Together Burning Bright

“City sidewalks-busy sidewalks. Dressed in Holidays style. In the air there’s a feeling-of Christmas…” Dess sang softly to herself as she added more flour to the cookie dough that was currently mixing in her beloved Kitchenaid mixer.

“Hear the snow crunch-see the kids bunch. This is Santa’s big scene and through all of the bustle you’ll hear!” Dess continued on as she looked down at herself and smirked.


Her purple and blue sweater was all but covered in white flour and sugar and her socked feet were leaving foot prints in the flour that had been blown onto the floor. It was Christmas Eve and Dess was hard at work to get the cookies done while the house was decently empty and she didn’t have little fingers dipping in to her cookie dough. The guys-CC, Ashley, Jinxx, Jake and Ella were all out on the town for the night, as were Amy and Chris Biersack. Andy’s parents had shown up early that morning, smiling as they hugged and kissed their son and then they both had hugged her fiercely.

Dess’ own mother would be coming by tomorrow morning, spending Christmas Day with them before flying off to Florida to see her Aunt Kitty. Dess was kind of sad to hear that her Great Aunt had decided to move down south, leaving her mother here alone, but Dess knew that her mom would be okay. Suddenly there was a soft sound from behind her and as Dess turned around she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

Andy was in the doorway, Crow on his shoulders, and Dess couldn’t help but feel her heart pitter-patter as she looked at him. He was dressed in a tight pair of jeans and his lanky frame was covered in a black sweater-he looked festively adorable. She only smiled at him as Andy placed Crow on the ground and approached her. The two of them had been alone all evening and they knew that it was coming to an end.

Andy took her into his arms silently, her head resting comfortably against his chest as he rocked them back and forth to the song that was playing over the iDock. Dess sighed, looking up she smirked as his crystal blue eyes took hers in and he pressed his lips against hers. They missed one another-intimately-but they both knew that it was for a good reason. Finally they stopped swaying but Andy still held on to her as he looked over her shoulder and got a devious look on his handsome face.


“No-no you cannot eat any of the cookie dough!” She laughed as Dess pulled away from him and walked over towards the mixer. Her Snickersnap dough was all but done and Dess began to scoop it out of the bowl and place it into a ziplock bag so that it could chill for a bit before she began to roll it out.

“I don’t want to eat any babe-that would be cruel to make you watch me eat one of your favorite things in the world, knowing that you can’t have any yourself…” Andy said as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out two bags of chilled sugar cookie dough. Dess only turned to him, watching as he placed both bags on their expansive bar top and then looked at her innocently.

“Then what do you want Andrew?” She questioned playfully and Andy only smiled as he opened one of the bags and began to pull out the dough.

“…I want you to teach me how to make cookies.” He said seriously and Dess couldn’t help but laugh. The last time she had shown him how to do anything he had nearly melted their oven because he had put a plastic tray inside instead of using a baking sheet. She loved Andy-but cooking was not his strong suit.

“No. Feel free to sit and watch-I love you, but no.” Dess laughed as she finished getting her dough into the fridge and then moved over to stand next to him. Andy huffed, stomping his foot and Dess couldn’t keep the smirk off of her face. He was so cute when he pouted.

“Please-I promise I’ll listen this time and actually let you teach me.” Andy said as he looked down at her with those bright blue eyes and she knew that she couldn’t say no to him in that moment. Dess sighed as she moved over to get the bag of flour, a rolling pin and the cookie cutters.

“Fine, but you have to listen to me this time.” She said as Andy only nodded and Dess began to spread flour out on to the bar top. She did it so expertly and Andy silently wondered how many years it had taken Dess to get to the point where she knew what she was doing.


The couple laughed and giggled as Dess showed Andy how to first roll out the dough, getting it flat enough and even so that the cookies didn’t turn out lopsided or baked unevenly. Andy whined that his arms were hurting, to which Dess just called him a baby and took the pin from him. They spent the next two hours rolling out dough and cutting and Dess was shocked that nothing bad had happened yet. That thought was short lived as she watched Andy spread more flour out onto the bar top for the last batch. He was doing a good job, but he was getting a lot of it in the air and Dess could feel it tickling her own nose. Suddenly Andy stopped spreading, his eyes closing slightly and he shook his head as he tried to stop a sneeze.


“If you need to sneeze just make sure you do it over your shoulder babe…” Dess said and Andy only nodded as he got the dough and tossed it down onto the floured surface.


Big mistake. A huge puff of flour flew up into the air and right into Andy’s face. Dess winced as he made that face again and of course instead of listening to her-he sneezed right on top of the flour that was covering the bar. Not only did he sneeze, but he did it in her direction and so soon Dess saw a huge white cloud moving at her. She couldn’t move out of the way and soon enough Odessa was covered in a thick layer of flour. She just stood there, blinking as the flour fell off of her lashes and Andy straightened up, a somber look on his face.

Dess placed her hands on her hips, staring at him with a stern look and Andy could only smile as he moved closer to her. He reached out a finger and swiped underneath her eyes and then he dusted off the very tip of her nose. Dess said nothing as she placed a hand on to the counter top and grabbed a handful of flour. Time seemed to stop as she brought her hand up and then let it fall right on top of Andy’s black head.


“Dess!” He laughed as Andy tried to shake the flour from his hair and she only giggled as Dess moved to get them both dish towels.

“Oh we are such a mess!” She laughed as Dess wiped her face off and then looked around. Their kitchen was so cozy looking with the counters covered in flour and cookie supplies. She had missed this place-Dess liked touring with the guys, but she really did miss being home and was looking forward to their time off for the holidays.


Dess shooed Andy off towards the living room so that she could finish up-their baking lesson done for the evening before anything else happened. She could only laugh as Dess placed the remaining pans in the oven and then began to wipe up the counters. As she worked, Dess couldn’t help but think about how nice it was to not only home, but to be home and be surrounded by her family. She had always thought that with Moira’s passing and her and her mother being on the outs that Dess had no family besides Andy.

But this past year of touring and growing close to everyone had shown her otherwise. The guys had all been there for her and while some things had gotten awkward with Ashley-Dess was happy knowing that she had such a great support system. Finally after half an hour of baking and cleaning, everything was set and cooling on racks that had been spread out around the counters.

Wiping her hands on her pants, Dess walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the living room. Andy was in there, laying on the couch watching a special on Batman and Dess couldn’t help but smile as she looked around the room. Their tree was beautiful-Trish and Brady had done such a wonderful job at that and Dess would forever be indebted to them for working so hard. The baby drum kit was sitting under its branches and Dess could only shake her head, her hands on her hips as she thought forward five years.

Their daughter would be born and would probably be showing some form of interest in one of these instruments. Dess had to face facts-with a father as talented as Andy and an extended family including a huge rock band…the girl was going to be interested in music. Dess only hoped that the guys and Andy didn’t push her one way or the other. If their daughter wanted to be in a band then that was great, but if she wanted to be a doctor or a teacher then that was good too.

Dess walked forward, smiling as Andy looked up at her from the television and patted the couch next to him. Winnie and the two cats were asleep in the dog’s bed that was over by the roaring fire and Dess couldn’t help but sigh peacefully. They were an adorable little family-all five of them curled up in the warm room as Andy held Dess closely, one hand holding hers while his other rubbed her stomach. She couldn’t help but feel giddy-Andy loved her and he obviously had already fallen madly in love with their daughter.

He would talk about the baby constantly and Dess would only sit there and listen to him babble on and on. They had picked out a name, which they both loved and Dess only hoped that the name fit the girl once she came into her personality. Suddenly Dess felt a pair of eyes on her and as she turned her attention away from the television she noticed that Andy was staring at her.


“Can I help you?” She asked and he only smiled at her as Andy leaned forward. His fingers reached for her chin as his lips pressed against hers and Dess smiled softly.

“You already have…in so many ways.” His voice was soft as he looked at her with tears in his eyes and Dess felt her heart stop. Was he going to cry? Oh God-if he cries Dess knew she was going to-her hormones were making her an emotional mess these days.

“Oh have I?” She teased and then Dess sucked in a breath as she watched a single tear roll down his cheek. She reached out, bringing him to her as Dess hugged her husband tightly. They had been through so much together-they had been there for one another through everything and now it finally seemed like things were going to settle down.

“I-I can’t explain it babe, but I feel like a completely different person now that we’re married. I fought for you for so long and I never would have imagined that this day would come.” He said against her shoulder and she could only squeeze him as she placed a soft kiss against the side of his head.

“I know what you mean. It’s like a dream right now and I’m almost scared to think about what would happen if I woke up. What would I wake up to? Who would be there?” She said and Andy only laughed as he pulled out of her embrace and then looked her in the eyes. Those moss green eyes-he hoped that their daughter had those haunting eyes.

“Are you excited for Christmas tomorrow?” He asked, changing the subject as Andy moved to lean against the arm rest of the couch. Dess only smiled as she fell back with him and soon her back was leaning up against his chest and Andy was rubbing soft circles over her stomach. There was a soft kick and the couple laughed as their daughter made her presence known.

“I’m very excited for tomorrow but I’m more excited for the spring time to get here.” Dess said and she smiled as she closed her eyes and got lost in the feeling of Andy’s hand on her skin.

“Me too. Who do you think she’ll look like?” He asked, his lips pressing against the top of her head and Dess only smiled softly as she thought it over.

“You.” Dess said simply. She could just imagine it in her mind-a little girl running around, her dark blonde hair wavy and flowing behind her as she danced around the room. Those blue eyes and long lashes melting hearts as she got older and Dess knew that Andy would probably have a fit.

“Really? I want her to look like you…” Andy said, his voice soft as his fingers continued to rub circles across her stomach.

“No-if we have a second daughter then I think she’ll look like me. But this little one-she’s all you babe.” Dess giggled as she placed her hands over his and squeezed his fingers gently.


The two of them laid there like that for awhile, the fire light dancing across their skin. They laughed and talked lowly to one another and eventually Crow and Dove left Winnie to his bed and moved over to cuddle with the couple. Their first babies, Dess still couldn’t believe that she was going to be a mother in less than five months. It all just seemed so surreal and she could still remember her heart pounding as she opened the envelope and then saw what her results had been.

Vastly different from what she was expecting-Dess had been terrified to tell Andy, but of course she couldn’t keep it from him. What would he say? What would he do? She knew that Andy would be all for it-he had been the one talking about kids before they had even gotten married. It was funny to think back over their entire relationship.

When they had met both she and Andy had had no idea what they were doing. Andy thought that with his charms and looks he would have Dess eating out of the palm of his hand. Dess thought that if she pushed him away enough, that eventually Andy would give up and move on, saving both of them the heart ache of it not working out. Then they had gotten in to this weird period where Andy had professed his love for her and Dess had secretly been trying to get things in order so that they could be together like she wanted them to be.

It all fell together and then it all fell apart with a single diagnosis. Dess had floundered for a while, but Andy being Andy was there to pick her back up every time. A crazy year after that and dealing with her own self doubts and sickness and finally Dess was right where she wanted to be…

In Andy’s arms where she had belonged since that fateful July day.


“It’s almost two am babe. Everyone should be coming home soon…” Andy whispered in her ear and Dess only smiled as she rolled over and placed her feet on the floor.

“Yeah-it was fun while it lasted.” She sighed, stretching her arms above her head and Andy could only smile at her. She was his-forever and that fact always made him feel better even in the worst of times.

“We’ll have time for us after they leave in two days.” He said and Dess only sighed as Andy griped her shoulders and began to rub the stiff muscles. She had been so stressed lately that it was nice to just lay down for a while and not think about anything.

“Yeah, until this little girl comes along and then I’ll lose you forever…” She was playfully pouting at him and Andy said nothing as he just leaned in and placed his lips against hers, smiling softly into their kiss.

“Nah-I’ll have you both and be the luckiest guy in the entire world.” He smirked at her with that lop sided grin as the two of them only looked into the other’s eyes.


There was a sound at the front door and the couple only smiled as they prepared themselves for a full house once again.

Notes

Aww-Andy can't bake or cook worth a damn, but he's adorable for trying.

So, I was going to update this on Saturday(like I was supposed to) but then I noticed something...no one reviewed the previous chapter. Four days...hmmm...maybe a week next time...

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