No relationship is without conflict. Even with my main characters Richard Johnson and Ashley Miller from ATXD, that is true. In the last book in the series, there is a moment where the married operatives reach a point of tension due to the larger conflict at hand: the threat of human extremists attacking extraterrestrial immigrants and any humans who support them along with their families.
I want to sketch out what the scene will look like so I can make sure the points come across and I don't water down either character. At the same time, I am trying to show that it is okay when couples argue, and how that can sometimes make a relationship stronger when partners (and friends) tell each other things instead of hiding them.
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Richard and Ashley-currently in exiled retirement so to speak-now find themselves having to take care of two teenage extraterrestrial kids on their rural mountain horse ranch. These two kids lost their mother and fled from the North Alameda Community in Texas after it was ransacked by the human fringe group Terrestrial Liberation Army (TLA). This is in addition to their own six-year-old son Jacob Johnson. They also have a third operative: Emily Daystrom from Bravo Team, who is assisting in taking care of the kids.
One afternoon, Emily lets the oldest of the two offworld teens - Kalitura - go with the Johnsons' neighbors into town to run an errand. Members of the local TLA cell, however, track Kalitura and ambush her guardians before kidnapping her.
Richard, who is already hardened by the fact that a member of this same cell threatened Jacob, is now in a state of angered panic when he learns that Kalitura left the house in spite of TLA being a danger. He gets into a heated argument with Emily about this, blaming her for leaving the teen alien girl unsupervised. Angered, Emily leaves and goes upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms to rest right as Ashley walks in on the fight. Frustrated, Richard refuses to tell Ashley what happened and leaves to go into the garage to work on the family truck. Ashley later learns what happened to Kalitura from her younger brother Rescoro.
Night shortly begins to descend on the Johnson ranch, and Ashley comes into the garage to find Richard still working under the hood of the pickup. Ashley asks Richard what is going on, and he finally expresses his frustration about Kalitura's kidnapping. But Ashley notes that Richard doesn't normally blow up on his friends, let alone former teammates, and inquires further into why he got into the argument with Emily. The exchange gets to the point that Ashley learns Richard is reluctant to fight: he is reluctant to go rescue Kalitura, and earlier, he was reluctant to let Ashley stand up more aggressively against the TLA extremist who threatened their son.
Disgusted at her husband's seemingly passive attitude (she refrains from thinking of him as a coward because she can't bring herself to think of him that way), Ashley gets more pointy in her questions. Richard increasingly tries to downplay why he doesn't want to go rescue Kalitura, but Ashley gets more heated. When Ashley asks if he has lost his fighting spirit (or something along the lines of that), Richard tearfully explodes and--while banging several times on the hood of the truck--exclaims "No, I am trying to keep this family from falling apart!" He then collapses face first against the hood as he unsuccessfully tries to stifle a sob.
Ashley is taken aback by the sudden outburst, but she holds her ground and lets Richard explain his side. Richard explains that he dearly loves the family he and Ashley started. Because TLA threatened their son, he feels like any move against the militia group will result in violence that could end his family and leave him back to being all alone again like he mostly was when we first met him in the first A.T.X.D. book. He is of course going to defend the ranch with everything he's got, but he doesn't want to provoke a confrontation.
Basically, I want this to be a reverse-tables scenario of the traumatized argument Richard and Ashley had all the way back in Book 3 - A.T.X.D. Dreaded Past - when Ashley threatened to go femme fatale on the Kronosians and Richard had to take an angry-assertive approach to snap her out of it. This time, I want Ashley to get the last word: she has to be heated, or at least firm, in her response to Richard's tearful confession while still showing what sympathy is due.
I just want to make sure that Ashley can take a firm stance like her husband and not crumble into a weak, crestfallen state of "Oh I'm so sorry for you, honey," or "Oh dear, I didn't realize." That's not Ashley. She will be understanding and compassionate, but when she needs to get a point across, she doesn't mince words. She'll be firm with you. And just like how Richard ends the Book 3 argument by saying shakily "Think about it, Lieutenant. I'll be back in the Command tent when you're ready to talk again," and then walks off with Ashley watching, I want Ashley to have her moment like this. Basically, she will end this argument by saying something like, "Take that into consideration, Richard. I'll be outside" or "I'll be in the house when you've had some alone time to think about that," before leaving the garage with Richard watching her leave.
Ultimately, and shortly after this argument, Richard will come back into the house, apologize to Emily, and agree with Ashley that he has been selfish. At this point, Ashley's expression can then soften up and she can give something simple like an approving nod and reply "That's the Richard Johnson I remember." If necessary, she can also gently hug Richard to emphasize this point (but no kissing - there's been enough of that since Rising Darkness).
What are some points Ashley can make in response to Richard that allow her to take a firm stance. No sailor talk or insulting. Just firmly telling her husband why it's wrong to not take a stand against these human extremists threatening their family, their friends, and the fleeing orphans. Help me come up with some points, expressions, body language, etc. that will help Ashley weather the storm so to speak.