Hello again guys!

Chapter 4 is up! Thanks to all of you who continue to support me, as you can imagine, English is not my native language, so it'd be nice to receive criticism about the way I write (and the development of the story, of course)

Anyway, let's keep going!

4 – Dream of the Sleeping Trainer

(Song: Dream of the Drowned Submariner – Mark Knopfler)

The night had fallen and, through one of the windows of a hospital in the Kalos region, a boy and a girl could be seen.

_Ow! – Said the boy for the umpteenth time –

_You should really stop whining Ash, is for your own good – a sweet voice gently scolded him –

_But it hurts!

_You aren´t the same boy who told me how his Charizard used to attack him with a flamethrower everyday in his journey through the Kanto region, aren't you?

_Do you remember that?

_Of course I do, - The performer replied, soaking the cotton in alcohol again - I like to know about your past experiences, it's always great to know about your many adventures, the things you did in the past, your plans for the… - Serena stopped for a second, then continued – future

Ash noticed the subtle change in the tone of her voice, if she was thinking in the future, it meant she was thinking in his departure, actually, Ash started to feel very uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Kalos, still, he but didn´t said anything else, his body still hurting from the lightning strike

We run along easy at periscope depth
Sun dappling through clear water

_So… - Serena began again – Are you gonna tell me what were you thinking, putting yourself at such risk just for a song?

_A song for you, you know, a Serena-de

The girl let out a chuckle, and in all response applied more pressure to a particularly big burn Ash had in his left arm

_Ow!

Silence fell between the two of them again, Ash awakened four hours ago, extremely weak, and asking for Serena, she was there, waiting for him, her body trembling with a possible side effect of her best friend's collapse. He had tried to say something, but the doctor recommended two things: Silence and rest. The first one was really easy, the second, considering how Serena occupied Ash's entire mind, was impossible.

So went the dream of the drowned submariner
Far away from the slaughter

Bonnie was particularly joyous, clinging to Ash's arm for minutes, repeating over and over again how worry they were after the incident, how she was afraid of Ash's condition, and adding (with a smirk) that Serena didn't move an inch since Ash was placed in the room.

Clemont stated that Ash was definitely a lucky boy, reckless, but lucky, the fact that he was completely soaked from the rain made the lightning strike absolutely worse, the inventor went on for a little (per Ash request) explaining the location and the severity of his burns, indicating that he had to listen to the doctor's orders and erase from his mind the idea of any Pokemon battle or stressful activity. Ash wasn't fond of the idea, but orders are orders, he thought. Maybe this was the chance he needed to spend more time with Serena.

Your hair is a strawflower that sings in the sun
My darling, my beautiful darling

Pikachu spoke to him in a very low voice. Since years now, he had this strange ability to communicate with his partner and understand him, despite the fact that the only thing that comes out of his friend's mouth is his own name. The yellow rodent explained to him that his other Pokemon friends were aware of the incident, with Noivern and Hawlucha trying to take down the door of his room, while Greninja and Goodra were calmer, and Talonflame was circling around the hospital for the past two hours.

So went the dream of the drowned submariner
Cast away on the water

As for Serena, the one Ash was most interested in; she simply placed a soft kiss in his head, and told him she was really glad he was ok, and if he needed something, she was ready to help him.

One by one, his friends left the room, when only Serena was left, Ash asked:

_Please Serena…

She turned around, flustered immediately. It was almost funny how Ash realized only now he had that effect on her.

_Please… stay

And, for the next few hours, she stayed by his side, smiling and attending his wounds.

From down in the vault, down in the grave
Reaching up to the light on the waves

_Are you mad at me? – Ash asked, lowering his voice, Serena could see the regret reflecting in his eyes, she denied before talking -

_Not as much as you think I'd be

_Why is that?

She took a deep breath "Well Serena, this is your chance, so please, for the love of Arceus, don't screw it up"

_Can you imagine if you… if, after the strike, you had… if you…

_If I were killed by the lightning?

The performer suddenly felt an awful sensation, like a sword piercing through her heart, she put a hand on her chest, holding back the tears, Ash noticed this, and slapped himself mentally

_Sorry Serena, I didn't mean to…

_But… But that´s exactly what I was talking about Ash! What if your injuries were worse, what if you woke up with amnesia, or worse, what if you didn't wake up at all, what I'd tell you to your mother?

Ash was silent, but Serena had to keep going

_Ash sang me a song during a storm and he… he got killed by a lightning! And it was all because of me! Because I made him feel bad when he was jealous, because I was too stupid at that time! And because I've been too shy to tell him during our journey that I… I…

Serena couldn't hold it anymore and started crying uncontrollably. Ash, unsure of what to do, placed a hand over her hair and started to stroke it gently, he needed to make her feel better, not only because she was his friend, but because he was trying to understand his own feelings, too.

So he kept caressing her hair, hearing her sobbing, trying to figure out a way to…

As a wrecking train, an idea hit him.

So she did run to him over the grass

She fell in his arms and he caught her

_I really like your hair, you know?

Serena froze for a second and looked at him; he was smiling, his eyes fixed on her, what was going through his mind to say such a thing in a moment like this? The performer asked herself, while the Trainer started talking again:

_It reminds me of this time, years ago, I was learning about fire type Pokemon with some friends and we had this assignment, to look for one and study it, so I search, and search, I spent hours and I couldn't find one.

So went the dream…

_And there I was, alone, until a girl showed up and asked me if I wanted to make a team with her. I accepted and she smiled. She had managed to get a Growlithe; it was so little you know?

_Probably a newborn… - Serena replied, Ash agreed –

_It was really nice… I spent that time with her, chatting and playing with the little Growlithe, what I do remember the most was its fur. Golden with a hint of brown, just like the girl's hair

_Professor Oak said it was a shiny Pokemon, which was very uncommon to see…

_So I guess… I don't really need to tell you about the girl, right?

Of the drowned submariner…

_Oh yes you have to; I did tell you that I want to know about your past, Ash…

And so he did, Ash told her everything about the straw-hat girl, the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the fact she was brave and strong enough to keep playing with him and the Growlithe despite she was hurt in her ankle… Until this day, she was a strong, confident girl, sometimes shy,

_It's a problem…

_It is not, it's a part of who she is, she should not try to change or hide that. She's also very talented

_She has made a lot of mistakes…

_Who hadn't? She's sometimes hard, and cold too…

_Cold? – Serena asked –

_Yes, she is. And if she weren't, right now I´d still be sitting on a log in the middle of a snowy forest.

That night, once again, Serena didn't have the chance to reveal her feelings, she tried to go back to the subject of Ash's injuries, but he dismissed it, saying that was a conversation they would have later. She understood and stayed with him, until fatigue took her away from him, and she fell over his bed, still smiling.

Far away on the water

Ash opened his eyes, unaware of his surroundings, the room was different of how he remembered, Serena was still there, asleep, not over his bed, but on a chair that wasn't there before. The tone of the walls was not the same he had seen previously, could it been that…?

The conversation he had with his dreaming girl was now only a blurry memory, fading away quickly, he still felt very weak, and so he came up with only one reasonable conclusion:

_It was all a dream… - he said to nobody in particular, before falling asleep again –

Far away…

On the water…

TO BE CONTINUED…