Yay, a Halloween chapter ^^ I might do another one, because I like Halloween :P Tell me what you think.

This one is from Ash's POV.

Aiden and Michelle: 10 months old

First Halloween

"Come on Shelly! Do you want to try walking to me? Huh?"

Michelle tilted her little head and pouted slightly, her big emerald eyes growing as she threw me that sweet little look. I chuckled and held my hands out towards her, hoping she would get the hint. It seemed to work, as Michelle squealed excitedly and got up shakily onto her little feet.

"Good girl! Now come here baby. Just walk to me!"

Michelle let out another indiscernible noise as her face contorted into another amusing expression. She was able to stand up just fine, but when it came to walking, she seemed to have a serious hesitance.

"Sweetie…"

Michelle took a careful step forward, which caused a huge grin to break out on my face. I just loved watching Aiden and Michelle make such strides in their development. Aiden had already taken his first steps, and was always working on his ability to walk. Michelle, on the other hand, didn't seem as eager.

She took a few uneasy half-steps before falling right down, which caused me to gasp rather loudly. I couldn't help it; every time she fell, it sent nasty shocks up my spine.

"Are you okay princess?" I cooed, crawling next to my baby.

She didn't do anything for a few seconds. Finally, she raised her little hands up to her eyes and started to cry. The sobs were quiet and controlled a slightly unusual method of crying for such a small child. But I noticed that Michelle cried like that a lot. I assumed she got it from her mother.

Sighing sadly, I collected the girl into my arms, hugging her close to my chest. "It's okay baby. Don't cry, you'll be fine."

It only took a matter of moments for Michelle to relax. Although she was still considered a baby, I very often wondered if she was just being a little drama queen. She was Misty's daughter after all!

"Come on Ash, are you ready?"

I blinked and looked down confusedly at Michelle. She, in turn, gazed up at me, letting out a little "gah" in the process.

"Ash, over here."

I looked towards the doorway that led into the living room and found Misty standing in the frame, Aiden in her arms and threading locks of her ginger hair through his tiny fingers.

"Oh, Mist," I smiled nervously, especially when I noticed the bemused expression on her beautiful face. "Hey there."

"Did you really think Michelle was talking to you?" Misty giggled. I blushed at this accusation, although I couldn't deny it either.

"I just didn't see you. That's all."

"Whatever you say Ashy," Misty shot me a playful smile, which I was happy to return. "Now let's get going."

"Going where?"

"Ash, don't you remember?" Misty's shoulders sagged in what I imagined to be disappointment.

"Uh…no?"

"Of course not," Misty breathed, breaking only to beam at our little boy who was smiling up sweetly at her. Rubbing his nose, she continued, "We have to go to Daisy and Tracey's."

"Why?" I gaped. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed seeing Tracey, and I guess Daisy too. She wasn't as awful as she was as a teenager. It's just…as Misty would say, I'm lazy. And I guess I didn't really like sharing my babies either, as dumb and selfish as that sounded.

"Daisy wanted to show me something. And she said she'd make us lunch."

"Your sister can cook?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. Shocking, I know. But she can."

"Half of me wants to try it," I smirked, "and the other half is telling me to run away from it."

"Well you're going to have to go with your first half," Misty made a rising motion with her hand. "Let's go handsome."

I sighed and got up, still holding onto Michelle. I sauntered over to Misty and gave her a kiss before gently grabbing onto her hand and pulling her towards the door. "If you insist angel."

XXX

"Oh look at these two! Aren't my niece and nephew just the cutest things? You two love your Aunt Daisy the most, now don't you?"

I watched rather enviously as Aiden and Michelle giggled under Daisy's attention. My heart lurched as I watched the blonde pull Michelle up by her little hands, balancing her carefully on her legs. That was my job, not Daisy's! But I knew if I said anything, Misty would smack me.

"Mommy! Can't I show them now?"

"Yes darling," Daisy called over her shoulder. She smiled at Misty and me and asked, "Do you two want your babies back?"

Before Misty could even open her mouth, I raced over to Daisy and gathered the children up in my arms. They both squealed happily, which made me smile. The twins were at an age where they seemed to really be getting attached to Misty and myself. It wasn't that they were miserable when they were away from us, but whenever we went to go pick them up or play with them, they would just become overjoyed.

I sat back down next to Misty, who eagerly took Michelle from me. The little girl became even more excited, especially when Misty stood her up and held the baby by her hands as she steadied her feet on Misty's thighs.

"You gonna start walking soon baby?" Misty trilled.

"Ma," Michelle replied, sticking her little tongue out in deep concentration.

"Okay Dakota," Daisy sighed laughingly, "you can come in now."

"Here I am!" The young girl yelled as she came skirting into the room. Her loud voice caused Michelle to grumble in a dissatisfied fashion as her legs gave out underneath her. Fortunately, Misty was still holding onto the little baby and she didn't stand a chance of falling. Aiden, on the other hand, looked curiously over his shoulder, his big russet eyes narrowed in what seemed to be slight annoyance. That was definitely enough to make me chuckle.

Daisy and Tracey's little blonde daughter spun around in a circle to show off the lovely outfit she was wearing; a purple princess dress that was so fancy it reminded me of Misty's wedding dress. The predominantly lilac dress was decorated with gold accents and trimmings, along with a delicate gold tiara placed atop the five year old's head. She giggled yet again and scurried over to Misty, placing her hands on my amused wife's legs.

"Do I look pretty Aunt Misty?"

"Yes sweetheart," Misty smiled, "you look stunning! A perfect little princess."

"What's that for Dakota?" I asked my young niece. "Dress up?"

"No!" Dakota giggled wildly at the suggestion. She moved closer to me now, climbing up on the couch so she could pet Aiden on the head. "It's my Halloween costume!"

"Bah," Aiden spat out, wildly swinging his arms at the girl. She didn't seem to get the hint as she simply went on playing with his soft black hair.

"Isn't it just adorable?" Daisy squealed. "Tracey drew it up for her, and Dakota just loved it! So, I took the sketch to the store where we get all of our water ballet costumes from, and they made it up for her. I think she looks precious!"

"I'm gonna get lots of candy with this costume!" Dakota clapped her hands together and pressed a kiss on Aiden's forehead, which caused the poor boy even more agony.

"Hey, speaking of Halloween," I glanced over at Misty, who didn't seem to understand where I was going with this, "what are the twins going to be?"

"Nothing," Misty answered simply.

"Huh?" I frowned. "What do you mean nothing?"

"Come on Ash. They're still just babies! There's no reason for us to dress them up and take them out when they can't even eat any of the candy they'd get."

"But…but…" I pouted. I was really looking forward to dressing the two up for their first Halloween!

"Besides, Aiden can only take a few steps at a time, and Michelle can't even walk yet," Misty continued as she fussed with Michelle's bright ginger hair, "so it wouldn't make much sense anyway."

"Oh come on Misty," Daisy broke in, her sea green eyes slightly narrowed, "don't ruin all the fun."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Misty arched a delicate eyebrow.

"It's not a big deal to dress the twins up in some cute costume," Daisy explained as she flipped her golden blonde hair. "Everyone knows that babies have the cutest costumes, so why waste the time you have? Just dress them up and carry them around."

"Daisy," Misty started slowly, leaning forward slightly, "it doesn't make sense."

"Of course it does! Look, if you want, you and Ash could come along with Dakota and I. We could make it a family thing…or something. Maybe Vanessa and Lola would like to join us as well."

I nodded my head slowly before breaking out into a huge grin. For once, Daisy had come with a great idea! I would've done anything to show my babies off in a pair of adorable Halloween costumes, and if I had to shamefully suck up to my sister in law to do it, then so be it.

"I like Daisy's plan Mist!" I turned my head towards her, the smile still stretched across my face. Misty shot me an incredulous look, but I didn't show any signs of backing down. "Come on. Don't you want everyone to be jealous of our sweet, adorable little babies?"

"I guess…" Misty replied quietly, which made me laugh. Misty was so proud of the twins; she thought they were the most gorgeous things to ever exist. Showing them off was a favorite of Misty's. "But what could they even be?"

"You just leave that to me," I chuckled some more. "I've got a pretty good idea, Mist."

XXX

"Alright Ash, I'll hand you this one. The twins look absolutely adorable!"

The babies, who were now outfitted in the costumes I'd picked out for them, were looking up curiously at us with wide and bewildered eyes. I had decided that dressing them up as Pichu would make for a perfect first costume. The material was a soft, light yellow that covered up all of their bodies, including their little hands and feet. The bottoms of the feet had light pink paw prints on them, much like a real Pichu. Around the neck was the same black collar all Pichu had, and a little black tail was attached to the back of the costume. The best part of the costume was a hood with two big ears attached to it. The outfits looked identical, with the only difference being the light pink ribbon I'd tied into a bow around the right ear of Michelle's costume.

"Aren't they cute?" I chuckled, rubbing both of their cheeks. "The costumes are nice and comfy too. They'll be able to stay nice and warm."

"I guess so," Misty's smile was turning back into a frown, "I just don't know how we're going to manage walking around with them. What with all that craziness going on."

"We'll just carry them," I shrugged, "like we always do."

Misty sighed and went back to examining the twins. I could tell she was still hesitant over this, although I wasn't sure why. Taking the twins out really wasn't a big deal. They were too little to cause any real trouble, and everything would be just fine as long as we held onto them.

"You two like your costumes, don't you?" Misty asked softly.

"Ma," Michelle blurted out, reaching up towards the soft ears on the hood. Aiden, meanwhile, simply stuck his fingers in his mouth and threw himself down in around to roll around. For whatever reason, our son simply loved doing that.

"Well, alright," Misty glanced up at me from out of the corner of her eye. "If they're happy, that's all that matters. And they seem pretty content in their costumes. If you really want to take them out with Daisy and Dakota, then I'm okay with it."

Her vote of approval surprised me, but I certainly wasn't about to question it. Smiling, I pulled the pretty gym leader up and turned her towards me. Noting the confused look in her emerald eyes, I chuckled warmly and pressed a light kiss against her lips.

"You're so cute, angel. Now I know where our babies get it from!"

XXX

Halloween night finally came, and the twins seemed just as excited about it as I was. Of course I knew they didn't understand what was going on, but one couldn't help but to wonder if maybe they did.

My guess as to why they were so excited was all of the different costumes surrounding them. It wasn't so much the costumes themselves but the wide array of colors that came with the big selection. Colors really seemed to stimulate both Aiden and Michelle, as they were pointing frantically at everything while letting out excitable squeals.

"Ra! Ra!" Aiden cried from Misty's arms as he pointed at a young boy dressed as a fireman.

"Yes, that's red!" Misty giggled as she kissed Aiden's cheek. "Good boy."

"Gee!" Aiden yelled as he pointed at the brightly lit bushes surrounding people's houses. "Gee!"

"Right, that's green. You're so smart baby boy!"

Aiden and Misty's interactions made me smile. Michelle wasn't as jumpy as her brother, but she would still occasionally point something out and softly make her own babyish interpretations.

"Po," she was motioning towards Dakota, who was walking flit fully in front of us. "Da…"

"What are you trying to say princess?" I brushed my lips against her little ear. "Purple?"

"Po," Michelle repeated before resting her head on my shoulder.

Dakota was walking in between Vanessa and Lola, the daughters of Violet and Lily. Vanessa was dressed as an angel, with her dark blue hair tightly curled and a feathery halo held above her head. Lola, meanwhile, had gone as a Butterfree, wearing a frilly purple dress with glittery silver wings and a pair of antennae in her short pink hair.

Michelle had predominantly kept her eyes on them, I had noticed. She would occasionally look away to point at something or someone else, but for the most part she was interested in what they were doing.

"Why do you think that is?" I asked Misty after explaining my observation.

"I think she wants to be like them," Misty giggled. "She spends so much time with Aiden, but he's a boy. So I think the girls' sparkly, girly things sort of intrigue her."

When we reached another house, the three girls shrieked excitedly and darted towards the front door.

"Da! Da!" Michelle cried, tugging at my shirt.

"What's the matter baby?" I frowned. "What are you getting so worked up about?"

"Da…" Michelle whined again, pointing towards the ground. Blinking, I shrugged and put the little girl down on the ground, becoming even more confused when she took a sitting position by my feet.

"I wonder what that was about…" I murmured to myself.

"Aw, she just wants to be independent," Misty pecked me on the cheek. "Don't get so worked up over it."

"I wasn't getting worked up over it," I blushed slightly. "I just don't understand it. She's never acted like that before."

"Well, she's growing up," Misty frowned slightly. "She and Aiden aren't going to be considered babies for much longer. I guess we're just going to have to start accepting it."

"Yeah," I looked down and gasped, my eyes widening. "Crap!"

"Whoa Ash," Misty glared as she covered Aiden's ears, causing the little boy to turn his head in puzzlement. "What was that for?"

"Michelle's gone!" I cried.

"What?" Misty shrieked, her eyes nearly falling out of her head. "Ash Ketchum, I am going to kill you!"

"It wasn't…oh man," I groaned while rubbing at my head, "we've got to find her!"

"You better!" Misty fumed, her face reddening more quickly than the flame on Charizard's tail. "Because if you lost our daughter, I swear to Arceus…"

I was looking around frantically, the sound of my pounding heart reverberating through my head and out of my ears. Then, just as quickly as I panicked, I began to relax. I spotted a little figure dressed in yellow only several feet away from me. And was she…

"Misty…" I murmured softly.

"Don't you Misty me!" Misty stormed, one of her hands balling into a tight fist. "I am so mad at you right now! How could you lose track of our baby girl!"

"Misty…"

"Ash, if you keep pulling this little act, you're going to be even more sorry than you already are!"

"Misty!" I turned towards her, my eyes shining. She growled as I gently grabbed her head and directed it to Michelle's course. And with that, all of her anger evaporated and a small gasp escaped her lips.

The little girl was toddling towards her cousins, gurgling happily as she did so.

"Mi…Michelle…" Misty stammered, holding Aiden more tightly to her chest.

"She's walking!" I yelled.

My sudden shout caused Michelle to fall down, a little squeak emitting from her mouth. Misty and I both panicked slightly and hurried over to the fallen child. For once, she wasn't crying as a result of her fall, but was simply glancing between her mother and I, as if looking for a reaction.

"You did it baby girl!" I cheered as I lifted her up into the air, causing her to giggle wildly. "Oh, who's the best little girl in the world? You are! Yes you are!"

"Da," Michelle smiled, waving her little fingers. I put her back down on her feet and she once again gazed up at me, her emerald eyes full of wonderment.

"Well, looks like both of our babies know how to walk now," Misty smiled at me, although I could see the sadness shining in her eyes.

"Don't worry angel," I brushed her cheek with my finger. "They still need us."

Glimpsing down, Misty groaned slightly. I raised a puzzled eyebrow but quickly understood when I realized that Michelle was no longer standing in between us.

We began looking in all different directions, until I finally caught sight of Michelle scampering away as quickly as she could on her small and unsteady feet.

"See?" I chuckled as I went after her, "definitely still needs us!"

"What do you think Aiden?" I could hear Misty slyly asking our son. "Is this a trick, or a treat?"