XashXdawnX - Here's the newest chapter, hope you all enjoy.

PokemonFreak90 - It's our first chapter of the new year!

Two months had gone by since Christmas and today was Valentine's Day at Twinleaf Elementary and all of the classes were having their Valentine's Day parties. Mr. Graham's classroom was decorated with red, pink, and white hearts that were lining the walls. He had written 'Happy Valentine's Day' on the board and a table was set up, full of snacks for the kids to eat. The children were talking, eating, and passing out their Valentine's Day cards.

Alex and Jake walked over to where Grace and Julia were standing and talking.

"Happy Valentine's Day," the boys said.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you, too." the girls said.

Alex handed his sister a special card that was different from all of the others cards that he had given to his friends. She took the card and read it, a smile coming over her face.

'I'm glad to have you as my sister. Love, Alex.'

"Thank you, Alex. I love you," she said, hugging her brother and feeling touched by the words he had written.

"I love you too, sis."

Alex then turned to Grace and handed her something that she wasn't expecting: a heart-shaped box of her favorite chocolates. Jake surprised Julia by holding out a red rose to her.

Julia took the rose and smiled shyly at Jake.

"Wow, that's really sweet of you. Thanks, Jake." she said and hugged him.

"Thanks, Alex. These are my favorite." Grace said, hugging him.

While the two were hugging, Alex looked around the class and saw that no one was looking and he snuck a quick kiss to Grace's cheek. Grace's eyes widened and she looked at Alex.

"Wh-what was that for?" she asked.

"You kissed me at Salvia's palace at the Christmas Ball and I never got the chance to return it. Now we're even." Alex replied, smiling.

It's great to see that Alex feels just as strongly for me as I do for him. I took a risk with kissing him and he's returned it. Grace thought.

"Oh, look at this." Jake said once he and Julia had finished hugging. He removed a flyer from his bag and Alex and Julia recognized it right away. The flyer was the same flyer that they had gotten last year, promoting the Twinleaf Town Valentine's Day Couples' Dance.

"That's the dance that Twinleaf Town holds every year for couples." Julia said.

"Our parents went last year, thanks to us." Alex added. "It's where they confessed to one another."

"I gave a flyer to my mom and asked her to go with Alex's dad. Our parents are going to the dance again tonight."

"Where did you get the flyer from, Jake?" Grace asked.

"My dad came into school with me this morning for a meeting with Mr. Graham. When we entered the school, we saw Miss Vickers putting up a poster advertising the dance on the bulletin board." Jake explained.

"My dad asked her what she was doing and she told us about the dance. Then my dad asked her if she would like to go to the dance with him and she said yes! It's my dad's first real date since we moved to Twinleaf Town."

"That's great!" Julia cried.

"Did your dad know Miss Vickers before?" Alex asked.

"No, he first met her this morning. She seems really friendly and I want my dad to find someone and be happy. I don't have a mom, so I'm hoping that this date goes well for them..."

The Twinleaf Town Convention Center was decorated beautifully. Red, pink, and white lights lined the wall, snacks were on the table, people were either dancing or chatting and just having a great time.

Ash and Dawn walked in together. Dawn was wearing the same red dress that she had worn to the Valentine's Day dance the previous year. As they approached the floor to dance, they spotted Miss Vickers and Jake's dad dancing together.

"Well, look at that." Ash said, motioning.

Dawn smiled. "Maybe he'll have some luck with her. Julia mentioned that Jake's dad has had a hard time with finding someone to date."

Miss Vickers was wearing a pink dress that fell to her knees and her hair was curled. She was smiling widely at Jake's dad. Jake's dad had blonde hair, blue eyes, and he was pale. He was wearing a black button up shirt, khakis, and black boots.

After dancing for a little while, Ash and Dawn found a table and sat down.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to get some drinks." Ash said as he handed Dawn his jacket, since her arms were getting chilly. When he returned, he handed Dawn her drink.

"It's nice to be back at the dance again." Ash said as he looked around the room.

Dawn nodded her head in agreement. The dance would always hold a special place in her heart, and Ash's, too. It was where they had confessed their love for one another. It was a night that they would never forget.

"I was nervous to tell you how I felt that night." Ash said.

"Really?"

Ash nodded. "I had only realized that I was in love with you at Christmas. I was hesitant to admit my feelings, because I had only ever loved Misty and I was worried that I was doing her wrong by falling in love with you. But Misty came to me in a dream and put my mind at ease, saying that she was glad that I had found love again."

"Well, I realized that I was in love with you a little before Christmas, after our first date, to be exact. The hug that we shared had helped me realize just how strongly I felt for you but I was afraid to admit this. I was afraid of having my heart broken again, but my mom talked with me and put my mind at ease. She told me to follow my heart and not be afraid. So when you confessed last year, I did just that...I let go of my fears. It was time for me to do the same...time to take a leap of faith and trust my heart and not be afraid of what I was feeling." said Dawn.

The two were lost in thought as they remembered last year's dance.

"There's one thing that I don't understand. Why did you invite me to the dance in the first place if you were such a bad dancer?" Ash asked, looking at Dawn questioningly.

"Julia. She talked me into it." Dawn replied.

"She did? Well, Alex...he talked me into taking you out on our first date."

The two then thought back to everything that had happened during the time that lead up to the engagement and wedding. Their kids had been secretly helping them along in their relationship.

"How could we have been so blind? They were helping us along the way the whole time..."

"They realized that we were in love even before we did, and they helped us to see it for ourselves." Dawn said after a moment.

"Well, at least they approved of us." Ash joked.

Dawn smiled at him. "We didn't notice what they were doing because we were still hurting and had forgotten how it felt to be in love with someone, even though we were happy by being together."

A slow song then started playing and Ash stood up from the table, saying, "Up for another dance? I think we both remember this song."

Dawn nodded and took Ash's hand as he lead her out to the dance floor.

"Remember last year? This was the song that gave us the courage to admit how we felt about each other. When it was over, we knew that we had to tell each other, and we did." Dawn said softly.

"Yes. We also shared our first kiss, too. A lot has happened since then, but there's one thing that will never change: the fact that I love you with all of my heart." Ash said lovingly.

Dawn felt her eyes begin to tear up. Ash always knew the right words to say to make her feel warm and happy inside.

Dawn's lips met Ash's as they closed their eyes. They continued kissing as they stood there in each others' arms, their bodies slowly swaying back and forth to the music and their minds drifting away into their own little world.

After an hour or two more, they headed home, not wanting to stay out too late. It was a school night for the kids and both Ash and Dawn had to work in the morning. When they arrived home, they found the kids watching TV with Johanna.

"Thanks again for watching them, mom." Dawn said as her mother got up from the couch.

"It's no problem. I enjoyed it. They were both on their best behavior. Did you two have a good time?" Johanna asked as she pulled her coat on.

"Yes, it was wonderful." Dawn replied.

"Just as special as last year's dance." Ash said, wrapping an arm around Dawn.

Johanna then left the house for the night and Ash and Dawn told the kids about how the dance was, since they had wanted to know.

"We also realized something when we were talking about last year's dance." said Ash.

"We know that you two are behind setting us up for the dance last year and several of our other dates." Dawn said, looking at the two.

Alex and Julia realized that they had finally gotten caught. Their secret was out.

The two looked down sadly and guilt came over their faces.

"We're sorry for interfering with your love lives." Alex started.

"We just saw how happy you two were when you were together." Julia added.

"Dad, you finally started looking happy again for the first time since mom's death."

"And mom, you looked happy and were acting like yourself again since daddy left."

"We felt happy again, too." they both added. "You two had filled the role of our missing parent."

"For the first time in a long time, our lives felt full and right." said Julia.

"We just wanted you both to be happy and we saw that you WERE happy when we were all together, so we helped you along so that we could all be a real family." Alex explained.

"That way, we would always be happy forever, and now we are." Julia finished.

The kids waited for their parents' reactions.

"We really are sorry. Are you angry at us?" they asked in a worried tone.

Ash and Dawn were silent for a few minutes as they took in the explanation as to why their kids had interfered.

"No, we're not angry at you." Ash said.

"We should honestly thank you both. If you two hadn't done what you did, we never would have had the courage to do anything. I never would have taken the chance on that a relationship with Ash wouldn't be the same as Kenny's was." Dawn explained.

"And I wouldn't have ever moved on from your mom if it weren't for you."

They hugged their kids and thanked them again. "We're proud of you. You two are really smart kids. You saw what was right in front of our faces before we even did."

The next day at school, the kids were all sitting together in the cafeteria, talking as they ate their lunch.

"So how did your dad's date with Miss Vickers go?" Grace asked, looking over at Jake.

"My dad said that they had a great time and they're going to get together again soon. This is the first time that I've seen my dad this close with a woman, and so quickly." Jake replied. "They had an immediate connection and unlike many of the other women that my dad has dated or talked to, Miss Vickers doesn't seem to mind that he has a son."

"Well, she is a teacher. Of course she'd be okay with kids." said Isla.

"True."

"It's great that your dad had a good time." said Melissa.

"Who knows? Maybe he's finally found the one." said Anthony.

"I really hope so. I just want my dad to be happy. He's done so much for me and has always put me first...he deserves someone...someone who cares for him."

"So what's everyone doing after school?" Julia asked.

"Hockey practice." Alex, Alan, Anthony, and Jake replied.

"Since the boys will be busy, how about you guys come over to my house? We can do homework and then spend some time together." Melissa suggested. The girls all agreed.

When the girls walked into Melissa's house after school, Julia couldn't help but remember that this used to be her house which she had lived in her whole life until her mom married Ash and they moved.

They walked into Melissa's room, which used to be Julia's room. Melissa had repainted and decorated the room to her own liking, but Julia was glad that Melissa had made it feel special. Julia smiled to herself and they got to work on their homework, wanting to finish it quickly so that they could watch a movie afterwards.

Dawn was at the stove, boiling some noodles for pasta, when the phone rang.

"I got it." Ash said, setting the can of sauce down on the counter and walking to get the phone.

Alex and Julia were setting the table, since supper was almost ready. Their parents had had a busy day, so they didn't mind helping them.

Ash returned a few minutes later with a very serious look on his face.

"Isla's mom just called, looking for Trey." he said.

"The girls and I walked over to Melissa's house after school. Trey told us that he would walk home by himself...that's the last I saw of him." said Julia.

"And me and the guys had hockey practice. We were at school all afternoon until you picked me up." Alex added.

"Trey apparently never came home from school today. He's missing and no one knows where he is. His mom has been calling his friends' houses, hoping that he's there, but he's not there."

Alex and Julia looked at one another and then at their dad.

"W-What?" Julia asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"That...that's not possible." Alex said, feeling sick to his stomach at the thought of something bad happening to his friend.

"What if something bad happened to him? Like, what if he was...kidnapped?"

Kidnapped? If that's true, then the Elite Four are right! Something is going on behind the scenes, and it's not just in Sinnoh...

Valentine's Day has come and gone once again. Jake's father has begun a relationship with Miss Vickers, the kids' teacher from last year. Have Jake and his dad found someone that could be a perfect wife and mother?

Also, Ash and Dawn have finally discovered what Alex and Julia did in the first story to help get them together. Luckily, they aren't angry at them for interfering with their lives.

But Trey, one of Alex and Julia's friends, has gone missing. Is he just lost? Or is there something more sinister behind his disappearance?

Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for what can happen next, and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Please R&R