I'm back for another installment of "The Lake House"! I would imagine at this point there will be 1-2, MAYBE 3 more chapters left of this story. After that, I hope to write my first sequel since my return, which will be for "Christmas"...just in TIME for Christmas I hope. Haven't thought it out too much yet, gonna have to do that soon! But I digress, let's get on with this now shall we? This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Jenni-Lyn Watson, a young girl and close to home New Yorker who was taken from us at a young age. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

-EVAN AAML

As the hours passed, it seemed as if everything was calm once again. The wind and rain had not stopped, but did slow down considerably; making it barely noticeable. Brock remained in the bathroom for some time to stop the bleeding from his head and cover it up with bandages. May's cut was already patched up, but it was slowly bleeding through the bandages. Because of Dawn's condition, everyone remained somber, waiting for news from those watching over her. Every once in awhile someone would go upstairs and wait outside the master bedroom, where she was being taken cared of. Downstairs, those who were not being tended to where simply sitting by, waiting for the news. Ash and Misty sat on the love seat while Team Rocket sat on the bigger couch. May and Drew each sat on a chair. The only noise that could be heard was the rain and the ticking of a clock in the room. Misty leaned back on the couch and sighed.

"You know, I sort of feel guilty over all of this", Misty said. May and Drew looked at her confused while Ash nodded.

"I know what you mean, if it weren't for us, no one would of gotten hurt", Ash stated. May sat up a bit and shook her head.

"No way. If we were worried about getting hurt, we wouldn't have gone out to find you. We knew what we were getting into, none of this is your fault", May replied. Ash and Misty looked at her. Ash sort of smiled.

"Thanks for trying to make us feel better, but I don't think it's gonna be that easy. Once we find out Dawn's condition, we may be at ease", Ash explained. May nodded. She then stood up.

"You're right. I'm gonna go upstairs and wait for her", May decided. She walked by, gave Drew a small kiss on the forehead, and then made her way up the stairs. Everyone else remained quiet for a while. The rain seemed to get quieter and quieter. Soon, it couldn't be heard at all. Drew looked out the windows and could finally see light. He slowly stood up and walked to the front door. He put his hand on the handle and took a deep breath, prepared for anything. He turned the knob and opened the door. The sound of water dripping off of the roof and birds finally coming out of hiding could be heard. Drew looked around, the lake was completely still, no wind what so ever. The sun was out, but was already beginning to set, it was late in the day. The once built shed was still in pieces, the majority of it under the fallen tree. Mud was everywhere and some signs of what had happened only hours ago were still there. Drew took one final look around before closing the door. He turned to the others.

"Well finally the storm stopped. It looks like hell out there, but it's quiet at least", Drew said. Everyone nodded. Just then, Brock walked into the room. His head was covered in white bandages. He looked tired but better.

"How is everyone?", Brock asked. They all replied with "well" or "fine".

"How about you?", Ash asked. Brock felt the place on the back of his head where he was cut open.

"I tried my best to patch it up considering I'm not at a hospital. I'll see a doctor when we go home, but I don't know if I'll need stitches just yet", Brock replied. He then looked forward and could see the change of the weather from the large lake-front windows. "I see the storm finally let up".

"Yeah, everything's quiet now", Drew replied. Brock walked past the gang and to the windows. He looked outside and saw everything.

"What a trip this has turned out to be. I never would of thought that a little vacation for all of us would turn into such action. Hehe, I was sort of looking forward to a break from all of this; foolish of me to think that going here would make me relax", Brock joked. The others sort of smiled.

"Yeah right? I thought for sure that after I invited everyone that we would all have a great weekend together, nothing but fun in the sun and a break from all of the training", Ash said.

"I guess...we're just not lucky with that, we're always in some sort of danger or adventure, we just can't live quiet lives", Misty continued. Drew nodded.

"Mine was nice and quiet until I met you all. Now no matter where I go or what I do something's always happening", Drew commented with his usual cocky attitude. Ash thought for a moment, looking down at the ground as he did so. No one seemed to notice until he spoke up.

"Maybe...we'll never get to live quiet, relaxing lives...we'll never get to experience that "settling down" kind of lifestyle", Ash said. Brock turned away from the windows and looked at him, as did everyone else. No one was exactly sure if he meant this in a good way or not, most of them weren't sure how to comment back to him. Misty put her hand on Ash's shoulder and gave a smile.

"Don't worry, we live exciting lives now, but sooner or later our minds and bodies will just need to catch a breather, we'll all be able to settle down eventually. Maybe even all together as the big family that we are...but for now, we'll just live our lives the way we're used to", Misty explained. Ash looked at her, her eyes penetrating him as they always did. He was glad that Misty was finally cheery and hopeful. He smiled and nodded.

"You're right", Ash replied. After saying this, noises could be heard from upstairs. It sounded like talking. Everyone looked up to see Tracy coming down the steps, followed by May. Tracy noticed Brock and smiled.

"Oh good, you're moving. I came down here to get you, we may need your help", Tracy said. Everyone stood up in worry.

"How's Dawn doing?", Misty asked. Tracy looked at the others.

"Well...she's still unconscious. The bleeding finally stopped thanks to Gary. I only know so much about medical stuff, and Gary is limited to mostly Pokemon. So I was hoping that Brock would be able to check on her, he's the closest thing we've got to a doctor here", Tracy explained. Brock nodded. Tracy then made his way back up the stairs, followed closely by Brock. May stayed downstairs this time, but looked up to see them leave. When they were out of sight, May stepped down the final steps and joined the others.

"So how is she?", Drew asked. May looked up from the floor to meet his eyes.

"I only got a small glimpse of her from the room. She looked a little bit better, but like Tracy said, she hasn't woken up yet. But Gary was working on her head", May explained. She then sat back down on her original chair. "Max is completely distraught, he can barely sit down, poor guy". A few moments later, hoping could be heard coming down the stairs. Pikachu had finally come down. He was clean now, most likely from one of the guys upstairs giving him a bath. "Oh yeah, and Gary gave Pikachu a potion, while he worked on Dawn, Tracy cleaned him up", May explained. Pikachu ran over and jumped onto Ash's lap.

"Well that's great to hear, how you feeling buddy?", Ash asked. Pikachu looked up at him and smiled.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu said cheerfully. Ash smiled and gave him a pat on the head.

"Well I guess now the only person we have to worry about is Dawn", Ash said. He then looked up to the stairs. He was worried for his newest friend. The only thing that ran through his head was himself imagining telling Dawn's mother about what happened. The idea worried him, he couldn't bare to see someone's mom crying over something like this happening to their child. He already knew what it was like from his mom. He also thought about Dawn's dreams of being a top coordinator, and how this could affect them. He made a little prayer to himself for Dawn's sake. Minutes passed, although it felt like hours. Time seemed to slow down. Team Rocket had fallen asleep on the couch, their energy gone entirely. Drew had gone to the kitchen to get a snack for himself and the others. May, Misty, and Ash remained silent, waiting for the moment when someone would come downstairs and inform them on Dawn's status. After the long wait, Pikachu's ears perked up and he looked towards the stairs. The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard. Soon after, someone began to walk downstairs. May, Ash, and Misty stood up and prepared for the person to come down. They all stared at the flight of stairs, not moving an inch. Brock stepped down and looked at the gang with a serious face. Ash grew worried as Misty and May looked about to cry. Suddenly, Brock smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"She'll be just fine!", Brock said. Everyone sighed in relief. Drew ran out of the Kitchen and into the t.v. room with the others.

"Did I hear someone say Dawn will be fine!", Drew asked. This woke up Team Rocket, who stretched and rubbed the tired out of their eyes.

"Yes!", Misty said relieved. Team Rocket cheered as Drew smiled.

"Yeah, she's very weak and will need alot of rest, but luckily the bleeding stopped and we bandaged her up. Gary and Tracy are just cleaning up now. May, could I ask you a favor?", Brock asked. May nodded. Brock then leaned in and whispered into her ear, May listened carefully. When Brock was done, he stepped back and May nodded. She then ran up the stairs. As she ran up, Gary and Tracy came down, followed by a tired yet relieved Max.

"Glad to see that she's doing better", Gary said to Tracy. He nodded with a smile. As they stepped downstairs and joined the group, Drew walked over towards the windows, bringing Max along with him. While Drew casually looked out the large glass frames separating them from the outside, Max looked at him, wondering why he had taken him there. The others talked to Brock, Gary, and Tracy as Drew whispered to Max.

"You know...it was really brave of you to go out and try to help Dawn like you did", Drew said. Max continued to stare, sort of confused as to why he was saying this. He then looked down in disappointment.

"Not really...she still got hurt. I didn't help her at all", Max said. Drew shook his head.

"Listen, there was nothing you could of done to stop the branch from hitting her. You did everything you could do and more...I know how much you care for her, and what you did out there, risking your life to save hers...that takes spirit, guts...but most importantly...it takes heart", Drew explained. He then looked down at Max, who was stunned at the words. It was not that Max did not expect them from someone, but what shocked them was the words coming from Drew. He always knew him as a egotistical person; did his sister help him this much? Drew put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Unfortunately, she may not immediately remember what you did. But I know deep down that soon, she'll realize what you did for her, and she will be forever thankful". Max smiled. He nodded and Drew gave him a pat on the back. Max then turned around. He was about to head into the other room, but stopped short. He looked back slightly at Drew.

"You know, I think it's good that we're bonding like this, cause you know, odds are, you're gonna be my future brother in law", Max said. Drew immediately collapsed with a sweatdrop. As everyone talked and were glad that their friend was alright, Ash looked on with a smile. He was happy that they were all enjoying themselves despite all that has happened today. It showed that no matter what they went through, they would always remain friends. Then a thought popped into his head, he realized that this was their last night together at the lake house. Tomorrow, they would head back to Pallet Town and then everyone would go on their way. The idea of everything they had done together ending with all of them saying goodbye saddened him. He did not want to have everyone leave, at least not without making this the time of their lives. So with this in mind, he walked over to Brock.

"Hey Brock, I think we should have another bon-fire", Ash said. Brock looked at him stunned for a moment.

"What?", Brock said. Ash nodded.

"Today is our last night here, we need to make the most of it", Ash explained.

"Well yeah, but the storm ruined alot outside, odds are the firewood is all wet. Besides, look at us, half of us are hurt and Dawn is still resting", Brock said. Ash was determine though to do this.

"Listen, after tonight we won't be together nearly as much or as long. I want this to be one of our best nights together, and this might be our last chance to do just that...please Brock", Ash pleaded. Brock looked at the trainer and wasn't sure how to respond. He saw his pleading eyes and simply could not resist; he gave in.

"(sigh), alright, we'll do it. Tell the others", Brock said. Ash smiled and nodded. He then left to tell the others, leaving Brock to sort of laugh at himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to say no to Ash, he had a way of doing things to get his way. As Ash told the others of his plan, May remained upstairs in the spare bedroom, helping Dawn. Because there were only boys helping her back to health Brock felt that a girl was needed; especially to help Dawn change out of her bloody clothes. After she had done this she had checked to see if Dawn's chest and stomach were hurting. May didn't know the exact medical procedure to check for broken ribs, but tried her best. She poked certain spots on her very slightly to see if she responded. She poked her first rib, nothing, second, nothing. But as she pressed her third rib, Dawn suddenly shot up and screamed in pain. May jumped back in fright as Dawn held her ribs.

"Oh my god, Dawn, are you ok! I'm so sorry!", May said worried. Dawn looked at her and smiled through her pained look.

"It's alright May, you were trying to help. And I think I over-reacted. I was just scared that someone was touching me", Dawn explained. May nodded in understanding. She then moved closer to Dawn.

"How's your chest then?", May asked. Dawn looked down to it.

"I don't think it's broken, but it is bruised pretty badly, as you just saw", Dawn joked. May giggled slightly. "Thank you by the way...for helping me change out of my clothes, I'm glad that it wasn't one of the guys, that would of been a little embarrassing".

"Yeah, Brock felt so too, so he asked me to help", May explained. Dawn sat up more to better position herself. She was not completely changed, but her chest and stomach was bandaged by May. She looked over and saw her hat on the side of the bed next to the jacket she was wearing outside. She picked it up and placed it on her head, not used to not having it on. "But in general, how do you feel?", May asked. Dawn looked at her.

"Well, I still feel a little tired and weak. My chest hurts a bit, and my head is throbbing, but other than that I feel fine", Dawn explained. There was a moment of silence as May sat up and picked up Dawn's bloody clothes. "How is Max?", Dawn asked suddenly. May stopped picking up the clothes and looked at her. Dawn seemed to be a little nervous at asking the question, but wanted to know. May smiled, she knew why.

"He's doing better now that you're doing better", May replied. Dawn nodded and looked to the side. May placed the clothes down in a pile and sat back down on the bed, next to Dawn. Dawn looked down to not make eye contact with her. "You know, he was really worried about you. He spent the whole time in here waiting for you to get better. He couldn't relax at all". Dawn smiled, but kept her eye contact onto the bed.

"I know. I mean, I don't remember much during the storm, but I remember before we went out there...your brother was telling me to be careful. I don't know if my memory of the accident will come back to me, but I just know he was out there trying to save me", Dawn said. She finally managed to look up and make eye contact with May. They both smiled. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Dawn gasped and quickly hid under the covers as May quickly ran to the door. Just as the door began to open, May ran into it and shut it close.

"Woah! May, what are you doing!", a voice called out from the other side of the door. It was Ash. May remained pressed against the door.

"Dawn's...not uh, decent", May said. Dawn blushed and hid her face under the covers.

"Oh! Dawn's awake, that's great! Listen, we're all going outside to have a bon-fire, so let's go! We want you down there!", Ash yelled from the other side of the door. May looked at Dawn, who was still hiding under the sheets. She wasn't sure how to respond to Ash exactly.

"Uh...ok, I'll be down in a minute", May said. The sounds of footsteps could be heard as Ash went downstairs. She watched as Dawn lifted the covers and poked her head out, looking at May. They stared at each other for a moment, not making any noises until May responded. "So, can you come?".

"I...I don't think so. I'm too tired. I'm just going to...rest here until tomorrow. I'll pack in the morning", Dawn said. She then layed down, her face turned away from May. May sighed and opened the door. Before she left, she looked over at Dawn.

"Dawn...Ash didn't ask you to come because he doesn't want you hurting yourself. We all care for you, we accept you. None of us here would reject you because you're the "new girl". If it weren't for you, we would never have found Ash, Misty, and Pikachu. We all owe you our gratitude...as friends", May said. Dawn did not respond. May sighed again and left the room, closing the door behind her. Dawn remained silent, but a lone tear came down her face. But this tear was not one of sadness, but of joy. Dawn smiled. Within a few short minutes, everyone was prepared and ready to go outside. Since Ash was the one that wanted to do this last little hoorah together, he felt it was his obligation to get the firewood. Luckily, the firewood that the contest people supplied them was not all entirely wet. So he gathered as much as he could and began to build the fire. Although the wood was dry, the pit the fire was in was not, so it took some time before the fire started. Misty volunteered to dry off the chairs and with Team Rocket's help, she got it done fast. Soon, most everyone was down by the campfire, ready for their last night together. Gary had grabbed the last of the drinks from the basement and brought them out by the fire. Everyone had grabbed one and were enjoying the time together. As they talked and laughed, James looked around.

"Huh, are we missing some people?", James asked. Meowth too looked.

"Yeah, but who?", Meowth asked.

"Brock is getting his guitar", Tracy stated.

"You mean Brock got his guitar", someone said. Tracy and the others turned around to see Brock coming towards them, his guitar swung around his arm. The others said hi as Gary handed him a beer.

"So what song do you have for us tonight Brock?", Misty asked. Brock chuckled.

"Well I have a nice little song to help us sum up the good parts of this trip", Brock explained. The others laughed. Brock strummed a little bit on the guitar, but not singing.

"Wait...what about Dawn, isn't she gonna come?", Jessie asked. This sudden question silenced Brock and the others as well. Max looked down at the ground in sadness.

"She's still resting. She can't really do anything just yet", May explained. Ash looked down to the ground, his beer in hand.

"Gee, I hope she gets better soon. I feel bad now because I didn't specifically ask her to come down with us. I was afraid that she would hurt herself trying to. Wish she could be here", Ash told the others. He lifted his beer and took a sip.

"Well thanks, wish I could join you all", someone spoke up from behind. Ash spat out the drink that had entered his mouth in shock. Everyone turned around to see the owner of the voice. The darkness hid the body for the most part, but the dancing flames just managed to lite Dawn's face. Max stood up in joy and shock.

"DAWN!", Max yelled. Dawn smiled. She was dressed in new clothes, but they looked like her normal travel attire. The bandages on her head were mostly covered by her hat. May stood up.

"Are you ok? Can you manage?", May asked worried for her friend. Dawn looked at her.

"Well, I managed to come down the stairs and outside by myself", Dawn explained. May sweatdropped in embarrassment but giggled. "Would...would you mind if I joined you all? I mean, I don't want to be a bother". Ash smiled and patted a log right next to him.

"We saved a spot just for you in case you came down", Ash said with a smile. Dawn smiled back. Slowly, she made her way to the log, right in the middle of everyone. She was holding her stomach and chest area with one arm, but made her way there without any problems. Sitting next to her was Max, who smiled at her appearance. Dawn sat down and smiled back to him. Suddenly, she felt a poke on her shoulder and turned around. A soda can was being handed to her by Ash. She took it, and then looked back at Ash, who smiled.

"Welcome to the family", Ash stated. He then gave Dawn a pat on the shoulder. Dawn looked on at her newest family, all of them smiling at her. She smiled back, her eyes glistening in happiness. She finally felt accepted. With everyone there, Ash stood up and held out his drink. "I want to propose a toast. To family and friends. We may be far away at times, and at other times we may go through some tough times. But we should always know that through thick and thin, we are always there for each other. And I wish us all happiness and togetherness in our futures!", Ash stated. Everyone held up their drinks and smiled

"TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!", they all yelled. As they drunk to their toast, Brock swung his guitar over in playing position.

"Well then, shall I begin?", Brock asked. The others cheered and yelled yes. Brock got into playing position and then looked at the gang. "This song is dedicated to those who fell in love during this little trip of ours, I know those feelings you all got are a bit new to you, but you'll get used to them soon enough". Ash and Misty blushed and Dawn and Max looked at each other momentarily before looking away quickly. May held onto Drew with a smile.

"Well, not for me", Drew joked. May playfuly punched him and the others laughed.

"Well this song is for those going through their first time, in love", Brock stated. He then began to strum the strings on the guitar and the others cheered.

"We're both looking for something, we've been afraid to find/ it's easier to be broken, it's easier to hide/ Looking at you, holding my breath, for once in my life, I'm scared to death, I'm taking a chance, letting you inside". Brock sung. He then began to hit the chords harder and faster and the others cheered.

"Feeling alive all over again, as deep as the sky, under my skin like being in love, she says for the first time/ Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm feeling right where I belong with you tonight, like being in love, to feel for the first time". Ash and Misty held onto each other's hands and smiled. May and Drew embraced in a hug. Brock's strumming slowed down, but only slightly.

The world that I see inside you, waiting to come to life/ Waking me up to dreaming, reality in your eyes/ Looking at you, holding my breath, for once in my life, I'm scared to death, I'm taking a chance, letting you inside". The beat of the song went faster yet again and the others screamed in excitement.

"I'm feeling alive, all over again, as deep as the sky, under my skin like being in love, she says for the first time/ Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right where I belong with you tonight, like being in love, to feel for the first time". Brock stood up as he began to play the song. The others cheered him on. Ash and Misty held onto each other now in a tight embrace; May and Drew were in each others arms. Dawn and Max scooted closer to each other, but remained separate. Brock started up again.

"We're crashing, into the unknown/ We're lost in this, but it feels like home". Brock yelled. He hit a chord on his guitar and left it for a moment, the others clapped along to the beat. He then began again.

"I'm feeling alive all over again, as deep as the sky, under my skin like being in love, she says for the first time". Misty and Ash held onto each other and kissed passionately

Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right where I belong with you tonight, like being in love, to feel for the first time". May and Drew kissed passionately.

"Like being in love, she says for the first time", the others cheered and sang along as the young loves kissed and lived the moment. "Like being in love, to feel for the first time!". Brock then strung the chords one final time as the noise penetrated the gang. Slowly, he brought his hand up along the neck of the guitar, changing the tune of the noise until he finally gripped the end of the guitar neck with both hands, ending the noise. Everyone stood up and cheered for Brock as he held his guitar out and bowed to them. Gary walked up to him and gave him a pat on the shoulder, Tracy stood up on his other side.

"Wow, you did a amazing job there Brock!", Gary said. Tracy handed Brock his beer, which he accepted.

"Well thanks, I felt this one was a little more romantic for the occasion", Brock explained.

"Yeah, you're telling me", Tracy said. Brock and Gary looked at Tracy, who's eyes were fixated on the others. Brock and Gary looked to see Ash and Misty slowly kissing each other while May and Drew were in a all out make out session. Max and Dawn were still not touching each other, but were occasionally glancing over while the other one wasn't looking and blushing. Jessie and James were drinking and holding onto each other. Meowth and Pikachu stood away from the others, near Brock, Tracy, and Gary. The boys all looked at the couples, then at themselves. Suddenly, they all burst out laughing. This was a moment they would never forget, and always cherish.

A beautiful ending to a beautiful chapter if I do say so myself. Once again, I don't own the rights to "First Time", Lifehouse, or etc. But unlike "All Summer Long", this one I didn't need to edit to fir the story, it did so on it's own! I know this chapter was a bit shorter than the previous few, but I wanted to end it on the song, so I did. I'm thinking that the next chapter will be the last one, if I can't fit it all in, then I will simply make the chapter longer. 10 chapters sounds like a good length to me. For those of you who are wondering, I choose these two songs because for one thing, at the time I was writing this story, they were both popular, (yes, it has been THAT long since I've started working on this). But mostly, because they both fit in so well to the story, particularly at the times I placed them in it. And on a side note, I realized not to long ago that this month marks the 4th year anniversary of EVAN AAML, (I missed the exact date, which I believe was the 5th). Wow, 4 years of writing AAML stories to you all, it feels like only yesterday that I started, what a accomplishment. As a favor, I would like to ask you all what was your favorite moment with me, (or more appropriately, what was your favorite story of mine). I know this sounds selfish, and I'm sorry, I'm just curious, and I feel that it fits the moment. I thank you all for standing by me these 4 long years, you have all done so much to make me the author I am today. "With their final day together coming soon, will this be the end of Ash and the gang as we know it? Find out next time on the final chapter of EVAN AAML'S "The Lake House"!". Thank you all for bearing with me these last 4 years, I appreciate it. Rest in peace Jenni-Lyn Watson. And goodnight everyone!

sincerely,
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML