Ash paced up and down the corridor, unable to sit still. He bit his thumb, a nervous habit that he himself wasn't completely conscious to. He had bitten through a few layers of skin, and was now bleeding lightly. Considering the current situation, he didn't even feel it. His anxiety was strong. He couldn't sit still. He was worried beyond all recognition.

Serena had fallen ill. From what, Clemont was trying to figure out right now. Bonnie was in there as well, helping Clemont with equipment and books and whatnot. Ash had insisted on helping too, but Clemont had told him that Bonnie had helped him with such things before, and knew what to do, and Ash would only be in the way. That had been a bitter pill to swallow, but he had forced himself to swallow it, as Clemont was correct.

Her symptoms had worried Ash. One moment, she was talking with him, laughing and enjoying their usually conversations, hiding her usually red cheeks from Ash for reasons he couldn't fathom. The next moment, she had begun to talk none sense, mentioning something about a Ghost and fell unconscious as quickly as her rant came around. Ash had freaked out, worried sick about his female companion. He still was.

Pikachu was able to sense his anxiety, sat atop a table. He was worried like his trainer, yet remained more relaxed than Ash, holding onto faith and composure better than his trainer. Serena's Braixen and Pancham were waiting outside, with Pikachu as well. Both of them were more worried than anyone. Pancham sat with the glasses its trainer had gifted it on its lap, cleaning the lens repeatedly, in some sort of nervous habit. Braixen seemed to stroke the stick it carried around with its claws, causing the bark on it to peel.

"Pika pi? Pikachu." Pikachu spoke with its trainer voicing its concern over their traveling companion. He had inquired as to his trainers pacing up and down the corridor, mentioning that it was making him, and everyone else nervous.

"I'm not pacing myself like this for fun, Pikachu, I'm worried sick." Ash said, his voice was loud, and he was nearly snapping, but restraining himself from doing so. Lashing out would help no one. It certainly wouldn't make Serena any better. "Sorry, I'm just concerned." He said, apologizing to his Pokémon.

Pikachu shook his head. "Pika." Pikachu made a noise of understanding, followed by a nod. He was able to understand his trainers comprehendable reactions.

At that moment, the door handle rattled and twisted, and Clemont and Bonnie entered the corridor. Clemont was holding a book in one hand, and adjusted his glasses with the other. His face showed nervousness, but radiated some relief as well. He was biting his lower lip, his teeth showing. He had been looking at Serena for a solid few hours. He was unusually groggy and quick to anger.

Bonnie walked behind him, carrying the majority of the books. Ash ran up and helped her, taking two thirds of the books. Seeing her face, she seemed worried, mimicking her brothers expression almost perfectly.

"What's it look like, Clemont? Tell me you figured it out!" Ash questioned Clemont, almost yelling his questions. Braixen, Pancham and Pikachu all cried out their curiosity as well.

Clemont let out a heavy sigh. "Well, I'm sure you gathered she isn't well. She's sick, pretty badly sick. She's a bit - "

"Tell us something we don't know, Clemont!" Ash exploded with his frustration, completely cutting off Clemont in a rare display of unprecedented anger.

"Do I look like a doctor to you?" Clemont snapped back. Being cooped up in small room with Serena like she was was not only tiring, but concerning too. He sighed and continued. "If I remember anything I knew about medicine, she's got something called Kakazuki Polykazu." He read the name in broken speech from one of the books he was reading. While pronouncing it, his face crumpled up, painfully and slowly pronouncing each letter.

Ash raised an eyebrow in utter confusion. He had absolutely no idea what Clemont was talking about. "Uh..." Never mind Clemont looking like a doctor, he was at least smart. Ash knew about as much about illness as he did a nuclear reactor.

"It's something you can catch through a combination of methods, but the real reason is simply that she has a weaker immune system than the rest of us. She must have eaten some infected food, that's the only way I can think she got it. Quite frankly, I'm amazed we all aren't like her at this point. At any rate, it shouldn't be life threatening. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's medicine for it. I can go and get some from the town we were just in." Clemont explained, while he bent his fingers back against the back of the opposing hands. A row of cracks followed. He then hunched his back lazily, raising one finger up. "But…"

Ash was finally able to find a grin. "Awesome! I knew you'd find a way to help her out! Hey... Sorry about snapping at you earlier."

Clemont sighed, and held up a hand, stopping Ash before he went any further. He looked exasperated, as though he had been awake for three nights, teaching a formal language to someone who wasn't even paying the slightest attention. "It's fine, but there's a bit of an issue."

Bonnie gulped, and held her hands together.

Clemont went into a lengthy explanation. "I'm taking Bonnie with me. I don't want her any closer to Serena than she already has been. If you'd seen her like she is..."

"What's wrong with her?" Ash asked.

"She's... Delirious. Side effect, I suppose, but she's out of it. She's..." Clemont bite his tongue, looking for the correct words, not wanting to upset Ash. "You know what delirious means? Hallucinating, irrational behavior... You remember when Bonnie was dizzy after staying up too late the night before you had your rematch with Viola in Santalune City? Okay, imagine that, times about one hundred. She seems to have episodes of it. She'll go from being in reality to being in her own world..."

Ash shuddered, looking into the next room they had just come from, longing to get a glance of Serena, to see if she was okay. "Oh Serena..."

"You think you could look after Serena while we go and get something to treat her?" Clemont asked, noticing his worry. "I can understand if you wouldn't want to, and she'd be fine here on her own, but..."

"No problem." Ash responded instantly, without hesitation. He was more than happy to stay and watch over Serena. Pikachu nodded with Ash in agreement, as did Pancham and Braixen. "Don't worry, I'll look after her. You can count on me."

Clemont went down the list of things Ash should know about looking after Serena. The first one being that Ash had to make sure she remained hydrated. This would helped her keep her senses in check.

Secondly, comfort her, mentally and physically. Make sure she's comfortable, and reassure her the misfortune that fell upon her isn't her fault.

Thirdly, make sure she gets some sleep. This would be important for her to recover the lost energy she needed.

A long list of things Ash of things Ash had to know. Hearing each one of them made Ash's skin crawl with worry. He was starting to anticipate the worst.

After the two siblings left, Ash was left alone, in a building with a sick Serena. Ash decided to go and see her, to check up on her. He hadn't seen her all day, and that had cemented his worries. He stood at the door of her room, nervous to enter. He was worried to see the state she was in.

He opened the door, and there she was.

Thankfully, contrary to what Ash had assumed, she appeared to be perfectly fine. Her skin color was a slight rosier, but appearance wise, she seemed fine. She was covered by a white duvet, reaching up to her neck, underneath her chin. To the side, was a night desk, with a glass of water, nearly empty on it.

Ash cautiously approached Serena. She was, thankfully, sleeping. Ash thought it best that she got her rest. Upon closer inspection, Serena had a damp towel on her forehead, presumably to keep her cooled down. Ash could hear her breathing at regular intervals. Ash relaxed. It wasn't as bad as he feared. He was relieved. "Oh, thank God." He said to himself. He saw her cap that she wore on the floor next to her bed. He knelt down, and picked it up, looking at it, and then again, glancing at her. Right now, she didn't have any accessories in her hair, not even the bow she insisted on wearing when not her hat. For some reason, Ash found it unnerving. He wasn't used to it. Ash traded the glass of water for her hat, and said quietly, "Please be alright."

He then turned to leave, holding the near empty glass. There was a sink where he could refill the glass with fresh, cooler water, as opposed to its already lukewarm contents.

"Ash.. I'm sorry..."

Ash turned instantly. Serena's eyes were half open. Ash wasn't sure if she had actually been awake the whole time. Her hand had crawled from under her duvet, and was now gripping the top of the duvet, near her chin.

Ash knelt by her, and put his hand on hers. "What're you sorry for? You've not done anything." He spoke softly.

Serena seemed to be fine right now, like she understood what was going on around her, contrary to what Clemont had described. "I'm slowing us down... I'm sorry..."

Ash smiled softly. "You just rest now, okay? Ill be back soon. Get some sleep now, okay?"

Serena's face seemed to go a bit redder, "Ash..."

Ash stood up again, to go and get some more water for Serena, partially relieved that she didn't seem too bad, when he heard her voice again. "I'm sorry..."

Ash looked back at her. She was now sat up, and seemed to be reaching for something. Her fully open eyes now, were unfocused, and seemed almost empty. "I'm sorry..."

Ash just watched her for a few moments. "Serena?" Ash realized that she must be having a fever dream, or something to do with this illness she had contracted, what Clemont had warned him about. It honestly worried him. He rushed over to her, and laid her back down on the mattress. "Serena, calm down!"

Once she hit the mattress, her eyes closed once again. Ash stepped back and scratched his head. Sending a prayer up, he said, "Oh boy... Clemont, hurry the heck up."

"Pikachu... Pika pi? Pika pika..." Pikachu hopped onto Serena's bed, looking at Serena. Braixen and Pancham rushed in from their location in the doorway.

Ash let out a sigh. "Yeah, Pikachu. Clemont wasn't kidding at all... Think you guys could give me a hand?"

Braixen and Pancham nodded without a seconds hesitation, eager to aid their trainer as she laid before them Ill. Pikachu nodded a second after his friends.

"Okay guys, let's do this." Ash said. He then began giving the Pokémon instructions on what it was he needed them to do.

However, they remained unaware of three pairs of eyes spying on them, waiting impatiently for them to let down their guard.

Ash spent the longest time that day with a delirious Serena, making sure she okay. Sometimes, Pikachu, Braixen or Pancham would deliver sometime to Ash for Serena, or a drink or something to chew on for himself. Occasionally, Serena would have her fits, either yelling or whispering at her imagination. In all honesty, it was beginning to terrify Ash just how much he didn't recognize the girl in front of him.

About three hours passed. And Ash got impatient. He went outside. It was a clear, sunny day. A perfect day, aside from their current epidemic.

Ash pulled out a Pokèball. He held it in one hand, calling upon the Pokémon inside. "Okay Fletchinder, come on out."

The Pokèball opened, and coming out, Ash's fire flying bird Pokémon, with its wings spread wide, then tucking them in. "Fletch!"

Ash knelt down to Fletchinders level. "Alright Fletchinder, I need you to go find Clemont and Bonnie. They were headed towards a nearby town. Can you do that for me?"

Fletchinder, ever the proud Pokémon, nodded and stood tall, preparing for takeoff.

"Pika pika!" Ash's Pikachu came calling out, dashing towards its trainer and his fellow Pokémon. "Pika pika, Pikachu!"

"You want to go with Fletchinder?" Ash asked his partner Pokémon. Pikachu used a variety of hand gestures to explain that if they were In trouble, Pikachu would be their best bet of getting out of it, something Ash couldn't disagree with. "Alright then Pikachu, you two stay safe. Get going!"

Ash watched his two Pokémon fly due east, praying they would find their friends soon. Ash went back to the cabin, solemnly informing Braixen and Pancham, and then checking up on Serena. No movement. Ash sighed.

Ash missed Serena. The her he knew. The one he liked. The one he wanted back. This Serena felt possessed. It wasn't like her. At all.

"Ash..." Serena muttered, from her bed.

Ash responded. "I'm right here, Serena. What's up?"

"Why?..."

Ash watched her. Was she responding to him, or the him she was apparently seeing in her head? He couldn't be sure. "Why what?"

"Is there a reason you don't like me?... Ash..." Serena said to herself, or to her hallucinogenic version of Ash.

Upon hearing this, Ash felt any form of anxiety replaced with curiosity. What on Earth did Serena mean? Ash couldn't even begin to think where she had the idea that Ash didn't like her from. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Serena continued in her own world, unaware that her crush stood not a meter away from her. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time... For so long, I thought you had grown to hate me... I've been nothing but a burden to you, Ash, I know I have... But... I like you... I... I like you, Ash." Serena confessed to her dreamed up Ash, leaving the real one there, dazed, confused, and amazed. Serena kept speaking. "I'm sorry... But... Please..." She began to act restless. She began shaking, rocking back and forth, like a scared child.

Ash stood up, and went to her side, putting his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. Tears began to run down from diluting Serena's eyes, and down her cheeks. She began to lightly start sobbing, crying at the apparent rejection of her dreamed up Ash. "I'm sorry... Please don't go..."

Ash was chilled by this. A hundred questions filled his head. Was he the reason Serena was acting this way? Because of her apparent feelings towards him? The more he thought about it, the more things began to finally make perfect sense. Her face turning red around him, her... Well, everything. The pieces finally fitted together perfectly, and Ash felt like an idiot for not noticing sooner. A part of him felt guilty and hurt by this, upset that he had, albeit unwillingly and unintentionally, hurt her this much, to the point she could not express her emotions for the fear of rejection. Ash would never do that to her, and even if he did, he would never leave her behind like this dream Ash would. He felt horrible for so much as even planting such seeds of doubt in her head.

But at the same time, part of him felt, oddly happy. He couldn't explain it, but it felt like he was relieved of a burden he had never realized he had put on him in the first place. Like he now knew something he had wanted to know for a long time. But now wasn't the time to focus on this sort of thing.

Serena held onto Ash arms. His physical interaction with her seemed to have some sort of affect in her mental world. A bigger on than Ash had ever expected. Serena shot up without warning, throwing her arms around him and kissing him. Ash's eyes shot wide open instantly. He had been caught completely off guard by this sudden act. He needed a few seconds to fully understand what was going on. Once he comprehended the situation, his face went a darker shade of red than Serena had ever done, redder than the long vest she wore, or her skirt she used to wear.

Serena let go of him as soon as she had kissed him, leaving Ash dumbfounded, questioning what just happened. Serena laid down on her mattress again, this time, more peaceful and content. Her squirming stopped. Apparently dream Ash had accepted her. Meanwhile, real Ash was trying to calm himself down at what the heck had just happened.

What stood out to him the most was how much he had actually enjoyed the last few seconds of what Serena had just done to him, despite her not technically doing it to him. Was that weird? Ash didn't focus on this for too long. He was blushing like a maniac and needed to cool himself down. He took a quick drink of water. Cooling and soothing, he regained his composure.

"Sh - Sheesh Serena..." Was all he could say. His heart was beating hard. He couldn't think straight. Not once had he ever felt like this. He collapsed into the chair he had, trying to control himself.

That had been the first time he had been kissed. And it was by Serena. He looked at her, and it felt like, for the first time, Ash was noticing her. How pretty she actually looked. How nice she actually was. Was it weird the think about these things while she was ill like she was? Then again, was it wrong to not think like this? Why shouldn't he? Thinking about it, no one else had made him think like this. Feel like this. Was it wrong? It didn't feel like it was. In fact, Ash couldn't remember the last time he had felt so good in his life.

"Serena..." He said again. The more he said her name, the more he liked it. The way it sounded. The way it felt when the letters left his lips. He couldn't explain it.

He wondered. Was this how Serena felt about him? And if so... For that feeling to be crushed... Ash began to understand why she never mentioned it to him. It made sense. He looked at the now unconscious girl, finally understanding everything she went through every single day.

"Braix?" Braixen, attracted by the noise Ash had been making stood in the door way. Luckily, it hadn't seen anything. It poked its head around the door, staring at its trainer, and then to ash.

"Yeah, Braixen?" Ash asked, forcing himself to calm down. He had to force himself to remember he was supposed to be looking after the girl. "Right, right, sorry. I need uh... I need something to cool her down, uh... Get a wet cloth or something."

Braixen nodded, dashing over to the kitchen to get something to.

Ash got up to follow.

Ash began wonder where the heck Clemont and Bonnie were. They were certainly taking their time getting back. The town couldn't be more than an hour away. An hour there and an hour back. They had been gone a near collective five hours. Ash began to worry about Fletchinder and Pikachu as well as the two Lumious City blondes as well.

Ash kept checking on Serena every so often, making sure she was okay, blushing every time he saw her.

"Ash!"

Ash finally heard the voice he had been waiting for. Clemont's. Bonnie was right behind him, essentially pushing him along the track. Clemont himself was out of breath, from running cardio all the way to the town and then back. His face was flushed, and he took in large amounts of air every time he breathed. In one hand, he held a paper bag loosely.

"Clemont, Bonnie, where the hell have you been?!" Ash yelled, running over to help a near collapsed Clemont. He put Clemont's arm around him and helped him stay upright. "You've been gone for hours! I sent Fletchinder out to find you two, you'd been gone for so long!"

"Sorry... Sorry... We had a little problem... We ran into Team Rocket." Clemont panted, dragging one of his feet in front of the other continuously.

"Team Rocket? What did they want?" Ash asked.

"Oh, the usual." Bonnie said. Referring to their insatiable lust for stealing their Pokémon. Needless to say. They had never succeeded once. At that exact moment, Pikachu and Fletchinder landed on Ash's opposite shoulders, Pikachu on the left, Feltchinder on the right.

"Why the heck did they go for you? I was here the whole time." Ash inquired the gym leader blonde, who was still panting.

"They said something about 'not wanting to interrupt the moment'? I have no idea what they meant." Bonnie told Ash.

Ash went scarlet. "I think I know..." He wasn't sure if he was freaked out that they saw, or thankful they hadn't attacked them. What he did know was he was still angry at them for attacking his friends.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Once the group had finally gotten to Serena, Clemont have Serena the medicine. It was in an injection vile, apparently containing Revival herbs and Sitrus berries. It was injected into Serena's arm, which would carry it around her body in the bloodstream, like a train, stopping off at places to heal. Ash let out a sigh of massive relief once the medicine had been inserted. It was like an anvil had just been taken off of his chest. A very heavy anvil. Made of refined steel. Clemont informed Ash that It would take a while before she woke up again. Possibly an hour or so. But when she did, she would at the least be free of her deliria, if nothing else, but her illness should also be gone in addition too.

Ash sat by her side until there were signs of life again. A twitch, a murmur, anything at all. Ash missed his friend. He missed her so much.

"Mm..."

Serena began to make a stir. Finally. She was starting to wake up. Her body began to respond. And slowly, her eyes began to open. "A-Ash?.."

Ash smiled warmly and greatly. "Serena... You're awake..." He could cry. He really could have cried. He was so happy to see her finally awake. To see her in the world of the living again, after seeing her in the state she had been. She was back.

She sat up, running one eye. She let out a yawn, then scanned the room she was in. "Where am I?... What happened?..."

Ash hugged her, tightly. He was so happy, there wasn't a way to put it into words. He was just so happy. "Welcome back."

Serena was drowsy, but she understood enough of what was going on. She blushed, then hugged him back lightly, still not at full strength.

Ash now knew how Serena felt. How he felt. He loved Serena. Now, he could tell her. Someday.

But for now, he was enjoying his hug.

And there we have it guys! This was a request by Purimpopie on Tumblr, and here it is for you all!

Purim, if you wanted a battle with Team Rocket... Sorry, but I couldn't get a draft I was happy with. I hate them so much ;n; this was the best I could do, so, sorry about that.

This was tricky to write, Team Rocket aside. Over never known anyone with delirium, so I've had to rely on movies and Pokefrazers personal experience with people like that, so it's been pretty touch and go. Serena had a mild case of deliria, I didn't want to write her with sever and deadly deliria. That would be too painful, even for me ;n;

At any rate, I truly hope that you you enjoyed your request Purim, and that all of you guys enjoyed it along with her! Requests are still open, so knock yourselves out!

And as always, see you in the next chapter. See ya!