Hey guys, here we are another chapter more.

First off, I wanted to apologize for the long delay. To explain it, I had to move two times between October and January. It was a tough time to me, but I thank God for helping getting through the impossible task. Plus, I have a new job now, it's simple but interesting.

I know some of you are wondering, why is Ash jumping into Serena and has a crush on Misty? Well it will be explained this chapter and believe me...it will be well a life lesson. Believe me, I read cases like this and decided to write this up. Now here we go.

Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon

Chapter 4: Double Edge

When Ash woke up the next day, his mind immediately began racing with excitement in anticipation of the phone call he was going to make, and the more he thought about it, the further Ash went down memory lane regarding his friendship with - and crush on - Serena.

They had both become friends when he saved her in the forest one day and he walked her back home. She was his first real friend and he remembered doing all sorts of things with her. They played tag, hide and seek, and just about any other game that could be imagined by a couple of young children. For Ash, Serena was a sort of escape from the reality he was forced to live in, and remembering the few games they played together as kids did an excellent job of that.

Not only that, Serena knew about all of the problems that he had in his life. She knew about the way his father treated him, and the reasons he would sometimes wind up staying over at her house. As they started growing up, he realized that his relationship with her had potential to become something greater as his feelings of friendship towards her were slowly evolving into feelings of affection, and he was determined to make sure he didn't turn into his father.

Then the coma happened...and he had no idea if she had visited him or not.

That was something that had occurred to him, where exactly was Serena that she had never bothered to visit him? She never even came by to see how he was doing after he woke up from his coma, let alone visit him while he was in it. As he pondered these things, his thoughts wandered to Misty. She was always nice to him, always attentive to his needs. She visited him whenever she got the chance and taught him what she learned from her Bible, and was there when he just needed a friend to talk to. He loved her smile...not to mention the kiss she had given him...at this point, Ash realized he had something of a conflict to deal with.

He needed to make the call. He needed to figure out where his feelings were really taking him, and what he needed to do about them. Just then, his mom walked into the room and smiled when she saw him.

"Oh you're awake!"

Ash nodded, "Do you have the number mom?"

She nodded back and handed him a small scrap of paper. "Want to use the cell phone?"

Ash shook his head, "I actually want to use the video phone. I've just got some unfinished business to take care of."

Delia's eyebrows raised in surprise at how serious her son was about this, whatever he needed to take care of had to be really important. She pushed the nearby wheelchair over to him and watched him slowly move from the bed to the chair, and soon he was wheeling himself over to the video phones.

Once Ash got there, he quickly dialed the number and waited for someone to answer. After a few moments, the screen lit up and there was Serena, and she had definitely changed.

Her long honey blonde hair had been cut and now was shoulder length. She was wearing a white blouse and was smiling. "Yvonne residence, Serena speaking."

Ash nearly choked when he saw her, so he took a deep breath before speaking. "Hey Serena, remember me?"

Serena tilted her head and looked at the young man for a moment, and her eyes lit up when she recognized him. "Ash?" he nodded at her, "Oh wow! It's good to hear from you, how are you?" the honey blonde asked.

Ash smiled a bit and shrugged. "Oh, recovering. Getting stronger and better each day."

She raised a puzzled eyebrow, "What do you mean recovering?"

Ash reeled back a little in shock. So she really didn't know. He began to tell her about how he went through a coma and had just woken up, also how it happened and his recovery progress so far.

Serena had her jaw dropped in disbelief as he told his story, and once he finished she looked for the right words to respond with. "Ash, before you went on your journey, I went to Hoenn. You already know how my mom is with her competition." He nodded at her, and so she continued. "Sorry for not knowing Ash. Too many things happened in my life. I'm glad that you're doing well."

Ash smiled widely...until...

"Serena, are you here?!"

Serena instantly beamed and moments later a young man with messy brown hair and brown eyes appeared on screen and sat next to the girl, kissing her lovingly on the lips.

Ash nearly dropped the phone in shock, clearly Serena had moved on from him. Surprisingly though, while it did hurt to an extent, he found that he wasn't nearly as bothered by it as he expected. He just took a deep breath and pasted on a smile as Serena turned her attention back to him.

"Oh Ash, I want you to meet my boyfriend Calem. Calem, this is my friend Ash from Pallet."

"Hey Ash! How are you?"

Ash hesitated, but he managed to get out a decent reply. "Oh good, good."

Serena smiled brightly at Calem before briefly turning her attention back to Ash. "Ash, I have to go now. Since you have my number, we can talk anytime. Okay?"

He nodded numbly and hung up on Serena and her boyfriend. Needless to say, Ash was stunned...but...maybe it was for the best. He wheeled himself to his room where his mom was waiting with some breakfast for both of them, and they ate it in silence.

To Delia's credit, she was nothing if not observant. She saw her son's change in demeanor and immediately recognized it as a symptom of a broken heart. "I'm sorry about Serena, Ash." she sighed sympathetically.

The old Ash probably would have denied that anything was wrong, but now he knew better. He frowned sadly at his mother and sighed forlornly, "I wish I hadn't called."

"Ash, people change. Sometimes changes are a good thing, sometimes they aren't, but you can't them stop you. You must make those changes too Ash, for the better." she caressed her son's cheek. "Besides...how do you feel about Misty?"

Ash knew he liked Misty. That much was simple. She had her own life to keep her busy, but she was there for him when he needed her and he was learning new things from her each day. He decided then and there that he would call her since she was coming back in two days...but he had a small problem.

"I like her, but I don't know what to do."

Delia smiled warmly, "Well...since you're strong enough to do this, here's what you do."

A few days later…

Misty finally got back from her trip, and she was glad that it was over so she could get back to Ash. To say she was excited would have been an understatement. She thought he was cute and he was clearly a great listener, and she couldn't wait until he recovered and would be able to walk around.

When she entered his room she gasped a bit, as Ash was standing there dressed up with black jeans and a button up blue shirt, holding flowers out to her.

"For you, Misty."

She flushed and took the flowers, bringing them close to her nose so she could take a sniff. "They're beautiful." she smiled softly.

Ash sighed with relief, "Thanks...so…w-would you like to go out on a….d-date with me?"

Misty looked up in shock and saw how nervous he seemed. She gave a reassuring smile and nodded at him. "I'd love to. Are you strong enough though?"

He answered her by slowly going over to his wheelchair and taking a seat, and he took a few seconds to breathe once he got there. Once he recovered, he looked up at her again, "Ready?"

She beamed and nodded again, and together they left the hospital and went outside into the fresh air that Ash took a deep breath of once he was out.

Luckily for the couple, there was a small restaurant about a mile away, and thanks to a generous donation (and several lessons in manners) from Delia, Ash was determined to make sure that he treated Misty right.

It didn't take long for them to be seated and get something to eat, and it also didn't take long for Ash to notice how radiant Misty looked. Maybe his heart really was in the right place, giving himself a chance to see how he really felt about her.

"So Ash, anything new going on?"

"Well, my doctor told me I'm a little ahead of schedule, and I should be able to walk a little bit soon."

She clapped a bit, "That's great! I can't wait for when you can walk around on your own."

He nodded, and then took a moment to just look at her. She truly was a marvel to behold. "Misty?"

"Yes, Ash?"

"Um….you look beautiful, like you always do."

She blushed a bit, "Thanks Ash, you look pretty good yourself."

He looked down and saw her hand laying on the table, and remembering what Delia had told him, he gently took her hand into his own and started stroking her knuckles with his thumb, which got her to blush a very deep red. "A-Ash..."

"M-Misty…I know it seems a bit forward, but I do like you. You've been there for me, you've always comforted me, always been kind to me, and teaching me things...and...I like you...Misty."

There it was, out in the open. He waited for a response as she seemed to be in shock, and he just hoped that whatever reaction she had would be a good one.

Misty leaned forward and cupped his face in her hands, looking or any sign of deception in his eyes. All she saw in those chocolate-brown of orbs of his was warmth and love that she had never seen before in any other person. She closed the distance between them and kissed Ash on the lips, internally giggling as she felt him j*** a little in surprise.

Ash was stunned of course, as this wasn't just a simple peck, oh no, this was something passionate that lit something inside of him...something warm and exciting. He could feel his heart rate going up by the second, and he leaned into the kiss and enjoyed the feeling his requited love brought.

As for Misty, her happiness had just gone through the roof. Ash was responding to her display of affection in a way that she never could have dreamed. She now knew that she loved him, she loved the innocence and purity of heart that he possessed, and those were traits that she had previously been convinced that simply didn't exist in normal human beings...and yet here they were, shining brightly through this young man who had just confessed his love for her.

As they separated themselves, she smiled and hugged him tightly. "I love you." she whispered into his ear.

"I love you too."

They paid for the meal, and they soon found themselves sitting on a bench in a small park, where Misty decided to finish reading the Book of Matthew to Ash. When she got to the part of Judas's betrayal of Jesus, Ash was shocked that a man who had seen all of the miracles Jesus had done and still could have betrayed him. When she got to the crucifixion, Ash was nearly in tears...and his mood turned completely around when she read how Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death.

For Ash, the parts that really got to him were the ones where Jesus said to His disciples that He would always be there for them, and "them" didn't just apply to His disciples. It applied to anyone who believed in Him...and as of now, Ash believed.

"Misty?"

"Yes Ash?"

"I believe in Him. Can you show me how to believe in Him more?"

She smiled and nodded. "Sure, but first you must confess your sins before we continue."

"Sins?"

"Yes, as in the bad things that you've done in your life, and you need to be willing to follow and have faith in Him...this isn't just entering into a religion, this is the start of your personal relationship with Jesus."

He nodded and understood, then he closed his eyes and began to pray out loud. "Dear Jesus, I know that I'm someone who's done a lot of bad things. I know that I shouldn't hate my dad or lie. Please forgive me for all of those things that I've done. I want to follow You and I want You to help become the man that you want me to become. I thank You, God for sending Jesus to save me. Thank you, Amen."

Somehow, after he opened his eyes, he felt a weight lift off of his shoulders that even he never realized he'd been carrying. Taking Misty's hand, he smiled lovingly at her. To say that he was thankful for having this amazing woman in his life would've been the understatement of the century. Talk about being blessed. "Thank you Misty..." he kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you."

To be continued….

A/N:Well what a surprise, right? This is something that I expected this chapter. Now the next chapter, well get ready for another dark moment. It will be great, so leave a review and hope you guys have a great day.

Also here is a bible verse: Galatians 5-1(NIV): It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.