WOW. I actually got a fairly fast update in! Yay yay yay :P

I'm on break this week (woohoo) and I'd like to get the next chapter done by the end of it. I am going away for a bit, but it's just to look at colleges, and I will have my laptop with me, so there'll be plenty of time to write at night.

Anyways, you're all (hopefully!) anxious to read this chapter. This is where things are really going to get going, so I'll shut up now and let you guys read!


Misty sat in the doctor's office at the Lava Conference stadium, grinning boldly.

"How can you be so happy?" Ash yawned, rubbing his eyes, "it's barely ten in the morning."

"How can you not be so happy?" Misty's eyes widened slightly, "I'm pregnant!"

"Maybe."

"Why are you being so negative?" Misty folded her arms and scowled. Ash sighed. He and Misty's relationship finally seemed to be on the mend from their massive fight, and he didn't want to mess that up.

"I'm not being negative. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't."

As Misty continued to give Ash a somewhat aggravated, although at this point more confused glance, a doctor walked into the room. She looked about middle aged, and quite cheery.

"Hello you two!" The doctor greeted, her words high pitched and strung together like a song, "I'm Doctor Sydney. So, you must be Misty," she smiled at the beaming red head.

"That's right," Misty nodded affirmatively.

"And you're Ash Ketchum," the doctor turned to look at him, "the Pokémon master!"

"Uh, yeah," Ash laughed nervously, strands of raven hair falling over his dark brown eyes.

"So," she continued, "what brings you here?"

"I think I'm pregnant," Misty responded, "I took a quick test, and it came up positive. Also, I've been having the same symptoms that I had when I was pregnant the first time around."

"I see," the doctor nodded, "and what would those symptoms be, exactly?"

"I'm nauseous, tired, a little sore, and I've been having some dizzy spells."

"Dizzy spells?" Doctor Sydney looked a little concerned.

"When I'm pregnant, things are a little…off in my body," Misty wasn't entirely sure of how to explain her problem, "it's a genetic issue."

"Ah, I see," the doctor's expression softened, and she retrieved a plastic cup, "well, I think we should start off with a more accurate test."

"Okay," Misty nodded. She knew how all of this worked, thanks to her previous experience. Taking the cup, Misty walked out of the room and down the hallway towards the bathroom they had passed on their way to the room.

XXX

About fifteen minutes later, Ash and Misty found themselves sitting in Doctor Sydney's office, waiting for the results of the test.

"Oh, so I came up with some really good names last night!" Misty trilled, leaning in towards Ash. "For a girl, I was thinking either Ava or Brynn. And for a boy, the name Luke is really cute. What do you think?"

"Huh?" Ash responded mindlessly. He hadn't really been listening. "Uh, sure. Whatever you think."

Misty was about to ask Ash which names he'd like, when Doctor Sydney walked into the room. Misty turned back around in her chair to face the doctor's desk. She became a little concerned, however, when she noticed the complex look on the physician's face.

"Is something wrong doctor?" Misty asked worriedly. Ash raised his eyebrows and finally began to pay attention.

"Well…" she sighed and looked down at her desk for a few moments before looking back up at Ash and Misty, "I'm not entirely sure of how to say this." Ash and Misty began to look extremely panicked. Misty feared that there was something terribly wrong with the baby, and Ash was terrified that something was terribly wrong with Misty.

"What is it?" Ash finally asked.

Taking in a deep breath, the doctor explained to Misty, "the test you took came back negative." She averted her gaze so it was between both Misty and Ash now, "which means you're not pregnant."

After a long, uncomfortable silence, Misty finally asked shakily, "b…but how? I…I took that quick test…and it was positive…"

"Sometimes those tests aren't very accurate," the doctor's tone was sympathetic, "I'm very sorry."

Ash couldn't help but to feel relieved. When he looked towards Misty, however, his heart practically stopped.

She looked absolutely devastated.

XXX

Walking back to the hotel was a silent, depressing matter. Misty was busy staring at the ground and clenching her hands into tightly balled fists, digging her nails deeply into her palms.

"Misty," Ash broke the silence. He said her name so tenderly and with such love, he was almost certain she would jump right into his arms. Instead, she didn't even bother to look up.

"Misty," Ash tried again, "look at me."

No response.

"We can try again one day," Ash reached for Misty's hand, which was still forming a fist, "I promise you that sometime in the future, if you really want, we can try our best to have another baby."

Still no response.

"I understand how upset you are…" Ash continued. Surprisingly, Misty finally spoke up, interrupting Ash no less, and her voice was incredibly angry.

"I don't think you do," Misty stormed quietly, ripping her hand out of Ash's.

"What? Of course I do!"

"You said nothing in that office," Misty growled, "you just sat there, and did nothing. Your facial expression didn't even change."

"Misty, that isn't true!" Ash tried to keep his voice from wavering. Unfortunately for him, Misty was excellent at picking up lies.

"You didn't want another baby," Misty looked ahead of herself, "you're glad I'm not pregnant."

"Misty…"

"Don't lie to me!" She stomped her foot and turned to face him. Ash stared into her emerald green eyes, which were dulled with emotional pain and severe anger.

"Fine," Ash sighed, "I didn't feel ready for another baby right now. I mean, Aiden and Michelle are only two years old, Misty. You and I both work; very important jobs no less. You really think we would have been able to handle three kids all under the age of four?"

"We would've been fine," Misty seethed.

"Misty, we still struggle with the two we have now!" Ash was beginning to sound aggravated, "how many times has something happened with them where we don't know what to do? And we have to run to my Mom for help? Or sometimes even your parents? We're only twenty three, Misty! I feel like sometimes you forget that."

"I know perfectly well how old we are!" Misty snapped back, "Which is why I don't want to wait forever to have another baby!"

"What do you mean by that?" Ash folded his arms.

"I don't want to have a baby when I'm much older, Ash. I want the energy to play with them and run around with them. I need to be the very best mother that I can be!"

"You're acting like you're way older than you are," Ash shook his head, "you'll still have plenty of energy by the time you're thirty!"

"You want me to wait until I'm thirty to have another kid?" Misty fumed.

"Maybe not exactly thirty. But I think it might be smart to wait until Aiden and Michelle have left on their journeys to have another baby."

"That's completely stupid," Misty's words burnt like fire, and Ash shot her a glance. Looking her over, he gasped, and she became even more agitated. "What're you looking at me like that for?"

"You're lying," Ash blinked, "now you're lying to me!"

"What? I am not!"

"I'm not buying it Misty," he folded his arms again; "tell me the real reason you have to be so young for our next baby."

Misty bit her lip, and Ash stared her down expectantly. Finally sighing, Misty rushed out the words, "because maybe I want to have more than three kids."

"…what?" Ash was wide eyed.

"See!" Misty groaned, stomping away, "that's why I lied to you! I knew you wouldn't understand!"

"Don't you think more than three is a little much?" Ash followed after her.

"No, but obviously you do," Misty snarled without turning around.

"Misty, I think you're being completely unreasonable!" Ash blurted out. Misty stopped in her tracks and turned around very slowly, her eyes blazing like fire. Ash knew he was now in serious trouble.

"Do you realize what I've just been put through?" Misty asked steadily but angrily. Ash blinked but said nothing in response. "I thought that I was pregnant, Ash. I thought we were going to have a new baby on the way for us to love and adore the way we love and adore Aiden and Michelle. Then I find out that's not true and even worse, that you didn't even want one. Do you know how much this is killing me?"

"I…I didn't…"

"Just forget it," Misty shook her head and turned back around in order to resume walking, "I don't know what's been going on with you, and why you're changing so much, but I just wish it would stop. I liked the old you so much better."

XXX

"I can't believe we're doing this. Again."

Ash was sprawled out across the extra bed in Brock's hotel room. Brock walked out of the bathroom, toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. Pulling it out, he asked, "Isn't this a little worse?"

"I think it's pretty much the same thing," Ash narrowed his eyes, "she's ticked off, and I get thrown out of our hotel room."

"I wouldn't say she's ticked off," Brock replied, "I think she's disappointed in you. And that's worse than her being ticked off."

"Damnit," Ash swore under his breath, "you're right." He punched the mattress, causing Pikachu to jump fearfully and subsequently glare at his trainer.

"Pikapi! Pika!" Pikachu shouted angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry Pikachu!" Ash cried, hugging the electric type close to him, "I didn't mean to startle you. Sorry little buddy."

"Has she at least let you seen Aiden and Michelle since this afternoon's incident?" Brock inquired as he stepped back into the bathroom.

"Yeah, I was able to sneak away to my Mom's room," Ash's tone actually became more downtrodden than before.

"Well, you sure don't sound happy about it," Brock called back.

"Because, for some reason, Aiden and Michelle hate me."

Brock once again walked out of the bathroom, but this time headed over to his own bed. He was wearing his typical sleepwear, a tank top and boxers, and was now busy pulling the sheets off of the mattress. "There's no way they hate you, Ash. You're their father, and you take such good care of them. They adore you."

"Well, something obviously happened in the past few days," Ash sighed, "I don't know what, but they really don't like me anymore."

"What makes you think that they hate you?"

"Today, when I went to go see them, they screamed," Ash shook his head sadly, "I tried to give Michelle a hug, and she started crying. Aiden glared at me the entire time. And when I tried to talk to them, they wouldn't respond."

"They were probably just cranky," Brock tried, "they're only two. They say that's the worst age, you know. So it could just be a phase as well."

"When I went to visit them yesterday before the tournament, they ran away from me," Ash continued, "you're going to tell me that's still them being cranky?"

"Maybe not," Brock tapped his chin, "but like I said, it could be a phase. Those take awhile."

"Now I almost wish Misty had been pregnant," Ash grumbled, "then we wouldn't be having this problem."

"You two are in no way ready for another child. I think this is a pretty clear message."

"Probably." Ash rolled over onto his front, and began to think aloud, "I didn't know Misty was having all those symptoms. I thought she only assumed she was pregnant because of that one fainting spell. I guess I can understand that cheap test being inaccurate, but why would she be having all those symptoms?"

"Sometimes when a person really thinks they have something, they start experiencing the symptoms," Brock explained, "maybe, because the test was positive, she really believed she was pregnant and therefore began to go through all the motions."

"I guess so," Ash leaned his head onto his folded arms and sighed sadly. Something still felt strange to him, but he couldn't figure out what.

XXX

"No! I no wanna!"

"But Aiden, I just want a hug is all!"

"NO!"

Misty sighed and lowered her arms. She had been trying to talk, play, and just interact with Aiden and Michelle for the past fifteen minutes. So far, nothing had worked. Instead, it had just been a mess of the two toddlers screaming and crying, and Misty begging them to cooperate.

"Michelle," Misty was frowning as she addressed the young red head, "are you sure you don't want your crackers from before?"

The little girl glared at her mother, slowly shaking her head no. Misty whined softly and buried her head into her hands. Why were they acting this way?

"Alright then," Misty shrugged, "if you guys don't want to play, then I guess its bedtime."

"NO!" The twins screamed in unison.

"You two aren't doing anything but yelling!" Misty folded her arms, "you're both being awfully naughty tonight, and I think you both need a good night's sleep."

"No sweep!" Michelle fumed.

"Not wif' you!" Aiden yelled.

Misty could feel her heart falter. "Wh…what do you mean not with me?"

"We no wanna stay hewe," Michelle nearly whispered, "we wanna stay wif' gramma."

"What?" Misty's frown deepened, "but…don't you two want to stay here? I've hardly gotten to spend any time with my little sweethearts."

"No," Aiden repeated.

Misty could feel tears beginning to fill her eyes, but she didn't see much of a choice. Aiden and Michelle wouldn't be happy if they stayed with her. She had no choice but to put them back in Delia's room for the night.

But why were they acting this way?

XXX

Just past midnight, little Michelle Ketchum's eyes fluttered open. She sat up, looking around the dark hotel room. Her grandmother was fast asleep in the other bed, and next to her, Aiden was snoring quietly. He slept in the same fashion as their father: limbs spread everywhere and often snoring like a machine.

As she began to lie down again, a creaking noise caused her to shoot up again. Nervously pulling the sheets up over her eyes, Michelle shivered for a few seconds before slowly lowering the soft covers. Looking around the room once more, she still saw nothing out of the ordinary.

The noise returned as Michelle tried to settle down again, but this time, it was louder. Shrieking, the little red head grabbed at her brother and began to shake him violently.

"Up Aiden!" She whispered, "up!"

"No," he murmured softly.

"Up! Now!" Michelle squeaked, throwing herself on him. Aiden yelped in pain and sat up, Michelle quickly covering his mouth.

"What you doing?" Aiden growled lowly at her. The noise sounded again, and Michelle gasped, hugging the young raven haired boy tightly. She could feel him quivering, but knew he was going to put on a brave face. Aiden never liked showing his weaknesses. Jumping out of bed, the boy began to investigate. Michelle sat at the edge of the mattress, her little hands clutching the sheets in a terrified fashion.

"Caweful Aiden," she called out to him quietly.

As he continued to look, the new noise sounded. This one was the loudest of them all, and more than just a simple creak. It was far harsher, far heavier, and far more terrifying.

Michelle leapt off the bed, rushing over to her brother. While the two siblings often fought and argued, she couldn't help but to feel much safer with him. Aiden always protected Michelle, no matter what.

"This is stwange," Aiden mumbled. Michelle nodded silently. When Aiden looked up towards the window, he gasped and jumped back slightly.

"What?" Michelle blinked. Aiden pointed to the window, causing Michelle to look now too. In turn, she shrieked and squeezed Aiden even more tightly.

Right outside, standing on the outer window sill, was a dark figure. It was gigantic, standing on all fours. Its long fur was flowing gently in the late night breeze, and its eyes were glowing a gentle white. Aiden breathed out and began walking towards the window.

"Aiden! No!" Michelle hissed. But the young boy was too mesmerized to listen. He climbed up to the window, pressing his nose and hands against the cool glass in order to observe the strange figure. The creature lowered its nose to the window latch and flipped it open. Slowly, the glass raised as the creature pushed it along, and Aiden watched with shimmering eyes.

"Wow…" Aiden murmured. He looked back at the figure, who in turn breathed out loudly and knelt down, inviting Aiden onto its back. Grinning, Aiden crawled out the open window and climbed upon the creature's back, grabbing fistfuls of fur to ensure he was steady.

"Aiden, come back inside!" Michelle shrieked, hurrying over to the open window.

"Michelle, come on!" Aiden urged.

"No!" Michelle shook her head furiously.

"Why not?"

"What about Mama an' Dada? They miss us!"

"They no care," Aiden narrowed his eyes, "'member?" Michelle blinked, but then furrowed her brow and nodded. Clambering out the window, she attempted to join Aiden, but was having serious difficulties with the task. Breathing out again, the creature easily lifted Michelle up with its teeth and placed her in front of her brother. With that, it took off, darting from building to building as the children held onto it as tightly as humanly possible.

"We can wive vewy happy now?" Michelle turned around and asked Aiden.

"Yeah," the boy nodded with a happy smile, "no more fights."


Baah, don't hate me :P I absolutely adore writing pregnant Misty, but it doesn't fit in with this story. That was just a little diversion for what's to come. But don't worry. If you like that type of story, my next long fic after this one will involve an expectant Misty. But we've got to get through this story first!

So, where have Aiden and Michelle gone? More importantly, with whom have they gone? And how will Ash and Misty react?

Until next time, farewell my dear readers! Remember to leave a review, because they make me happy and, more importantly, motivate me!