Disclaimer: All rights for Pokémon and its respective trademarks go to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, Game Freak, et al.
XashXdawnX- Here's another chapter for TBH.
Dawn walked out of her room, now dressed in her pajamas. Since her date had just ended, she didn't have anything to do, and what was better than to just relax? Dawn walked into the kitchen and fixed a cup of hot chocolate and a cup of coffee.
"Hey, mom?" Dawn called.
"Yes?"
"Can I talk to you?"
"Of course, Dawn. You can talk to me about anything."
Dawn added sugar and cream to the coffee before walking into the living room with the mugs.
"Here," Dawn said, handing her mom the coffee.
"Thank you, dear."
Dawn sat down on the couch and took a sip of the hot chocolate.
"What do you need to talk about?" Johanna asked, setting her mug on the table.
Dawn sighed and placed her mug on the table. "I have so much on my mind, mom. There are things are on my mind and...I don't know what to do." Dawn said, looking at the ceiling.
Johanna knew her daughter had more to say, so she waited.
"These thoughts and feelings all came after my date with Ash...after our hug outside." Dawn sighed and looked at her mom. "I don't know what it is, but I haven't felt like this since before I got divorced."
Johanna turned to face her daughter. "Dawn, look at me." she said. Dawn turned and looked at her mother.
"Dawn, I can see that there's something developing between you and Ash. Honestly, Dawn, you seem truly happy for the first time since the divorce. Sure, Julia makes you happy, but this is the first time that I've seen you happy with someone other than your daughter."
"Really?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, Dawn. I looked at the recent pictures that you took." Dawn opened her mouth, but her mom cut her off. "You left your camera out, so of course I was going to look." she said, smiling.
"I looked at the pictures and what really caught my eye were the pictures from the park a couple of months ago. Dawn, you had a few pictures with Ash and Julia. Julia looked very happy, the happiest I've seen her since her father went out of her life. Dawn, the picture of you and Ash, you both look truly happy together."
Dawn remained quiet.
"Dawn...how does Ash make you feel?" Johanna asked.
"Uh...he makes me feel happy. I don't have to act like someone I'm not when I'm with him, I can be myself around him. He accepts me for who I am, he's easy to get along with, he never fails to make me smile, and I never know what to expect when I'm around him. Even Julia seems to enjoy it when he's around." Dawn answered.
"You do know what it is that you're feeling, right Dawn?"
Dawn looked at her mom with her eyes wide. "Yes..." she trailed with uncertainty. "Mom...I'm scared. What if this doesn't work out and it ends the same way that it did for Kenny and I? I don't want to be heartbroken again...and I don't want to be hurt again. I thought I had the man that I was going to spend my life with once already, but you see how it turned out for us."
"Dawn, take a breath."
Dawn took a small breath and waited for her mom to speak. Johanna took Dawn's hands.
"Dawn, things - both good and bad - happen for a reason and sometimes you don't know why the things that happen, happen. The divorce could've been Arceus's way of leading you to who you should REALLY be with, to spend your life with. Sure, it's a pre-started family, but that just adds to what could happen. Arceus is watching over you and he has a plan for you. Just go and see where this path in life takes you, Dawn. Don't be afraid of the feelings that you have for Ash. Don't be afraid of where this could lead. Give it a chance, sweetie."
Dawn nodded her head. "You're right, mom. I shouldn't be afraid. I should listen to my feelings, follow my heart, and trust what Arceus has planned for me. Thank you, mom. You've really helped me." Dawn said, hugging her mother.
"No problem, dear. I'm happy to help."
It had been a few days after Ash and Dawn's date. They had planned to take the kids to Lake Verity - where the Legendary Pokemon Mesprit was said to live - to have a fun day of skating on the frozen lake.
Alex was wearing black jeans, a light blue long sleeve shirt with a white tee over it, and a gray jacket. He had his black beanie back on his head and his hockey stick in his black-gloved hands. Playing floor hockey in school was fun, but playing it on ice? Even better.
Julia was wearing white leggings under her jeans with a light pink turtleneck and a white jacket. Her hands were covered by pink and white gloves, she had a white scarf around her neck, and on her head was a pink hat.
Dawn was wearing black leggings under her jeans like Julia, with a black turtleneck and a white jacket with fake fur on the cuffs and hood. She had a black scarf on her neck and black gloves on her hands. She carried two pairs of skates in her hands.
Ash was wearing jeans with a navy tee pulled over a white long sleeved shirt and a black jacket. He had on a beanie and black gloves on his hands. He also carried two pairs of skates in his hands.
After walking through the snow-covered ground, they walked into the clearing of Lake Verity. There were many families skating on the huge frozen lake, a game of hockey was going on, many couples skated together, and younger children skated around until they fell and got right back up.
Once the four had their skates on and laced, Alex motioned towards where the game of hockey was going on.
"Some kids from school are playing hockey. I'll be over there, okay dad?"
"Go have fun, Alex." Ash said. He kept his eyes on Alex until he got to where the game was.
"Oh! There's Isla and Grace!" Julia cried. Julia looked at her mom, who nodded. Julia skated over towards the two. Dawn smiled as Julia was greeted by two hugs from the girls.
Alex and the other boys were having a good time. The boys skated along, pacing a puck and making a point of getting the puck stolen from them. There was the occasional fall and accidental trip, but all in all, they were all having a good time. Alex was talking with Alan and Anthony.
"I hate winter, but at the same time, I love it because it lets us do this. Play hockey on ice." Anthony said happily.
"I agree with ya, buddy." Alan said.
Alex nodded his head and went to move, but he slid and fell to the ice. He laughed as he got up and chased after the puck again.
Grace, Isla, and Julia were skating in a row of three, chatting happily.
"Don't you just love winter?" Grace asked as she did a small spin with her arms spread wide.
"No. It's too cold. I just like the way it looks." Isla said as she nearly lost her footing. She wasn't much of a skater.
"I like the winter, just wish it wasn't this cold. This is the coldest winter we've had in a long time." Julia said as she glanced around the lake to see what was going on around her.
Isla then slipped on the ice and fell clumsily. Julia and Grace each held out a hand to help her up and Isla grabbed Julia's hand with her left and Grace's hand with her right. But instead of getting up, a smirk appeared on her face and she yanked both of their hands, pulling them down, and the three girls fell into a heap on the ice.
Getting up off of each other, they just sat on the ice, looking at each other for a second, thinking about Isla's little prank. Then they all broke out into laughter over the whole thing. Being such good friends, they couldn't be mad at each other. Then they all hugged each other in a big group hug.
Seeing that their kids were having fun, Ash and Dawn decided to start skating. Dawn easily started to skate, but she saw that Ash was having a little trouble.
"Can't skate?" she asked, skating over to him.
"I can skate. I just...it takes a little while to get used to the ice since I only skate once in a while in the winter." Ash replied as his foot slid.
Dawn laughed, creating a small puff of steam in the cold air. She skated to Ash's side and took his hand. The two skated around the lake with everyone else, both enjoying themselves.
"This is really fun. It looks like Alex and Julia are having a good time." Dawn said.
"Yeah..."
Dawn removed her hand from Ash's and skated a little ways ahead of him. She glanced at him from over her shoulder to see that he was skating alright and then faced ahead again. She dug her skate into the ice as a little boy skated in front of her. She didn't hit him, but she lost her balance trying to stop and started falling. She felt an arm wrap around her waist, which kept her upright.
"That would've hurt." Ash said, holding her.
"Yeah, it would have. Thank, you Ash,"
A middle-aged woman skated over to the two. "I'm so sorry about my son. I told him to be careful, but he didn't listen." she said.
"It's fine, no harm done." Dawn said with a small smile.
The woman nodded and skated off. Dawn noticed that Ash still held her waist and her face felt warm. Ash seemed to notice that he still held her waist.
"Sorry..." he said, letting her go.
Dawn looked at him and gave a small smile before taking his hand and began skating again.
Alex skated away from his friends, since many had to leave and the game was basically ending. He saw that Julia was hugging Isla goodbye and Isla skated off. Grace must've already left, since she was nowhere in sight. Julia looked around and saw Alex and skated over to him.
"Hey, Alex! This is so much fun!" she cried as she stopped.
"Yeah, it is. Playing hockey on the ice, it never gets old." Alex said.
Julia looked around and her eyes landed on something. "Look!" she cried.
Alex looked to where she was looking and he felt his eyes widen. "Wow...our plan is working better than we thought." he muttered.
The two saw that Ash had his arm around Dawn's waist and quickly removed it as they started skating.
"I still can't believe our plan to get them to go out on a date worked. How easy was it to convince your dad?" Julia asked.
"It took a little time, but once I said a few things, it was in the bag." Alex replied.
"My mom was really nervous before you two came over."
"Really? I think my dad was, too."
"I'm glad it worked out, though."
"I am, too. I so beat you in the rematch."
Julia laughed and shook her head. She started skating.
"Yeah, 'cause you cheated!" she cried.
Alex skated next to her. "How did I cheat?"
"I don't know, but you did!"
Alex laughed. "Hey, you know what we should do when we're on our way back?"
"What?"
"We should..."
After skating a little while longer, Ash and Dawn skated over to Alex and Julia.
"You guys ready to go?" Ash asked.
"Yes,"
The four made their way to the snow and removed their skates and put their boots back on. Then they started walking back towards home.
Alex knelt down and gathered some snow in his hand. He patted it into a ball. Julia knelt down and patted some snow into a ball. Alex looked at her and nodded. They threw the snowballs at their parents.
"What the...?" Ash turned and saw the two of them gathering more snow. He laughed and Dawn was already kneeling and gathering snow.
Soon, a snowball fight was going on and the four were laughing and having fun. Julia ran and fell onto the ground, catching her breath.
"I'm cold now." she said, sitting up.
"Yeah, I agree." Alex said, plopping down to catch his breath.
"Get up off the snow. Dawn, you and Julia can come over and have coffee or hot chocolate." Ash said.
"Thanks,"
The four made their way to the Ketchum house.
"So what does everyone want?" Ash asked.
"Coffee!" Alex cried.
"Hot chocolate," Julia said.
"Hot chocolate," Dawn said.
"Okay, and I guess you can have coffee today, Alex."
"YES!"
So Dawn has a talk with her mom, who helps her clear her mind and helps her realize what it is that she's feeling for Ash. Then Ash, Dawn, and the kids relax together after a fun day of skating.
Be sure to stay tuned for the next chapter, because it'll be Christmas time! Give us some suggestions about what Christmas presents Ash, Dawn, Alex, and Julia can give each other.
Please R&R