and the baby she was now pregnant with.  He didn’t think homicide was out of the question.  It wasn’t for him.  Dino still wanted to kill Sid, even more now that he’d heard Ashley tell him what had happened. 

All of this was from Sid’s constant orchestration of events surrounding Ashley and his manipulation of her.  It sure as shit was his fault.  For the first time things hadn’t gone to Sid’s scheming plans.  Too fucking bad for little Sid.  He hated the prick.   

“Ash, you can’t blame yourself for being manipulated by Sid again.  You were abandoned and followed your heart.  And you survived.  You don’t owe anyone any apologies.”  Dino had learned a long time ago that victims often felt the need to apologize for their survival even when they shouldn’t.  Ashley nodded and looked thoughtful.

“I’ve learned a lot about survival and myself in the last year, Dino.  Not all of it has been flattering.  I have learned to accept most of it.”  She smiled wanly.  It didn’t reach her eyes.  “And then Sid told me something this morning I still can’t wrap my mind around.  He felt like it was such a gift.  How could I fall in love with an ‘other’ when he gave me such a gift that was meant to bind me to him for eternity?”  Tears flowed again down her cheeks.  Dino hated seeing her in so much pain.  This wasn’t going to be good.  Nothing Sid did was good.  And this smacked of further manipulation by him.

“Tell me, Ash.  What else did he do to you?”  He took her hands in his.

“I don’t know how he did it.  No one now would.”  She hiccupped, stopped and then took a deep breath.

“He told me that I’m like him.  That I’ll never age.  I’ll be young forever.  My health will be optimal.  He said I’ll be beautiful like him forever, although I can still die from ‘horrific cellular damage’ unlike him.”  She laughed a short mirthless laugh.  “That isn’t a gift, Dino.”

Dino was speechless.  Eternal youth and immortality? 

“Bullshit, Ashley!  He’s manipulating you again.  You don’t believe him, do you?”

“I do, Dino.  He was being honest.  I think it’s why he’s so convinced the baby is his.  There’s a chance, but I believe this is my husband’s child.”  Her hand slipped down to her still-flat belly.

“We need to get you to a doctor and make sure you’re okay, Ash.”  Dino didn’t want to concern her more, but who knew what the hell Sid had done to her.

“What exactly do I say to my doctor, Dino?  Can you check and see if by any chance I could be eternally young?  She’d think I was crazy and prescribe psychiatric care.  I could lose Sydney.”  A flash of terror crossed her face.

“Nobody is taking your baby away from you, Ash.  I wouldn’t allow that.  Do you believe me?”  He looked her in the eyes.  She finally nodded.  Ashley removed her hand from his and shakily took a sip of coffee.  It was actually a cup of milk with a tiny bit of coffee in it.  She was already being health conscious for her pregnancy.  He took her hand again when she put the cup down in the saucer.

“I just went to see my doctor a few days ago, Dino.  She did a whole battery of tests, including taking blood.  If there is anything wrong with me she’ll call me.  I don’t think she’ll find anything wrong.”  She looked into his eyes.

“Dino, what will happen when my children grow up and I remain young?  When my friends and family age and I stay the same?  Everyone will die around me and I’ll stay the same.  That’s no gift, Dino.  It’s a curse.”

Dino shook his head.  “You can’t have this hanging over you, Ash.  I’ll find a genetic specialist to run tests on you.  We’ll make it anonymous, so there’s no way to link the blood to you.  Science may not be as advanced as what Sid has available, but they’re pretty smart.”

She looked hopeful for the first time.  “That might work if there was complete anonymity, Dino.  I don’t want to become some sort of scientific experiment…or freak.”

Dino reached out, tucking a stray red curl behind her ear, and smiled.  “You’re not a freak, Ash.  No way.  Sid?  Most certainly.”

Ashley laughed.  “Dino, you just can’t resist taking a jab at Sid!  Today I’m rather fine with that.  I know he thinks this is a gift, but again it’s something he did to me without my consent and that I don’t want.  If there’s one thing he seems unable to learn it’s to stop bestowing things on me that he thinks I should have.”

“There’s a helluva lot more than one, Ash.”

“You only see the bad side of him, Dino.  There is another side he has shown me often.  And he does love me, or he did.  I have hurt him so badly, Dino.  I didn’t want to do that to him.  When it comes to love he’s like a teenager.  It’s his first time.  All of it was new.”  She patted his hand.

Dino hated when she defended him, but again he saw the kind heart of the woman he’d always love.  She saw the good in everyone and elevated them to be better than they sometimes were, even a rotter like Sid and a flawed man like himself.

“It’s still no excuse for what he did to you, Ash.”

She patted his hand again.  “I’m not looking for excuses, for myself or anyone else.  It is what it is, Dino. Oh, God.  Dino, I’m so tired.  I just need a few hours of sleep.  Every time I close my eyes I see Maximus.  I feel such joy until I see him die again.  And I can’t go to him to hold him and comfort him.  Now…” her lip quivered and her voice dropped to a level he could barely hear, “if it’s true and I don’t age or I don’t die....”  She stopped for a moment as though the words or thoughts were too painful.  “I’ll never go to him, Dino.  Not even in death.  I’m not sure I can bear that.  To never see him again....”  She trailed off again.

Dino knew she loved this Maximus.  She had spoken of finding her soul mate.  Ashley meant this Roman general.  How could a modern girl like Ashley have fallen so deeply in love with a man from an ancient world with ancient beliefs?

All else be damned.  Dino pulled her into his arms and held her like a friend and a former lover, and a man who still loved her.  She cried some more as he stroked her hair and held her close.  Finally exhausted, she fell asleep in his arms.  He picked her up and carried her into her living room and gently laid her on a plush over stuffed couch.  She barely stirred as he covered her with a blanket.

Dino sat down opposite her where he could watch her sleep.  He couldn’t prevent her having bad dreams, but if she did he could be there to comfort her.  Ashley was now a widow.  And her husband had died nearly 2000 years ago.

How the hell had he gotten involved with this madness again?  It started with his love for Ashley, a love she’d probably never again return.  He muttered under his breath.  “Dino, you really are a piece of work!” 

Despite that realization, he was right here until she woke up.  He’d help her pack her things and take her wherever she wanted to go.  He knew she wouldn’t go to her father’s house.  That was one place she’d never go with Sydney.  Her father had wanted her to terminate her pregnancy.  She’d never take her daughter there.

The more Dino thought about the situation while Ashley slept, he was convinced she should come and stay with him.  He had plenty of room, and that way he could make sure she was well and protected from Sid.  He thought through the details while she slept.

******

As Ashley slept the general rode his horse into camp in a place far away and many centuries before.  He hummed a song softly as the words went through his head.  A sentry saluted as he rode by.

Oh, what a beautiful morning

Oh, what a beautiful day

I have a wonderful feeling

Everything’s going my way

A smile came to his face when Maximus realized the song in his head was one his bride had sung to him.  She had called it a ‘show’ tune and knew many of them.  He longed to hear her sing to him again.

If he closed his eyes he could feel her silky hair in his fingers as he stroked her fiery curls.  He could breathe her scent in deeply.  Maximus would hold her in his arms and feel her warm body pressed against his.

It had been two days since she had been pulled away from him again.  He had convinced himself that she and his baby were fine somewhere.  She would fight her way back to him.  He knew she had last traveled to him to release him from his responsibility to her.  Instead she had told him she couldn’t stay away from him.

This camp was no place for a woman, especially as his wife was with child.  Yet he couldn’t get past the selfish desire to have her near him.  He was a man in love and wanted her by his side.  Maximus eagerly looked forward to hearing her light giggle or a moan he could elicit when he made love to her.  He shook his head.  This line of thought was not productive.  It just made him feel like the lonely bridegroom he was.

As far as he knew, there was no way for him to reach out across time to her or he’d have rescued her from the villain, Sid, killed him and released her from her bond to him.  She would be free to come to him as they both desired.  Maximus would raise her daughter as his own.  It would give their son a sister to play with through childhood.

He sighed as he entered camp and rode toward the stables.  Maximus had a battle to finish preparing for as they rode in the morning.  He tucked the special thoughts of his wife into another part of his brain to be retrieved when duty could again be pushed away for a short period of time.

Ashley awoke suddenly.  She could still feel the pressure of Maximus’ lips on hers and the tickle of his beard against her face as he’d kissed her.  He had been by her side.  She was certain.

The reality of waking alone in her living room caused a great sense of loss inside her again.  She touched her lips.  He had been near her in her dreams, still alive and loving her.  A fleeting thought she’d had earlier came to her again.  Maximus was still alive in the time she’d been pulled from and would be waiting for her to return.  His death in the arena that Sid had shown her was still years away.  He’d always been dead in this time.  Time was no longer the same as it had been before she had traveled through the ages.  Maximus, Cort and Bud were all alive now in their times though neither of them lived in the same century and Bud was the only one of the three alive in this century.

“Ashley.  How are you feeling?”

Ashley stretched slightly and turned to smile at Dino.  She was still tired but the nap had given her new resolve.

“I’m better, Dino. Thank you.”  She folded up the comforter and laid it on the couch.  Ashley walked over and kissed his cheek.  His hand lightly touched her waist.  A warning bell went off inside her head.  Don’t forget he still loves you.  It would be easy to get lost in his comfort.  She’d love him forever.  Ashley firmly believed it was possible to love more than one person at a time, just in different ways or varying degrees.

She gave him a last peck on the cheek and backed away a step.  Ashley saw the disappointment in his eyes before he covered it over with the Dino devil-may-care grin.  He may be a tough soldier but his heart could be as fragile as hers.

“I don’t want to be here alone for a little while.  I need to be around my friends.”

“I was thinking about that while you were sleeping.  Why don’t you come and stay with me?  I have plenty of room for you, Sydney and Juana.  You’d be in LA and close to Connie and Bud White.  I live in a secure building so in case I have to go on a job you’ll be safe.”  Dino was thinking about keeping her safe from the whims of Sid. He saw her considering his offer and his hopes started to soar.

Ashley looked at him with some surprise.  She’d never considered staying with Dino.  He was a confirmed bachelor and she had a newborn…and another baby on the way.  There would be great comfort and safety in staying with him.  Suddenly an angle she hadn’t considered popped into her head.  She quickly fabricated an excuse.

“I can’t, Dino.  Bud White already asked me to stay with him.  He even got a nursery set up this week for Sydney.  Sid didn’t know but I was already planning to leave for a short time.  We’ve needed separation before today.”  She watched as his poker face slid into place, betrayed only by a sudden twitch by his eye.

“Isn’t White a little old to have a baby in the house?”

“Bud’s a father and a grandfather.  He’s been around babies.  Bud really wants me to come and stay with him.  He owes me nothing for the caretaker I hired after his knee replacement surgery, but he sees this as a way to do something nice in return for a friend,” she added a bit lamely.  Ashley knew she couldn’t live under the same roof with Dino in the fragile emotional state she was in.  There was too much history between them.

Dino stood eyeing her with his hands on his hips.  He could smell and spot a fake from a mile away.  Ashley wasn’t giving him the real reason she wouldn’t accept his invitation.  She was a rotten liar.

“Give it up, Ash.  Why are you really saying no?”  He glared at her.

“I already accepted Bud’s invitation. That wouldn’t be nice of me to change my mind after he got his house ready for Sydney and me.”

Dino cleared his throat in a way that sounded a bit like bullshit.  “He’d get over it.”

Ashley glared up at him and mustered all 5 feet of her height as tall as possible. “We can’t live under the same roof together, Dino.  It’s just not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“You still love me, Dino.  And I’m not real strong right now.  I just lost my husband.  And there’s everything that’s happened with Sid.  It would be very easy to let you take care of me….”  Again she trailed off lamely.

“Oh, I get it.”  Dino did sarcasm well.  “You think I can’t keep my hands off you?  Christ, Ash!  I’m not some pervert who preys on vulnerable women.”

“I didn’t say you were, Dino. I’d never say that about you. Don’t be an ass.”  An edge of irritation crept into her voice.

“And now I’m an ass?”

“If the tail fits.”  She glared at him as the conversation escalated.  They’d always had a verbally-charged relationship which had usually ended with the two of them in bed having incredible sex.

Dino remembered. It was all over his face. Even his nostrils flared in remembrance.

“How long would it take,” she whispered, “until I’d be hurting you and hurting me?  Nothing right would come out of a rebound.  You deserve better than that.”

“You deserve better than you’ve had.”

“I’m not so sure when I think of Sid.  I feel very guilty for how I’ve hurt him.  He sure has perfected striking out in hurt and anger, though.”

“He got exactly what a manipulator deserves, Ash.  In fact he’s gotten off way too easy.”  Dino would be glad to give Sid the comeuppance he really deserved.  “Nothing would happen between us that you wouldn’t want. I’d never take advantage of the situation.”

Ashley moved toward him and placed her hand on his cheek.  “I know you’d never knowingly hurt me, Dino.  You are such a good, gallant, caring and honorable man.”  She moved into his welcoming arms and hugged around his waist.

For a minute they stood together.  Dino cradled her tightly against him.  Ashley marveled at how good this man always made her feel.  Why had life become so complicated that they’d lost their chance at happiness together?  She sighed against him and then pulled away from him reluctantly. 

His voice was husky when he responded.  “I’m not so sure I’m as gallant and honorable as you think I am, Ash.”  He stroked his fingers through her hair.

She smiled up at him. “I’m sure, Dino. It’s me who’s the mess.  I’m feeling incredible pain and grief. I’m so shaky that I don’t trust myself to react wisely.  I need time to grieve my loss. I need help taking care of Sydney right now.  Juana has agreed to come with us and Bud has been completely welcoming. If it becomes too much for him having us all under foot I’ll go home to my place.”

Dino believed her.  At least he saw that’s what she believed.  He wished she’d come home with him and allow him to help her.  That’s what he wanted to do for Ashley.  Maybe he wanted to prove to her and himself that he was the man she said he was.  He was the right man for her future beyond the hell of her last year. 

And if Ashley was uncertain of her reactions around him she knew there was a possible future between them if it was taken slowly. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.  Dino figured he could live with that scenario.

“If White can’t handle it, you call me.  Understood?”  He grinned at her.

“Understood, Dino.  Thank you for being here for me.  You are my very dear friend.”  She patted his cheek again and then grinned at him.  “A dear friend who really needs a shave.”

He chuckled.  “A dear friend who missed his impeccable morning grooming habits today.”

“Who’s still impeccable,” she grinned.  “Sydney would love to pinch your cheek.  She’s only used to smooth ones.”

“I offer up my cheek to those pinching little fingers any time.”

“Those tiny fingers are strong.  She’ll be trying them out on you as soon as she can.  Until then I have suitcases to finish packing.”

Dino groaned loudly.  “I’ll assume you’ll be traveling light, as usual?”

She laughed.  “You know I’ve never traveled light in my life, Dino.  And now I’m packing for two girls.”

Several hours later Dino had the three girls ensconced in White’s place.  He liked the gruff old ex-cop or he’d be jealous as hell.  Watching Ashley seated on White’s couch, while the old man had a comforting arm around her shoulder, Dino could see this was where Ashley needed to be right now. 

And Dino loved her enough to give her what she needed even if it wasn’t precisely what he wanted.  He could be patient until they both wanted and needed each other together at the same time.

ON TO I HAVE TO GO BACK

BACK TO DID YOU REALLY EXPECT THIS TO END WELL?

BACK TO TIME FOR A DECISION

BACK TO SHADOWS OF A DIFFERENT LIFE