The Heart Must Survive
Part 1

Disclaimer: Don't you even think of suing me, 'cause my money's going to a new DVD player and Pokémon DVDs.

Summary: After dating for close to two years, Ash and Misty are beginning to think about getting married. But an unexpected threat threatens to tear the two lovers apart...

A/N: This part seems happy and all that, but that's just plot tactics. It'll twist off at the end, and believe me, by the time this fic is over, one character is gonna wish that he was never born *evil grin*
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The sunlight drifted in lazily through the window, lightening the room and revealing the young couple cuddled in bed together. They were young, the boy no more than seventeen and the girl just barely nineteen, but one look at the peaceful expressions on both young faces could convince the most hardened heart that they were deeply in love.
The boy shifted in his sleep, his jet-black hair falling across his boyish features. One couldn't tell because of his closed eyelids, but his eyes were a deep chestnut colour, so deep that one could get lost in his eyes just by looking at them alone. His once rough features were beginning to smooth out in such a way that made almost every girl in town melt. His body was finely toned, supposedly by heritage, because he almost never made an effort to go to a fitness centre.
The girl resting comfortably in his arms sported a head of fiery orange hair. Her eyes were deep aqua pools that could change face in a second if the situation called for it - soft and romantic one minute, tough and quick the next. Once just a little bit scrawny, she had filled out her form nicely, and she owed part of it to weekly visits to the local fitness centre.
The sunlight finally caused the boy to open his eyes, slowly, as if being awakened from slumber was a crime. He rolled over to look at his girlfriend, brushing her hair from her face and gently kissing her to wake her up.
She tried to ignore it for a minute, but reluctantly opened her eyes. A smile crept onto her face at the recognition of her boyfriend. "Good morning, Ash," she said softly.
"Good morning, Misty," Ash whispered. "Did you sleep well?"
Misty nodded. "It wasn't long enough, though," she said. "I was dreaming about us..."
Ash smiled. "You never dream about anything else, you know," he said.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Misty asked, sitting up slowly.
Ash remained lying down. "Not a thing," he said, admiring the way the sunlight bounced across her features.
"I dreamed that we were getting married this time...it was so beautiful...everyone we knew was there..."
Ash slowly sat up. "You really do want to get married, don't you?" he asked.
Misty nodded.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was that of their breathing. Finally, Ash spoke up. "So do I," he said.
"Then what's stopping us?" Misty said. "Why don't we get married?"
Ash turned away for a brief second. "It's...just...I'm too young, Misty...and I don't know if I can ask my mom to give her consent...it's a bigger thing than just dating..."
"Ash, this is your mom we're talking about here," Misty said, watching Ash climb out of bed and begin to sift through his dresser. "She's happy for us! She'd be happy to know that we've been thinking about getting married since last year."
Ash sighed. "Yeah...I guess you're right...but I'm just too scared to ask." He began to walk out of the room. "I'm gonna go take a shower."
Misty watched him go and once again thought about how fast their relationship was moving. They'd began to talk about getting married after dating for barely six months. Sure, the fact that they'd known each other for five years beforehand helped out, but Misty couldn't help but think that they were moving too fast. After all, Ash was only seventeen. Most seventeen years olds still thought that marriage was far away...she sighed to herself. "Maybe I really should stop forcing these things on him...he's still too young...I'll end up scaring him off..." She got out of the bed and pulled on a white summer dress and headed downstairs for breakfast.
The absence of Brock startled her for a moment until she remembered that he was off visiting his family. They had encouraged him to do so because of a brewing conflict between him and another friend, Tracey. Both needed room to cool down after Brock had driven Tracey off the deep end. Tracey had 'flipped out', so to speak. He'd beaten Brock up pretty badly. None of them looked at Tracey in the same light anymore. Sure, he was a fun guy to be around, and most of the time was the picture of pure optimism, but push the wrong buttons and he became someone that none of them knew.
Delia, Ash's mother, turned from the stove as Misty sat down at the kitchen table. "Misty, what's wrong, dear?" she asked.
Misty looked up at her. "I don't know, Mrs. Ketchum, I just..."
"It's okay, Misty, you can talk to me," Delia said, sitting down beside her.
"I think I'm pushing this relationship along a little too fast for Ash..."
"Why? Has he told you that?"
Misty shook her head. "He never complains about anything that I do...he's so concerned with keeping me happy, but he never lets me know when I need to back off...when he needs comfort..."
"Ash loves you a lot, Misty, I know it. Why, I'm surprised that he hasn't asked you to marry him yet."
Misty sighed. "He's worried that you won't give us your consent, since he's too young..."
Delia raised her eyebrows. "I would have thought that Ash would know me by now," she said. "I would be more than happy to give my consent for you two to get married, but only if he comes to me and tells me that he wants to."
Misty smiled. "Thanks," she said.

* * *

Ash wandered into the research area of Professor Oak's lab, intent on finding Tracey. He finally spotted him near the Water Pokémon pond. "Hey, Trace, what's up?!" he called, jogging up.
Tracey, more than a little startled, lost his balance and nearly tumbled into the pool, saved only by a set of quick reflexes. "Ash, don't do that!" he almost squeaked.
Ash laughed. "Sorry, man," he said.
"What are you doing here?" Tracey asked.
Ash shrugged. "I just came over to see how you were doing," he said.
"I told you, I'm fine, okay?" Tracey said in a harsh tone, one that was extremely rare from him. "I just lost it back then. Besides, that was a week ago."
Ash held up his hands. "I'm sorry, Trace, but we were just worried. We never found out what happened between you and Brock."
"Nothing that he didn't deserve," Tracey muttered.
Ash raised his eyebrows. Tracey had been really grumpy ever since the incident with Brock, but Ash could see why. Tracey was just upset that Brock was trying to convince Ash and Misty into forgetting about him. "Hey, calm down, Trace," he said.
"Why? All you're gonna say is that I lost it, went psycho, nuts, whatever." He began to walk back towards the lab.
"Okay, Tracey, you're starting to scare me," Ash said.
Tracey sighed heavily. "Yeah, I'm starting to scare myself, too," he said. "I don't know what it is...Brock just brings out the worst in me..."
"I understand," Ash said. "Gary does the same to me. I hate it. But all you can do is try to ignore it, otherwise you become the worst version of yourself. Believe me, if it wasn't for my relationship with Misty, I would be a horrible person right now..."
Tracey nodded. "Speaking of which, how are things going with Misty?" he asked.
Ash shrugged. "About the same, I guess, but she's really beginning to talk about getting married."
"Ash, that's great!" Tracey said.
"But...I just can't find it in me to ask my mom to consent to the marriage..."
"Ash, your mom loves Misty like a daughter. I think she would love to actually be able to call Misty her daughter, in some respect."
Ash was quiet for a moment, but then spoke up. "You're right, Tracey," he said. "Thank you." He began to walk away, but then thought of something else. "Hey, Trace?"
"What?"
Ash took a deep breath. "If things do work out...and Misty and I do get married...would you be my best man?"
Tracey stared at him in disbelief. "You want me to be your best man?" he repeated.
"Why so surprised?" Ash asked him.
Tracey shrugged. "I don't know...I guess I always thought you'd pick Brock for that..."
"Well, I'm full of surprises," Ash replied. "Besides, I think it's time we all start paying more attention to you, Trace."
Tracey let a smile creep across his face. "Thanks, Ash," he said. "That means more to me than you know."

* * *

Delia looked up from her book as Ash stepped in. "Hi, honey," she said. "What's going on?"
Ash felt his stomach turning. "Mom...I need to ask you something," he said.
"What is it, honey?" Delia asked.
"You know that me and Misty...we've been getting serious, right?"
Delia smiled. "Of course," she said. "You two look so cute together!"
Ash smiled a bit. "Well, we've been...talking...and I...we...decided that...we want to get married this year."
Although she knew that Ash and Misty had been planning it, Delia was a little stunned that Ash had actually come out and said it. "Ash, honey, that's wonderful!" she cried.
"But...I need..."
Delia nodded. "You need my consent because you're under age," she finished.
Ash nodded.
"Ash, I would be a fool not to let you marry her," she said. "Of course I'll give you my consent. You deserve to be happy, and I know that nothing would make you happier than to marry her."
Realizing what his mother was saying, Ash threw his arms around her. "Thanks, mom," he said. "Thank you so much!"
"It's my pleasure, Ash," Delia said. She thought of something and reached over to open the drawer on her endtable. She pulled out a small velvet box. Opening it revealed a beautiful diamond ring. "This was the ring that your father gave me," she said. "Hopefully, it'll mean more to you than it did to him."
Ash's face broke into a huge, boyish grin as he took it from her.
"I want to see that ring on her hand tomorrow," Delia said. "As your mother, I'm ordering you to ask her tonight!"
Ash laughed. "No problem there," he said. "I've been waiting to ask her this for ages now!"
Misty was also reading when Ash walked into the room. She looked up and decided that it was best to get everything in the open. "Ash...I...I just wanna say that...I'm sorry if I'm going too fast for you...and maybe...it's...best if we slow down for a little bit...to make sure that we're both comfortable with this...and..."
Ash sat down beside her and silenced her with a kiss to the lips. "You are such a terrible liar," he said to her, quietly. "And you talk too much."
Misty looked at him, a confused expression on her face. "Huh?" she said.
"I don't think we're going too fast at all...I've never been happier in my entire life than I am right now, with you...and I don't think that I could wait another year..so...I'm asking you to marry me now."
Misty's heart was threatening to stop. "You are?" she said.
Ash nodded, handing the small box to her. "My mom gave this to me to give to you," he said. "She said it was hers...and now it's yours, if you want." He tried not to laugh at Misty's bewildered expression.
Misty looked at the ring, then at Ash. Finally, she threw her arms around him. "Ash, thank you!" she cried. "I do want it!"
Ash felt a huge weight lift off of his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. "I love you so much, Mist," he said. "And I would never be able to live with myself if I ever lost you."
"Me neither," Misty said, burying her face against his chest. "I pray every night that we'll be together forever. You're my whole world, Ash, and you'll be for a long time to come."

* * *

Both were surprised to see Tracey sitting at the kitchen table when they came downstairs for breakfast. "Trace...what are you doing here?" Misty asked.
Tracey shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Is it suddenly a crime to visit your mom?"
At the word 'mom', Delia came running into the kitchen from the living room. "So?!" she squeaked. "How did it go?"
Ash held up Misty's left hand. "See for yourself," he said.
Delia let out a bit of a squeal and threw her arms around the two of them. "Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" she cried. "This is just wonderful!"
"Um, Mrs. Ketchum, I don't think strangling them will help," Tracey said, in slightly better spirits that day. "You want them to survive 'til their wedding."
"Oh, that's just hilarious, Tracey," Delia joked.
Tracey shrugged. "I'm thinking about getting a night job as a comedian," he joked back.
"Don't quit your day job," Misty muttered.
Tracey laughed. "Yeah, well, at least now I can safely say I told you so."
"What?"
"Oh, come on! I've known that this day was coming back when you guys were eleven and thirteen years old! It's nice to know that I was right! I've been telling you that you liked each other for six years!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ash muttered.
Misty turned to him. "Ash, don't you think we should call Brock? He might want to know that we're engaged now."
Ash nodded and the two of them sat down in front of the videophone to call him.
Brock looked a little harried when he answered, but relaxed a little when he saw their faces. "Hey, guys, what's up?" he said.
"How's it going down there, Brock?" Misty asked.
"It's nuts," he replied. "My dad went off to Celadon for a couple of weeks and I told him I'd hold down the fort. I just forgot that he has two forts to hold down...luckily, the Gym kinda takes care of itself...it's the house that doesn't." He covered the mouthpiece and yelled at someone off screen. "Sorry," he said. "Sibling rivalry can be a darn evil thing. So...why'd you guys call? Just to chat?"
Ash shook his head. "We just wanted to tell you that...Misty and I got engaged last night. We're getting married!"
There was nothing but silence, until Brock turned back to the screen. "One of my sisters just hurt herself, guys," he said. "I gotta go."
Ash looked at Misty as soon as the screen went blank. He had the feeling that there was something more, but...

* * *

"So, you two," Delia said. "Now that you've got your marriage license, it's on to planning the wedding. I'll take you shopping for a dress if you want, Misty."
"I'd love that," Misty said.
"And I'll ask Tracey to help me out with picking out a tux," Ash said with almost no emotion in his voice. He hated to wear anything formal.
Misty giggled a bit.
"Ash, I have to ask you something," Delia said. "You've been hanging out with Tracey a lot more lately...why?"
"Because I don't think that I've been the best version of a friend to him over the last little bit...plus, I get the sense that Brock doesn't want Misty and I to get married, but Tracey's really happy for us."
"What makes you think that Brock doesn't want you to get married?" Delia asked.
Ash shrugged. "I've just been getting this really creepy feeling around him lately...ever since he and Tracey went at it..."
"You know that Brock would never do anything to you," Delia said.
Ash sighed. "I know...but I still can't shake it...he's really creeping me out."

* * *

Delia clapped her hands together. "Misty, that dress is perfect!" she cried. "You look so beautiful!"
Misty gazed at herself in the mirror. "You really think so?" she asked.
"Don't you?"
Misty looked down at the long, white dress that shimmered around her ankles. "I think that I'm just about as much in love with this dress as I am with Ash," she said. "And my dress hunt has just ended!"
"Ash'll love that dress, Misty," Delia said.
Misty half-twirled, watching herself in the mirror. "I just can't believe that I'm going to get married in this dress...I can't believe that I'm going to get married at all!"
Delia smiled. "I know how you feel...I just pray that your marriage lasts longer than mine did..."
"What happened with you and Ash's father, anyway?"
Delia sighed. "We were young...too young, I suppose. We just kind of rushed into it. Things went too fast for him."
"I'm sorry," Misty said.
"It doesn't bother me anymore," Delia said. "What bothers me is that he hasn't even tried to see Ash since he was two months old. It's been so hard...I had to make up these stories about his father being out on a Pokémon journey...I had to write these fake letters and tell Ash that they were from his father...he never gave my son a chance."
"I know that Ash will never do that," Misty said. "We've talked about it. We're gonna try to wait at least two years before we start trying to have a baby. It's best that way, 'cause Ash will be more mature and we'll be ready for anything."
Delia smiled. "I know. I raised Ash to be the exact opposite of his father. He's been my whole world for so long...but it's nice that he finally came out and told you the way he felt for you...I know it killed him every time you two got into a fight. He was so happy when he found out that you felt the same for him..."
Misty smiled at the memory. "Yeah, he was. I swear, when I said that I loved him, his face lit up like a five-year-old's at Christmas." Her eyes began to tear up. "We just spent that night...just talking together...and we realized that...it wasn't just a crush...we realized that we were so much in love that...it was mind-boggling."
"Oh, Misty," Delia said. "I know that you and Ash are going to be so happy together...there's nothing but love in your eyes when you talk about him...and nothing but love in his when he talks about you. I know that you're going to be together for such a long time."
"Thanks," Misty said. "I guess I better start getting used to the idea of calling you 'mom'."
Delia laughed. "There's nothing more I want than for you to call me 'mom'," she said. "Now, let's get this dress before someone else starts eyeing it."

* * *

It was getting dark as Ash and Tracey walked home. "So," Tracey said. "How long do you think it's going to take to get all this organized?"
Ash shrugged. "At the rate we're going...maybe a couple of months."
"Are you nervous?"
Ash gave him an are-you-out-of-your-right-mind look. "Tracey, that is one of the stupidest things you have ever asked me," he said. "Of course I'm nervous! Geez, this is my wedding we're talking about!"
Tracey held up his hands. "Okay, okay," he said. "It was a bit of a dumb question. But what are you so nervous about, anyway?"
Ash sighed. "I don't know...I'm just scared that she'll change her mind...or I'll change mine...or my mom'll change hers..."
"Nah," Tracey said. "Everyone's really happy for you. There ain't a person in this town that doesn't want you and Misty to tie the knot."
Ash grinned. Just as they were getting into lighter spirits and started discussing what they would do for Ash's bachelor party, the sky opened up with a downpour of rain. Tracey muttered a few rating-inappropriate words and began to run.
Ash was about to follow when he heard a sound around the corner that didn't sound good. He peered through the darkened rainstorm to see dim headlights poking through the gloom. "Tracey, look out!" he cried, running after him.
Tracey spun around. He heard the rev of an engine and felt Ash push him towards the other curb. He felt cold metal strike his wrist and the sound of his bones snapping. He cried out in pain, but his voice was lost in Ash's bloodcurdling scream. He spun around just in time to catch a glimpse of the man in the driver's seat - just a second or two, but enough to see who it was and the deranged expression in his eyes. He waited until the car was gone and looked around for Ash. He froze in absolute horror. Ash was lying facedown in the middle of the street, crying out in pain. Tire marks ran across his side and legs. How he was still awake, Tracey had no idea. He ran up to the teenager. "Ash, I'm gonna get help!" he cried, knowing that his own wrist was broken and he couldn't do much to help Ash out. He ran to a payphone, trying to fight off the pain in his wrist, and dialed 911, praying that the ambulance could get there fast enough...


TO BE CONTINUED...


A/N: The next part is where it gets sad and weird. I'm sick of being normal. I'm ready to go nuts. I even dyed my hair pink today (it's not permanent, though.) And it's too dang bad if you don't like the idea that Tracey's in this thing more than Brock. I got a few things planned for Brock.