The Knight is Still Young

Chapter 44

When the Riders where allowed to leave the hospital it was decided that they would stay in a house not too far from FLAG where they would be safe and security was to keep an eye on them to make sure that no one came after them again.  This time Ashley was also given the choice as to whom she would stay with.

'I want to stay with you.'  She said to her father who smiled happily upon hearing that.

'Thank you, that's the best thing I've heard all day.'

'Heh, well, yay!  But I want to still see Mat and Hailey too.'

'Of course, you can see them as often as you like, within reason.'  He promised.

'Thank you dad.'  The young girl grinned and he picked her up to hug her close.

'You're welcome Ash.  You know I'd do anything for you.'

'I know, because you're my dad.'  She said and hugged him around his shoulders.  'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

With that decided Ashley was free to live in the mansion with her family, while still being able to go and visit her adopted siblings after school and on the weekends.  Of course none of them were out of danger yet and the hunt for these villains was still on, but at least the family dynamics were finally getting better.

Some weekends were now spent with the two families spending days together, talking and socialising while the kids played.  Of course they had explained to Jackson and Teagan about KITT and KARR, naturally that had left them in shock, but when they spoke to the cars they had discovered that they were just about as human as they could be and had been a pleasure to talk to.  Even if it had taken some time to get used to the idea of it.

Then, of course, there were times where Michael and Bonnie went out on their dates, and others when they went on outings with Ashley, so the three of them could just enjoy some time out from all the affairs of FLAG.  It was a good opportunity for a break, just some time to be their own little family, allowing Michael to bond more with his daughter and his girlfriend which he knew was more important now than ever.  Even though he never brought it up he remembered what Ashley had once said about him not caring about her because he didn't spend as much time with her as he should have, and he fully intended to make up for that now.

So things were working out very well for her so it seemed.  But there was still an issue that just kept floating around in the back of her head, and it was bugging her.  So one Saturday when Bonnie offered to take her out for a sort of girls day, she decided that maybe she should talk to her about it.

'Hey Bonnie?'  Ashley asked as they sat in an ice creamery, eating their cool snack.

'Yes?'  Bonnie replied.

'How much do you like my dad?'

'Of course I like him.'  Bonnie replied, believing the answer to be obvious.  'Why do you ask that?'

'Well...  I don't know..  Just wondering.'  She shrugged.

'Ok.'

The pair fell into an awkward silence as they ate their ice cream, neither one seeming to know what to say next.  Until Ashley decided that she wasn't going to give up on her questioning that easily.

'Do you love my dad?'

Bonnie was quite surprised to be asked that, though she realised she probably should have expected it.  Still, she took a moment to think about her answer and what that might mean for the little girl.  'Well...  Yes I do.  Does that upset you?'  The brunette woman knew that, as Michael's daughter, Ashley might not like the idea of having to share her father with someone else and she might get angry if she thought that the two may get married one day.

Though she had never talked about it with Michael, Bonnie knew that she would like to marry him one day, if he'd have her.  She really did love him and had grown to love Ashley as a daughter during the time that they'd known each other.  She just hoped that Ash wouldn't hate her for it.  After all, Bonnie knew that if Ashley told Michael that she didn't want him to get married to her, then he would listen to his daughter.  Still, she couldn't think too far into the future.  Marriage, even as a possibility was still a long way off into the future.

'Bonnie?'  The voice brought her out of her thoughts.

'Sorry.'  She apologised.  'So does me being in love with your father upset you?  It's ok if it does, I understand that you may not want him to be in a relationship with me when you don't always get to spend a lot of time with just the two of you together.'

Ashley shook her head, 'Like I said, I'm happy that you love him.  Because I think he loves you too.'

'Are you sure?'

'Uh huh.'  She nodded enthusiastically.  'He's happy when you're around. And...'  She looked down at her ice cream for a second, becoming a little unsure of what she wanted to say next.  'If you stay together...  You would be like...  Oh never mind.'

'It's ok, you can tell me.  I would be like what?'

'You would be like my mum.'  Ashley mumbled, her voice so quiet that Bonnie almost didn't hear what she said.

However, she did manage to understand her and she felt a sudden nervousness.  'Would you like that?'  She asked softly.

'Um...'

'It's ok if you say no.  You can be honest with me.'

'What if I said yes?  Because I sort of already...  Think of you as my mum-  but I don't want things to be weird.'  She added quickly, hoping that the woman wouldn't laugh at her or something.

A kind smile appeared on Miss Barstow's face and she reached out with her free hand, placing it on the young girl's shoulder.  'I would love to be your mum, if you'll have me.'

'Yay!'  She grinned, becoming so excited that she nearly let the top scoop of her ice cream fall on the ground.  Bonnie laughed but quickly told her to be mindful of the ice cream, to which Ash replied with a sheepish, 'Thanks.'

With all that said, at least Ashley now knew that her mother was ok with being thought of as her parent.  Now she just needed to find the right time to talk to her about the birth certificate that Amber had given her.  When she would do that, she didn't know, but she definitely wasn't going to bring it up right at this moment.  For now she would just savour the moment and focus on being happy with her mum.

-/-/-

Another happy chapter, yay!  Heh I know it's weird that I've posted another chapter so soon, but I'm trying to make up for lost time while my imagination is still running strong.  I don't want to let myself fall back into writers block again.  Anyway, I hope you liked this bit of fluff!  I know I certainly enjoyed writing it and hey, it looks like we're one step closer to Ashley revealing her secret to Bonnie.  Keep reading if you want to see that happen!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

~ Lexa