How to Change a Life

The sun was shining brightly through the windows as Ash's eyes began to flutter open. The light was becoming quite offensive and he was finding it impossible to remain asleep. Deciding he should just get up, he slowly shifted around, stretching in the process and fully opened his eyes. The first thing he did was sit up and look at the clock, seeing that it was only 8:00am.

His eyes then drifted to the sleeping pokemon at the foot of his bed. Seeing Pikachu and Torchic sleeping close together was a cute sight to see for the freshly awoken trainer.

Ash let out a yawn and stretched one more time before his gaze shifted to his right. It was then he noticed the warmth emanating from his right hand. Looking down at it, he remembered why it was so warm. May's hand had remained interlocked with his own throughout the entirety night. Ash followed her arm up until he was looking at the girl.

May was still sleeping peacefully, her head down on the bed fairly close to where their hands were placed. Looking at her position, Ash still couldn't quite understand how she was comfortable. But given the content look on her face, he could tell that she was.

As he looked to May's face, he saw her breathing lightly, her mouth slightly open. Her hair was sprawled on the bed just slightly due to the fact that she currently wasn't wearing her bandana.

Ash smiled toothlessly at May's sleeping figure. She seemed so comfortable, so peaceful, and he felt that he could just sit there and watch her all morning.

Ash still couldn't believe the circumstances of their meeting. Saving her and Professor Birch from pokemon, that would later become their friends. May falling off of the cliff. Himself falling off of the cliff. Hell, he'd even died and come back to life... It was all so crazy when he thought about it.

"I guess I really shouldn't be surprised though..." Ash thought to himself. "The only way I seem to meet people is through crazy circumstances."

Ash chuckled at his thought as he thought about all of the people he'd befriended over the course of his journey. He especially remembered meeting Misty, and how she'd pulled him out of a river by mistake. He shivered when he remembered the look on the redhead's face when she found him after he'd taken her bike in order to get Pikachu help.

"Though, she still managed to turn out to be one of my best friends. But that did take quite a while..." Ash remembered how the two didn't truly get along for quite some time after first meeting.

Ash and Misty's personalities would clash frequently early on in their adventure together. But after a month or two, they both warmed up to each other and considered the other to be a best friend. With that being said, he still wasn't quite sure why he hadn't told her the full story of his father. Though he decided not to dwell on it; he planned on telling her some point soon anyway.

It was then Ash's mind shifted elsewhere. While he only considered Misty a best friend, he'd picked up quite a few hints over their travels telling him that she thought of him as more. He'd vaguely talked to Brock about it, but never really got too deep into it due to embarrassment over the situation.

Before they split up, Misty had made it pretty clear that she wanted more than just friendship with him. The only problem was, Ash didn't want the same. He knew nothing of relationships but even despite that, he knew in his heart that Misty wasn't right for him.

Ash remembered when he first realized that Misty had feelings for him. The first thing he felt was fear. Fear of what it meant. Fear of the whole 'relationship' thing.

But most of all, fear of hurting Misty.

The last thing Ash ever wanted to do was hurt anyone, especially one of his closest friends. He remembered searching his heart almost every night, hoping that somehow, he would be able to force himself to develop deeper feelings for Misty so that he would never have to hurt her.

But of course, he couldn't do that. It wasn't what his heart desired, and he understood that wasn't something he'd ever be able to change. It took him a long while to accept this but once he did, he became slightly depressed. He he quickly became very good good at hiding it, but it was very much present inside of him for a number weeks.

Though in order to get out of the funk he was in, he decided that the only thing he could do as to not outright hurt Misty was to act as if he'd simply never picked up on the hints she'd thrown his way. If he never acknowledged her feelings, then he wouldn't have to outright deny her.

He'd never have to to break her heart.

Though, the thought of doing this always served to make Ash sick to his stomach. He hated himself for it. He thought himself to be a coward, running away from his problems. He still considered it one of the worst things he'd ever done and still hadn't truly forgiven himself for choosing this path. He was always one to take a challenge head on, but he did nothing but swerve this one.

It was such an awful situation: either hurt Misty outright, or ignore the problem and hurt her anyway, but in a less direct way. Of course, he couldn't quite see it at the time, but he decided after they'd separated that it would've been better if he'd have just told her that he didn't want to pursue a relationship with her.

He knew that one day, he would have to come clean and tell the truth. He just hoped it wouldn't ruin their friendship. That was always one of his biggest worries, behind Misty's happiness of course. That once everything was out in the open, Misty would feel too uncomfortable to be around him anymore.

He feared so badly that she would hate him for it...

Ash let out a long sigh as he forced the negative thought out of his head. As sad as it was, Misty was no longer traveling with him. This wasn't something he would have to face for a while. At least, he hoped...

Ash found his eyes wandering back to May's sleeping form. Just the sight of her helped to calm him as his negative thoughts were quickly replaced with positive ones of the new memories he was making with the brunette in front of him.

And whether he liked it or no, Ash still had the idea of romance in his head from thinking about his problem with Misty,. It wasn't something he thought about often, but it was in his mind at this moment. And because May was sitting here in front of him, Ash couldn't help but let his mind wander that direction with her...

Instantly however, he stopped himself. Ash didn't even know what he was thinking. They'd connected incredibly quickly, sure, but they'd really only just met each other a little over a week ago. Plus, he had no idea what he felt for May; he'd always had trouble understanding his feelings. That being said, he was pretty sure whatever he was feeling wasn't love or anything of the sort. But then again, Ash perfectly understood that he would have absolutely no idea what love, or even a crush felt like if he did have one. All he was certain of was that he liked May an incredible amount.

Relationships were one of the few things that truly scared Ash. It was one area where he had absolutely no experience and no idea where to even start. So even just thinking about a relationship with anyone always managed to stress him out.

Sure, he very much thought that May was an incredibly beautiful girl, and he loved spending time with her. But similar things could've been said about Misty. Though, he had an incredible amount in common with May, and that definitely couldn't be said about Misty. And if he was being honest, he found May to be a good deal more attractive than Misty...

And with May, Ash couldn't help but feel that everything was just a bit...different. That somehow, everything that happened between them would always be unlike anything either of them would ever feel with anyone else.

Though, Ash eventually decided that this wasn't the time to think about stuff like this; he didn't understand it anyway. He just told himself that himself and May were best friends, which was very much true. He didn't want to stress himself out on the subject, so he simply accepted the fact that whatever happened would happen.

As Ash was lost in thought, May began stirring awake. Ash didn't even notice the girl shifting, even though he was looking her direction, with his gaze nearly looking at straight her. It took a few moments, but May eventually opened her eyes, her eyes immediately moving toward Ash.

She immediately noticed that he seemed to be staring at her. While this normally might've made her blush, she was simply still too out of it from having just come out of her sleepy state to be embarrassed by it. Though as she began to wake up more, she began to notice that Ash wasn't actually staring at her. He was more looking through her, very obviously lost in thought.

Realizing this, the young brunette smiled and looked to the clock to see that it was around 8:20am, a time May deemed worthy of getting up at. May then decided she should try to break Ash out of his stupor.

May, her right hand still connected with Ash's right, began waving her left hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anybody in there...?"

The hand motion in front of his face and the sweet voice of the woman in front of him made Ash finally break out of his thoughts. Once he was free of his mind, his eyes met May's, who was wearing a dazzling smile.

Ash couldn't help but blush as he realized he'd been staring while he was lost in thought. But he pushed that away quickly and returned the smile with one of his own.

"Good morning, May. Sleep well?" Ash questioned politely, hoping this would help to completely push his previous thoughts from his mind.

May nodded happily. "Very much so, thank you. What about you? You still feeling better?"

"Oh yeah! Stronger everyday!" Ashe exclaimed quietly while striking a pose and flexing his biceps jokingly.

May laughed at the man's antics while momentarily admiring his arms. May's mind then began to drift to just moments earlier.

"So, what had you so lost in thought?" May asked innocently, wanting to help the man should it be something troubling..

Ash groaned internally, having been hoping that she wouldn't have asked. He really didn't want to talk about what was going on in his mind, especially when some of the thoughts were about May herself. Though, he couldn't bring himself to outright lie, that's just not who he is. Quickly, he formulated what he hoped would be an acceptable response.

Ash smiled toothlessly at the girl, appreciating the fact that she obviously wanted to help him through whatever seemed to be troubling him.

"I was just thinking about some things that I'll have to take care of in the future. I really don't want to trouble you with it. Plus, it's not a very big deal." Ash explained to the woman, hoping that this would be enough to get off of the subject.

May immediately sensed that Ash simply didn't want to talk about whatever was on his mind, which she understood. Though, she wanted to let him know that should he ever need anything, that she was there. This was just like the conversation they'd had the night before only this time, the roles were reversed.

"Are you sure? Because you know I'll listen and help you however I can. I'm always going to be there for you when you need help, even if you just need someone to talk to. Remember that." May spoke with a sweet seriousness in her voice, conveying just how much she meant what she was saying.

Ash smiled appreciatively at the brunette in front of him and nodded his head. "Yes, I know. I promise that if there's ever something I need to talk to someone about, the first person I'll come to is you."

Before May could even formulate a response, Ash continued seriously. "And you know the same goes for me, right? Anytime you need anything, anything at all, you say the word and I'll be there to help you."

May smiled brightly at the man's words, a warm feeling of comfort flowed throughout her body. She then spoke, almost shyly. "I know, Ash. You've already proved that."

Ash acknowledged May's words with a head nod and an appreciative smile. "Thank you, May. You have no idea how much it means to me to know that I can come to you."

May returned Ash's smile. "Of course! That's what best friends are for, right?"

Ash chuckled a bit at the amount of enthusiasm in the woman's voice. "Yes it is."

The two shared another smile before Ash shifted slightly, seemingly to reposition himself in a more comfortable way. The only problem was when he was shifting his body, he'd accidentally put quite a bit of pressure on Pikachu's tail.

The yellow mouse pokemon's eyes shot wide open as an anger that Pikachu hadn't meant to exude filled his veins. Both May and Ash saw this, with May's eyes widening, having never seen Pikachu like this. Ash however, had. And he knew what was coming next...

Wisely, Ash let go of May's hand, breaking the connection so that she wouldn't feel any of what he knew was about to come. May was slightly confused by the action, but didn't argue and put her hand down. She then looked at Pikachu again. She would've been more afraid of the pokemon, but Ash's reaction to it kept her calm. He looked more...disappointed than fearful.

Ash let out a long sigh before speaking to his first pokemon. "Just get it over with, buddy. And please don't hit May."

As Ash finished speaking, Pikachu let out a small thunder shock attack, hitting Ash directly. May's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Ash's form being lit up like a christmas tree. He didn't seem to be reacting, the slight wince he was showing on his face was the only indicator that he was feeling the attack. The Thunder Shock only lasted a couple of seconds before it stopped.

When Pikachu stopped his attack, he immediately became apologetic. Ash kept his eyes closed for a few moments, getting over the shock. He also took a few deep breaths, having held his breath during the attack.

As the attack ended, May grew angry at the yellow pokemon and shot him a dirty look.

"Pikachu! How could you do that!?" May yelled, seeming to not care that others in the room were still sleeping.

Pikachu's face dropped even more at the scolding he was receiving from May. It was at this time that Ash fully got over the attack and assessed what was going on around him.

Seeing Pikachu looking downcast and May appearing angry, Ash couldn't help but chuckle. Ash then reached out and placed a hand on May's shoulder, drawing her gaze away from his first pokemon.

"It's okay, May. That's just something Pikachu does reflexively if he's woken up by any kind of pain. It's my fault for laying my leg down on his tail." Ash explained to the brunette, who was gobsmacked by the man's words.

"But he just attacked you! Aren't you hurt, or something!?" May questioned incredulously.

Ash giggled once again as he retracted his hand from May's shoulder and opened his arms, allowing Pikachu to happily jump into his lap. He immediately began petting the small pokemon. He then turned his attention back to May.

"This isn't even close to the first time this has happened. And it doesn't really hurt because Pikachu barely puts any power behind it. It's more Pikachu's way of telling me 'watch where you're stepping, dummy!' It's just one of his quirks." Ash spoke lightly while petting his pokemon, whom was enjoying it immensely.

May was still shocked by the whole situation but eventually just shook her head and chortled. Though even if Pikachu did do this at least semi-regularly, it still wasn't very smart at this particular time consider what Ash had recently gone through, and May had to let him know that.

"But even still. Pikachu, you shouldn't have done that. Not when Ash is still in the hospital. We can't be certain if anything might still be wrong with him that we don't know about, and the shock could've made it worse." May scolded the pokemon in an almost motherly tone.

Pikachu's ears dropped before he looked to Ash hoping he'd come to his defense. "She has a pretty good point, you know?"

"Pika pika pi..." Pikachu apologized sadly. His ears perked up and his face lightened immediately when he heard Ash and May chuckling. "Pika!"

"It's okay, Pikachu. Just don't do it again...while we're here. Once he's out though, I'd say that he's fair game." May told the yellow pokemon jokingly with an evil smirk on her face.

Ash looked at the brunette with a deadpanned look on his face. "Gee, May. Thanks..."

A few moments after Ash spoke, the two began laughing. Even Pikachu got involved in the laughter. What the two didn't realize was that the volume at which this whole situation had gone down at had woken up the others in the room. They were taking their time to wake up completely however, as the manner in which they were woken up in wasn't the most pleasant.

"You know May, with that scolding you gave Pikachu, I think you'd make a pretty good mother one day." Ash said offhandedly.

Despite Ash having no ulterior meaning behind the statement, his words still made May go noticeably red as her thoughts ran wild with what he'd said. Ash noticed the blush on May's face, but didn't quite understand why it was there.

After just a few moments, May let a grin slowly spread across her face. She knew Ash hadn't meant anything by it, and didn't realize any of the implications behind what he'd said; this was a perfect example of Ash's 'denseness', which she'd been told about. That's just how he is. Now that she realized this, she found his innocence on the subject very endearing and cute.

" Thank you, Ash. And might I say that I think you'd make a fine father one day as well." May responded to the man in front of her. If it were anyone else, there would be no way she would've said this. But because Ash had no idea of any implications behind what they were saying to each other, May found it almost funny to say it back to hm. Besides, she really did mean it as well.

Ash smiled at the woman's words before looking off. "I really hope so. I just want to be a better father to my kids than my dad was to me. Whenever that may happen."

May silently cursed herself for bringing up the whole 'father' thing. Though it seemed that because she now knew the full story, he wasn't as sensitive about it anymore around her. This was what allowed May to wipe out any regretful thoughts from her mind and really think about what Ash had said.

She hated the fact that Ash even thought for a second that he could be like his father. From what she was told about his dad, Ash was already much more of a man than he'd ever be. A much, much better man. She knew Ash well, and she had complete confidence in the fact that he would make a fantastic father one day.

May noticed Ash was still staring off, lost in his own little world, his face stoic, and his gaze far off. She decided then that she should reassure his doubts. This was a perfect opportunity for her to be there to listen to him, to help him as she'd said she would do.

May put her hand on Ash's shoulder, much like he had done not long before, gaining the man's attention and snapping him out of his thoughts..

"You have nothing to worry about there. Even at 19, you're much more of a man than your father could ever dream to be." May started, her face and tone very sincere. "What are you afraid of?"

Ash found immense comfort in May's gaze and tone of voice, but he still felt the fears that were brought to the forefront of his mind as he thought about fatherhood, no matter how far off that was for him.

Ash let out a sigh before responding. "It's just...I'm afraid that it's in my nature to just... leave. If I ever did that to my kids, I would never be able to live with myself. But I'm so afraid that I'll still do as my father did. When I was younger, I was deadest on the idea that I didn't want to have kids because of these fears. But when I turned 18 and real life began, I really started to like the idea of one day having a few kids of my own. You know, continuing the Ketchum name, having a family. Even if that's not something I'll even have to think about dealing with for a long time, it still pops up in my head from time to time. And that fear is always there, nagging at me every time it does."

May felt an intense amount of sadness for what Ash was feeling. To her, the fear seemed so silly but she knew that because of what his father had done to him, the fear was very much rational in Ash's mind. May cursed Ash's father mentally once more for hurting him the way he did. She took a few moments to calm herself down from the anger she felt boiling up inside of her before she said anything. This also gave her time to formulate what she hoped would be a suitable response.

"Ash..." May forced the raven haired man to meet her gaze, a soft look on her face. "I feel like I've said this a million times, but I'll continue to say it for as long as I can. You're are the best person that I have ever met. You're kind, honest, selfless, courageous...you have every quality a man could ever hope to have, and I want you to be able to see that. Leaving isn't 'in your nature'. You are nothing, nothing like your father, and you never will be. And I know for a fact that when you do have kids, however far off that may be, you will be the best father in the world to them. Because you know first hand what it feels like to be alone, and we both know that you'd never let your children go through that."

May spoke softly, but also with an amount of forcefulness that told Ash that she was being entirely truthful. Ash had always felt kind of stupid for having such an irrational fear, especially of something that wasn't going to happen for many years and because of this, he'd really hadn't ever told anybody about it. It rarely ever popped into his mind but when it did, he would simply get past it himself the best he could.

But after talking with May about being there for each other, and her bringing up fatherhood, he finally felt okay letting someone know of his fear. And he was incredibly glad that he did. May had managed to make him feel so much better about everything. She was right about all of it. He didn't know about all of the 'best person' stuff, but she helped him realize that he would never leave his kids when he had them. It seemed so obvious now that someone else had been the one to say it.

It was a few moments before Ash broke his gaze and shook his head in disbelief, chuckling. May became confused by the man's reaction, having not been expecting it. After just a few moments, Ash's eyes met May's and seeing the confusion on her face, decided to speak.

"Are you sure we only met a week ago?" Ash questioned jokingly, causing May to smile as well. "Because I've told you things about myself that almost no one knows, and I feel perfectly comfortable in doing so. And you're helping me through them like you're a friend I've had since childhood."

May felt another wave of warmth run throughout her body as she processed Ash's words. She was touched by what he was saying. May simply smiled and giggled at the man in front of her, taking her hand off of his shoulder.

"Who knows? Maybe we knew each other in a past life or something." May teased, causing Ash to chuckle.

"Well, at least it would explain it." Ash joked back before his face turned slightly more serious and sincere. "But I guess it really doesn't matter. I'm just glad that I get to know you now."

The warmth in her body ran up to her face as a light blush overcame her features, a sincere smile overtaking her features.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." May said the only thing that came to mind, as her thoughts were clouded with pure happiness at simply getting the chance to know the man in front of her.

She felt like some stupid school girl with a crush, but she really didn't care at the moment. She was just glad she'd helped reassure him, and that he felt the same way she did about their quickly developed friendship.

"And I know it's an irrational fear but even despite that, it still nagged at me forever. I just wish I could've realized it sooner." Ash mentioned offhandedly, momentarily returning to the previous subject.

"It wasn't irrational..." May said, before realizing that she should rephrase what she meant. "I mean, it wasn't irrational to you. And it makes perfect sense as to why. What happened to you when you were young obviously affected you in a lot of ways, and it made you believe something that would never actually happen. But all that's important is that you realize that you don't have to be afraid of that anymore."

Ash smiled softly at the brunette before responding. "Thank you, May."

"Like I said Ash, I'm always going to be there for you when you need someone. You're so focused on helping everyone else that it seems like you forget about yourself sometimes." May laughed at her words despite knowing that this was very true of the man in front of her.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right about that. But that's what I have friends for, right? People like you and Brock. People who can remind me that I need help sometimes too." Ash explained his mindset.

May nodded her head in agreement. "Exactly. Friends are the people who'll always pick you up when your down. And it's really obvious that you and Brock are really close."

Ash smiled as he thought about his relationship with the older man. "Yeah, we are. He's without a doubt my best guy friend. And to be honest, I don't think I would've made it through my first journey had he not been there with me."

"What do you mean?" May inquired, curious as to the story behind Ash's statement.

"Well, like I said before I didn't exactly...plan my journey too well. When I left home, I had pretty much no idea how to navigate or cook. You should've seen me and Misty try to get through Viridian forest." Ash joked, causing May to laugh. "Plus, despite being 18, I was really still just a kid. I still am. Having Brock with me throughout the journey was invaluable. I'm an only child, and Brock is the closest thing I'll ever have to an older brother. And he plays that role with perfection."

"From being here with him this past week, it's easy to see that he's a good man. But I had no idea he'd made such an impression on you." May told Ash, whom nodded.

"Yeah, he's made a big impact on me. He taught me how to grow up, but also still be a kid, if that makes sense. And during a lot of our more dangerous travels, he was usually the only one to keep a level head. Misty usually didn't know what to do and me...well...I just wanted to rush in blindly and help wherever I could." Ash paused, laughing at himself causing May to do the same. "But Brock was the one who kept us straight. Even though he usually couldn't stop me from rushing into things like an idiot, he would always try."

"You try stopping someone as determined as you are." Brock's voice seemingly came out of nowhere. Both May and Ash turned their heads to the source of the voice to see Brock standing next to the cot that he was previously laying in.

They also took notice that it seemed Delia was still sleeping. Even though she'd been awoken by May's loud volume earlier, she'd managed to fall right back to sleep. Torchic also seemed to be awake, but appeared content just laying around for a bit longer.

"Good morning, Brock." May told the older man, receiving a good morning of her own.

Ash on the other hand wanted to respond to what he'd said first. "I know that I can be a lot to handle. Though, I do appreciate you trying."

Brock chuckled at his friend. "Anytime. Someone has to be there to at least try to convince you to get yourself killed. I mean, I leave you alone in Hoenn for one day and you go throwing yourself off a cliff!"

Both Ash and May laughed at the man's hilarious, yet very true statement. Ash wanted to retort, but he had absolutely no legs to stand on.

"What would you do without me." Brock added teasingly.

"Being completely honest with you, I don't know. That's why I'm glad you're still able to travel with me." Ash spoke truthfully, making the older man smile.

"Me too, Ash. What I felt when we all went our separate ways at the crossroads at the end of our Kanto journey is something I don't ever want to experience again." Brock revealed to the two in front of him.

Ash let a sad smile come across his face as he remembered the difficult moment. How he'd ran the remainder of the way home, crying his eyes out. Despite his feelings in that moment, he knew that even if they weren't always around each other, their friendship would always remain as true as when they were together.

"Yeah that was a hard day for all of us. I wish Misty was able to continue traveling with us." Ash mentioned. He then turned to May. "I think you two would've gotten along pretty well actually."

May did her best to smile and nod her head in agreement at Ash's words. Though, inside she felt the slightest bit of jealousy well up inside of her. The newly familiar feeling was starting to get on her nerves as she thought herself silly for even felling at the moment.

Brock had told her that Ash didn't have feelings for Misty, so that wasn't an issue. But hearing that he still wished to travel with her stung a bit, especially since he hadn't asked her to travel with him as of yet. This slightly discouraged her, but she still had every intention of bringing this matter up before they would leave her home to start their journeys.

"I'm with you there. Sure, she could be a bit much sometimes, but she really was a good friend. Still is. I just feel bad for her. She didn't want to stop traveling with us, but her sisters didn't want to run the gym anymore. It seems they thought their dreams were more important than Misty's" Brock stated.

"I just hope she's happy. It's not fair that her sisters forced her to take over the gym, but I suppose it will help her reach her dream of becoming the world's best water pokemon trainer. I hope that one day, she might be able to travel with us again, whenever that may be." Ash mentioned, earning a nod of agreement from Brock.

May paid close attention to the conversation going on in front of her. Despite the jealousy she felt when Misty was brought up, this conversation still gave her another window into Ash's life. Into Brock's life as well.

As this was going on, Delia began stirring awake. She sat up, gaining the other three's attention. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that all eyes were on her, making her a bit uncomfortable, especially since she'd only just woken up.

"Umm...Good morning!" Delia greeted, not even a hint of tiredness detectable in her voice; Delia had always been one who did well in the mornings.

Her greeting earned a response from everyone in the room, including the two pokemon.

"Did you sleep well, Mom?" Ash questioned.

Delia nodded, a toothless smile plastered on her face. "Yes I did, sweetie. This cot is really starting to grow on me, especially given the alternative."

"That reminds me." Brock stated, earning everyone's attention. The man looked specifically toward May. "You're sleeping on my cot tonight. You need a night where you don't have to be slouched over in a chair."

"But Brock, I really am fine. It's comfortable for m-"

"No buts! I'm not taking no for an answer."

May was doing her best to plead her case only to be cut of by Brock. What she wanted to, but couldn't tell Brock was currently circling her mind.

She was very worried that without the comfort Ash's touch provided her, she would have a hard time sleeping in this hospital. Hospitals really weren't here favorite place, and she would admit that she normally didn't feel comfortable in them in the slightest. But with Ash around, she felt okay and at night, his touch and presence seemed to calm her down enough to allow her to sleep. That was why she'd been comfortable sleeping in the chair; because that was the only place she could hold Ash's hand while they slept. But for tonight at least, it seemed she didn't have much of a choice.

May let out a sigh before responding. "Okay. But only for tonight! I promise you, I'm not lying when I say that I'm comfortable sleeping in the chair and resting my head on the bed. After tonight, you guys can have the cots for the rest of the time we're here."

Brock looked to Delia, both agreeing to her terms. After all the times she'd said it, they were starting to believe that May really was comfortable in the position she'd been sleeping in, despite how it looked.

"Okay, May. But I think you might regret saying that after you sleep on the cot." Brock said teasingly, causing the brunette to smile. "It does wonders for your back."

For some reason, May's back had yet to become sore in the slightest, even after spending so many nights slouched over in a chair. She simply counted her self lucky and didn't think too much of it.

The group went on to perform their morning rituals, whatever they might be. Now that this conversation was out of the way, the group sent Brock to grab some breakfast. Although Ash and May didn't have nearly as much food as the previous day, watching them eat was still a sight to see.

They then spent a while just chatting with each other. At one point, Brock opted to go take a shower, with the others saying that they'd do it later. They simply chatted away, waiting for the time Professor Birch would show up. While they were waiting for the man, Doctor Miller came by to put Ash through some more physical therapy, which went extremely well.

When the professor did show up, Mightyena and her cubs in tow, he proved true to his word as he'd brought a couple decks of cards, and a few bored games. The entertainment was welcomed with open arms as it would finally give them something to do rather than just talking from morning until night. While they all enjoyed each other's company and valued the conversations they had, things did get mundane and boring every once in a while.

Professor Birch stayed for a few hours, talking about the things he was currently working on in the lab. He was apparently doing a lot of field research and he would have Mightyena come along as to assist him, all the while protecting him from other wild pokemon. This was surely beneficial to him and made it so he wouldn't end up in a tree again...

The rest of the day went by slightly faster than the others before it. After Professor Birch left, the rest of the gang got their showers in. They then proceeded to play card games and chat up until it was time for them to go to sleep.

After getting completely ready for bed, Brock took up his spot in a chair, closer to the foot of the bed than May had been and put his head down. It didn't take long for the man to fall asleep.

Delia was the same way. Once her head hit the pillow on the cot, it was only a matter of time before she drifted off to dreamland as well.

Now, all that were left awake were Ash and May. It just seemed in their nature that they had more energy than Brock and Delia A the moment, neither of them were very tired.

"Are you tired, May." Ash questioned, keeping his voice low. Though, it was still above the level of a whisper.

"No. Are you?" May inquired.

"Not at all." Ash responded. After he said this, May grabbed another chair and pulled it up next to Ash's bed. Though, she placed it much closer to the part of the bed where his head was station than when she would sleep on the chair. This was a better way for them to be able to talk to one another without having to worry about being too loud as they were further from Brock than they would've been if May had been in her normal position.

"Well...Only five more days until you get out of here!" May teased, faux excitement evident in her voice.

Ash scoffed at the woman's words. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me. Though since you're adamant about staying by my side until I leave this place, it's just as bad for you as it is for me."

"Ah, it's not all that bad. It gives us time to talk and really get to know each other. Plus we get all the 'fantastic' hospital food we can eat!." May joked, causing them both to snicker quietly.

"Hey, I didn't see you complaining when you were scarfing down dinner." Ash retorted with a joke of his own.

May crossed her arms and let out a scoff of her own. "Please, like you're any better."

The two couldn't help but laugh quietly once again before they fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments.

After a few seconds had passed, Ash thought of something he wanted to bring up again, just to be sure about it.

"May?" Ash said, earning the girl's attention. "Are you sure you don't want to start your journey already? As much as I love having you here with me, I don't want to hold you back from accomplishing your dream."

May smiled softly at Ash's kind nature before she formulated a response. "Ash I promise, you're not holding me back from anything. I'm staying here because I want to. You getting out of here is much more important than me starting my journey. Plus, I really enjoy hanging around and talking with everyone, you especially."

Ash let a smile of his own appear on his face as he processed May's words. "I'm glad. And I really like hanging around and talking with everyone too, you especially."

May felt happiness fill her as Ash used the same statement she had to him, meaning he was on the same page as her. The two then fell into another comfortable silence.

May allowed her gaze to look out the window, while Ash's eyes were looking toward the ceiling. Both seemed to be thinking of various things. For some reason, Ash began thinking about the accident once again.

His life had literally ended just a couple of days ago, only to be resumed again. It wasn't lost on him that this was the second time he had died, only to be brought back to life by some miracle. He'd even been told by the doctors that he probably shouldn't have been able to even survive the initial fall.

So how was he alive?

Why was he alive?

Little did he know, May was thinking about the same thing; it was an odd scenario, but their minds just seemed to be in the same place as night was a perfect time to think about everything and anything, especially things as major as this event was.

May forced herself out of her head momentarily and brought her gaze back to Ash, noticing that he was still staring at the ceiling, obviously lost in thought. Deciding she'd had enough of the silence she spoke.

"What're you thinking about, Ash?" May inquired, still keeping her voice relatively low due to the sleeping people and pokemon around them.

May's voice snapped Ash out of his thoughts. He brought his gaze down to meet the brunette's eyes, only just processing what she'd asked.

Ash smiled toothlessly before responding. "Nothing major. I was just thinking about the accident again. How despite the odds, I managed to survive somehow."

May's eyes widened in surprise as Ash spoke. Ash, noticing this, looked at the woman in confusion.

"That's so weird" May started slowly. "I was thinking about the exact same thing."

Ash chuckled lightly. "Huh...that is kind of weird. But anyway, that's what I was thinking about. I'm just wondering why I've been given these second chances. I just don't understand why me of all people has been so lucky. Why no matter how bleak the situations I've found myself in seem, I've always made it out okay. I just don't get it."

May pondered over what Ash had said here. She quickly remembered all the stories she'd been told by Brock of their past adventures. Ash had seemingly beat the odds in every scenario he was in.

The incident with Mewtwo stuck out the most in her mind. It was almost unbelievable that this most recent incident wasn't the first thing that'd killed Ash. He'd actually died before, only to be brought back by the tears of pokemon. He'd died twice, only to be saved both times by what had to be considered a miracle.

As she continued thinking about this, May's mind went to the story of Ash's adventure with Lugia and the legendary birds of Kanto. She remembered vividly the prophecy that Brock had told her about. How it mentioned Ash by name...

It was then that a theory popped into her mind. Of course she couldn't be sure, but it was something. She decided she should get Ash's opinion on what she was thinking.

"Ash." May said to Ash, who'd seemingly fallen back into deep thought. Though, May now held his undivided attention once again. "Do you think...Do you think that the reason you managed to survive is because you might be Arceus' chosen one?"

Ash eyes widened in surprise at the beautiful girl's words. For some reason, he hadn't even considered this. He was also surprised that May knew about him potentially being Arceus' chosen hero. Though, he was aware that Brock had told her the stories of their past adventures, so he really shouldn't have been shocked in the slightest.

"So Brock told you about that, huh?" Ash started, earning a nod from May. Ash then took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair as his hat was currently off for the night. "I don't know. Honestly, I have a hard enough time just believing that I might actually be Arceus' chosen one."

May cocked her head in confusion. "But why? Brock told me the prophesy. It mentions you by name."

"Wouldn't you have a hard time believing that some ancient prophesy mentions you and points to you being this generations chosen one?" Ash questioned rhetorically. Seeing that May couldn't find a good response to his question, Ash let out a sigh before continuing. "I know that it mentions me, that the word 'ash' in the prophesy more than likely was a name rather than the noun. And I know that there have been a lot of indicators that this might be true, such as what Slowking and Lugia told me. I mean, I've met more legendary pokemon than most people could even dream of!"

"Yeah, those stories are so amazing. It's almost unbelievable all you've seen and done." May told the man in front of her.

Ash scoffed. "You're telling me. I lived all of those things and even I have a hard time believing them..."

The two shared a chuckle at Ash words before becoming serious again. The whole 'chosen one' thing was a really strange topic for Ash. How does one react to finding out that there's a very good chance that you're some fabled chosen one, hand picked by Arceus himself?

"It's just a lot to take in, even so far removed from the incident that sparked this whole thing. I still have a hard time grasping how this could even be possible. I mean as far as most people know, the whole 'chosen one' story is just that, a story. It's not supposed to be real...but it is. To know that Arceus, a god, very well might've deemed me to be pure hearted enough to make me his chosen hero...it's just so hard to accept." Ash finished again. He was really just venting at the moment. This situation always served to confuse him immensely.

"So to answer your question...maybe. Maybe the reason I'm still here is because Arceus is looking out for me. That I'm his chosen one. What is the chosen one even supposed to do anyway?" Ash finished with an open ended question, finally accepting that this might be the reason why he'd managed to survive such incredible odds and experience things most people couldn't even imagine.

May was looking slightly downward, the look on her face telling Ash that she was thinking deeply. After a few moments of silence, May brought her gaze up to meet Ash's.

"...What you're doing." May said, confusing Ash greatly. Seeing the confusion on his face, May continued. "What the chosen one is supposed to do. I think that it's to do what you're doing."

May's answer only served to confuse Ash further. "What do you mean?"

May thought for a few moments on how to respond before actually doing so. "Well...you said yourself that one of your main goals in life is to help any and all people and pokemon you can. Doesn't that seem like something someone who was chosen by Arceus to be a hero of this world would do?"

As May came back with a rhetorical question of her own, Ash pondered over her words. She did have a good point, and Ash realized this immediately.

"And you're the kindest, most pure hearted person I've ever met, so that adds up as well." May stated thoughtfully, causing Ash to blush at the praise. "Based on the stories, it seems that you have everything that the chosen one is supposed to have. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out you are Arceus' chosen one. Plus...I don't think Arceus could even begin to hope to find someone better than you for this."

Even though Ash had known for almost a year that he could potentially be the chosen one, hearing someone else list out all the reasons why he most likely was hit him like a ton of bricks. May's rationale was forcing away a lot of the doubt that Ash held in his mind about the topic, which he realized he'd been using almost as a defense mechanism; the prospect of being the chosen one was always so scary and intimidating, and Ash's uncertainly made it easier to manage.

Ash remembered the stories from when he was young. The chosen one was supposed to be a protector of the legendary pokemon of the world, and given all the times that Ash had helped legendary pokemon on his journey, it just made sense. The chosen one was supposed to help both people and pokemon alike, and that was one of Ash's main goals in life. It all added up. When he really thought about it, he did have a lot of the qualities that the chosen one was required to have. The pieces just fit together so perfectly.

"No matter how long I've known about this, it's still really heavy stuff. It's a lot, and I mean a lot to take in." Ash mentioned, causing May to nod her head in agreement.

"To be honest, I didn't even believe it when Brock he first told me. I mean, 'the chosen one' was a story my parents used to read to me when I was a kid, not a real thing. But I knew Brock wouldn't lie to me. And I trust you completely. Plus, everything adds up. It makes total sense." May told the man in front of her.

Ash barely registered what May was saying as he was still lost in thought. If he really was Arceus' chosen one, than that meant that Arceus' was more than likely watching over him. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he couldn't die, but maybe Arceus had helped him survive some of the more sticky situations he'd found himself in...

After being forced to think about the possible reality of the subject more than ever before, a big question popped into his mind.

"If Arceus really has been looking out for me...then why did he let my father leave?" Ash thought as anger welled up inside of him. Why did he let the man who should've been raising him walk out on his family, never to return? What kind of god would do that to the person that is supposedly so important to them?

Most people who thought Arceus to be a god believed that the pokemon doesn't get involved in life's natural progression. That being said with the possibility of being the chosen one, Ash thought that maybe, Arceus would make an exception for him. Though, he was fairly certain that this would be something he would never truly know.

Ash felt a great deal of anger fill his body at his thoughts. Though, he quickly forced himself to get over it. He would never be able to find out the answer. Not unless he ever actually got the chance to meet Arceus. If that ever happened, no matter how unlikely it may be, he would be sure to ask him.

"Ash, are you okay?" May question, once again snapping Ash back to reality. May noticed Ash's face contort in anger and she wanted to make sure that he was alright.

Ash, not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer, smiled genuinely at the brunette after forcing the thought out of his head. "Yeah I'm fine, May. Thank you."

May accepted Ash's words. She felt that she could read Ash fairly well and as far as she could tell, he was being sincere in saying he was fine. She smiled at the man before Ash let out a big yawn.

May couldn't help but giggle at the man in front of her. "Looks like you were more tired than you thought."

Ash let out a chuckle of his own. "Yeah, looks like it. I guess we should be getting to bed. Try to have a good nights sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

May smiled at the man and shared a goodnight of her own. Ash then proceeded to lay down from his previous seated position in an effort to get ready to fall sleep.

Seeing Ash close his eyes, May let out a quiet sigh as she stood from her chair, planning on making her way over to the cot that would house her for the night. She was tired, but she was still worried that she would have trouble falling asleep.

Even despite the fact that she was in other people's presence, she still felt slightly uncomfortable being in a hospital at nighttime. The only thing that'd brought her comfort over the past week was sleeping closely to Ash and holding his hand.

While Ash was still close by, she missed the warmness and the comfort that Ash's grasp provided her. May tried her best to settle into the cot, tossing and turning restlessly hoping that maybe, a different position would help her sleep. After 5 minutes of trying to force herself to sleep, she all but gave up. She knew it normally took longer than this to fall asleep, but she could tell that this was going nowhere

She decided that maybe a walk would help. She'd enjoyed it the night before but then again, she did have Delia to chat with. Though despite this, she stood to her feet, still undecided as to if she would go for a walk or not.

"May?"

Before she could take a step, May heard a familiar voice whisper to her through the darkness. As her eyes had long ago adjusted to the low light, she followed the voice and could clearly see that it had come from Ash.

Ash sat himself up again, looking at May with concern. Despite feeling tired, he was finding it a bit difficult to fall asleep. And when he heard shuffling, he looked to see what was happening only to find May standing from her cot, appearing uncomfortable. She might have just needed to go to the restroom, but Ash thought he should still check to make sure she was alright.

"Ash? What're you still doing up?" May questioned as she approached the man, hoping to get closer so they would be able to hear each other better.

"I'm not sure. I'm just having a bit of trouble falling asleep. It'll come at some point though. I just heard you rustling around and wanted to make sure you were okay." Ash revealed to the girl.

May smiled at the sentiment. "Thank you Ash, but I-I'm fine."

May knew that she didn't sound convincing whatsoever and even if she had, she doubted Ash would've fallen for to anyway; for as well as she could read him, he could do the same with her.

Ash's look told May that he knew she wasn't being truthful. Seeing she wasn't getting out of this, May sighed and approached Ash closer.

"I'm just having a lot of trouble going to sleep..." May said cryptically.

Ash became slightly confused by May's response. "Okay...If you just lay down, I'm sure sleep will come to you sooner or later. I'm having trouble sleeping too, but there's no reason to be worried about it."

May felt slightly embarrassed about revealing the reason she was having trouble sleeping, but she thought that Ash would be able to help her. Sure, she could just pull up a chair and sleep as she normally did but if Brock saw that she hadn't slept on the cot at least once, she feared he would make her her to do it again another night. Whether that was rational or not, she didn't know, but she didn't want to risk it either way.

"The reason I can't sleep is because...I'm uncomfortable being in hospital at night. I had to stay a few nights in a hospital when I was young and I didn't have a very good experience..." May revealed to the man, who looked at her sympathetically, but also with a bit of confusion.

"But you've slept here for over a week. How did you do it those nights?" Ash inquired, very much confused.

Mat forced herself to try to get over her embarrassment. She knew she shouldn't be embarrassed around Ash anyway. Though, this was something that would surely be embarrassing, no matter what. She accepted that this feeling would be present, but she would just move forward anyway.

May let out another sigh before responding. "When I would sleep in the chair, I was comfortable. Not because of the position I was in, but because I was...close to you." May told Ash timidly, making Ash eyes widen slightly. "Holding your hand is what made me comfortable enough to fall asleep every night."

"But why?" Ash was curious as to why May felt the way she did, why he was the only thing that made her comfortable here.

May shrugged her shoulders, a blush, which was invisible to Ash in the darkness, plastered on her face. "Well...I mean...you saved my life. After that, I just felt so...safe, so comfortable, when you were around. And those feelings of comfort have only grown stronger as I've gotten to know you and we became closer."

Upon hearing the brunette's explanation, Ash let a smile overtake his face. "I'm glad that you feel that way, May. I'm happy that I can help you feel comfortable. I'll always protect you, and I'm happy that you know that."

May smiled back at Ash and nodded her head. "I just don't think I'll be able to get to sleep without doing what I've been doing every night we've been here. But I promised Brock I'd sleep on the cot, and I don't like to go back on my promises."

Ash nodded his head, respecting that she was one to always kept her promises. Ash then thought about something that would make May comfortable while she slept on the cot. It took a few moments, but Ash eventually thought that he'd come up with a halfway decent idea.

Without saying a words, Ash reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his hat. He gave it a once over and brushed his hand on the bill, hoping that it would clean it slightly despite the fact that it wasn't actually dirty. Ash smiled as he looked at the emblem on the front before looking at May, who was watching him curiosly.

Before Ash spoke, he outstretched his hand that held the hat in front of May, motioning for her to take it. Seeing what he was doing, May grabbed the hat.

"That's the hat I plan on wearing while I travel Hoenn. My other hat has seen some incredible things, and I'm hoping I'll get to make just as many memories while wearing that one. My hats are pretty important to me, as weird as that sounds. It's kind of like a part of me. So I'm thinking that maybe if you hold onto my hat while laying down, it might help you get to sleep." Ash finished happily, proud that he thought he'd figured out a great solution to the problem.

May turned the hat so that the front was facing her. She rubbed her thumb over the emblem a few times as she thought about things. She remembered how Max had wanted the hat that Ash had made famous in the Kanto League. And this hat would surely have the same fate when he competed in the Hoenn League. It really did seem like this hat was a part of Ash. Even just holding it now comforted her immensely.

May's stopped thumbing the emblem on the hat and looked up to meet Ash smiling face. May then shot forward and captured Ash in what was admittedly an awkward hug as Ash was sitting and having to lean over the side of the bed to do so.

After a few moments, the two broke apart and shared a smile.

"Thanks, Ash. This was a great idea." May thanked the man genuinely, happy that he'd come up with such a good solution.

"Hey, even I can have one of those every once in a while." Ash joked, causing both people to laugh quietly.

Now that May was feeling more comfortable, she also began feeling very tired. Before she went back to her cot, she smiled at Ash once more.

"Goodnight, Ash." May spoke sweetly.

"Goodnight, May. Sweet dreams." Ash responded softly.

With the goodnights having been said, May made her way back over to her cot. She lay on her back, the hat laying on her chest with both hands atop it. It was barely a few moments before she fell asleep, a content smile set on her face.


A/N: As some of you are probabl happy to hear, next chapter Ash and the gang will finally be leaving the hospital. Despite what anyone may think, I'm very pleased with how this 'hospital arc' went down. A lot of important character development happened, relationships were strengthened immensely, and bonds were deepened beyond belief. Thanks for reading and please follow, favorite and review! See ya!