At the sound of Ash's car approaching, May bounded out the door to see him conversing with Archie. He had arrived almost precisely at four in the afternoon, a fact that she had quickly noted about him. His punctuality was close to being flawless.

"Alright, you two have a good time." Archie waved them off as they closed the window and made their way out onto the road.

"So I still don't know why you asked me to wear a swimsuit." May said, forgoing a greeting.

"Unless you want to get your regular clothes wet, I suggest you do what I say."

"What are we doing? More surfing?"

"Nope," Ash gave her a feisty grin, "Something that I haven't done in a long time."

May screamed, clutching Ash tighter as he powered the purple and white jet ski over the next wave, going airborne several feet. Behind them, Brendan replicated their move, landing beside them with a huge splash.

"Here we go! Last set of waves before we reach our destination!" Ash yelled out, his voice was barely audible over the droning of their motor.

He gunned the throttle, leaning to his left as they turned. May used one hand to hold onto him and the other to skim the surface of the ocean. Today the sun sparkled off the edge and it had a deep sapphire glow, a perfect day for out on the ocean.

Every time they went over a wave, May found herself holding onto Ash a little tighter. It wasn't just because she had to in risk of falling off, but more like she wanted to.

Eventually they had passed breaker waves and eased out to a wooden platform that acted as a dock. The island was just off Petalburg's coast and featured long sandbars for boaters to enjoy away from the packed ones that were west of the city.

"Well?" Ash asked as he dismounted and began to tie a rope.

"That was…AMAZING!" May squealed, "That was the most fun I've ever had and it was only half the trip!"

"You did great May!" Brendan gave her a fist bump, "Ash and I were afraid that this was too much for you to handle at once, but you proved both of us wrong!"

"I really thought we were going to flip over and capsize!"

"Girl you rode it like a man. And that's a compliment!"

"Anyone hungry?" Ash asked, "Better get dinner started."

"What is dinner?" May wondered aloud.

"Somewhere in the ocean swimming." Brendan replied, handing Ash a fishing rod with another in his hand. "Get that cooler on the back of my ride. There's beer in there."

For several hours, the three of them talked about everything from friends, past experiences and hilarious stories in general.

A part in their time on the beach, Brendan saw his brightly lit floating bobber dip and he was on his feet, wrestling and the look on his face told them that the fish they hooked was going to be one they would have to haul in with quite a lot of strength.

"Oh man!" He growled, "Dinner's a fighter today!"

"You got it bro!" Ash cheered with May echoing his encouragement.

Brendan was going to bide his time in letting the catch wear itself down and reeling it slowly towards him. Even after several minutes, it continued to struggle, pulling on the line with enough force for him to get up.

"This ends now!" Decker furiously winded the reel, rapidly bringing it closer and closer. Had he done so too quickly, the hook inside the fish's mouth would had broken off and their catch gotten away. The trick was to tire it down enough to bring it back to them without giving it a chance to fight back. However there were many fishermen who fished for the enjoyment of their catch struggling. The battle was what had provided the true fun for them.

"Ahh!" Brendan finally heaved it out of the water, an enormous thrashing Basculin fish.

Ash ran over and scooped it up with the net before removing the hook from its jaws. Basculin were fish that seldom were seen in Hoenn, but could be sighted in its warmer south waters. Most of the time, the fish came in a red and blue subspecies. Both of them did not get along with one another and territory fights between the schools were common.

They were also very tasty.

Working quickly, Ash put the fish down and then started on gutting and skinning it. Both May and Brendan were easily impressed on how quick and efficiently he did it. Using the cooler they brought, he mixed together multiple spices and ingredients into a bowl and marinated the fish inside. As he was doing that, he looked behind to see both of them slacking with beers in hand.

"Hey, make yourselves useful and build a fire. Unless you want to eat raw fish."

Ten minutes later the three of them dug into a juicy fish with a fresh salad and fruit. Sitting around a crackling fire, it provided them with warmth to combat the breeze. The sun was beginning to put an orange glow across the sky.

"I think you should take the lead back," Ash suggested as they began to clean up. Brendan dumped the remainder of their water over the dying fire and scooped sand over the pit to cover and burn out the embers, "The waves can get quite large and since I have precious cargo with me, I don't want to take it too fast."

"I agree."

Ash saw May's eyes widen in a trace of fear and he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry. They're not going to be much bigger than the ones we encountered."

"You live a lot of danger huh?"

"Danger's for the bad guys," Brendan affirmed, "Of course there's going to be worry about someone on such a dangerous job like ours, my wife knows it well. Then again, we have Ash as our boss and he's run our task force better than any CO I've ever worked with."

"Plus I got Zack, Damien and Jewell to watch my back. Trust them with my life."

"No wonder you guys love doing your work," May said, "You get to hang out with your best friends all day!"

"It has its perks," Ash strapped the cooler onto the back of Brendan's ski, "When you bond like a family, you'll work like one."

This was the kind of extended family that May was searching for. Last time she would go along with Max and her father to a family reunion, they would rent an enormous yacht, traveling into the open ocean where the party with nearly seventy individuals would last for hours. It was almost banquet style, with multiple round tables outside on the stern with a stage area up front. While some of the people in attendance were her aunts and uncles, many of them like Drew were also there related to Norman via business. Partners, managers, people he was trying to court in hopes of future contracts and endeavors. Many of them apparently knew May since she was a little girl. There were only a few kids during these gatherings and they were barely past their toddler stage. Therefore, she and Max had just about nobody else in their age group and she spent her time in her room, trying to talk to Dawn or her other friends. Her father would come up and drag her back down to socialize. They'd come up and give her hugs, reminiscing on how it had been decades since they last met while at the same time, May would still be wondering who the hell the person was and how they did know her.

This kind of close knit family, albeit smaller was something May had wanted to have for a long time. Spending more and more time with Ash started making that subtle aspiration a reality.

After putting the Jet skis back on Brendan's ride, they waved goodbye and drove in the same direction a couple minutes later.

"How was that?" Ash asked.

"Holy hell is was super fun!" May squealed, "We have to go again!"

He chuckled, "Yeah it is, but we do have priorities. You've got your presentation in a couple days and I have to work. But I will take you up on your request for another day."

"Okay."

Ash looked down at his display and waited until another exit came into view. At this time in the night, traffic was surprisingly low. "Mind if I get some gas and a quick pit stop?"

"Yeah sure."

He rolled into one of the stalls and hopped out, "Stay here."

May's phone rang just as he began filling up the car's tank and walked inside the station to look for a restroom.

"Hello?"

"May," Her father's voice sounded steely rigid, but also concerned.

"Hi dad, how's your trip in Unova?"

"Where are you?" His stern voice was steely and carried ill-concealed concern, "I've been trying to track and get ahold of you for the past four hours."

She had forgotten that Maple Software's operating system on her cell phone was capable of tracking others via friend linking. It could relay new signals to one another every thirty seconds. She was likely out of signal range and thus couldn't be tracked. That was likely the only way to avoid it, other than disabling its GPS or shutting the device off entirely.

"I'm at Dawn's." She lied, half hoping he would buy it.

"May," The "You're lying" voice said on the other end, "Don't lie to me. You're with Ash. Aren't you?"

There was no point in trying to talk out of the lie, since she had been made. "Yeah, so what are you going to do about it? Did you make Archie follow me?"

"As soon as I saw you on the highway going opposite where you normally go and relayed him directions. Listen to me May, I don't want you to be around him. What if Drew found out? How do you think he would feel?"

"Do you not like Ash's job? Or is it him? He's a great guy! Can't you just give him a chance?"

"Absolutely not! Drew is who you belong with! He can take proper care of you! This so called Commando can not! Let me guess, he tells you that his job is fun and he enjoys doing it?"

"Ash has devoted his life to the military and protection of people who can't protect themselves!"

"That also means killing people. Ash is a killer and you need to know that! I want you to stop seeing him!"

"Why? Because he hunts bad people? Stop talking about him like he's heartless! You don't understand."

"I understand very well May. Stop seeing him. As soon as he drives you home, I am ordering Archie to erase his guest entry into our house and that will be the last time you two see each other. Understand?"

"No!"

"I suggest you don't push me," Norman warned, "I know what's best for you."

"Don't you push me." May snapped angrily back, "Do whatever you like, kick me out of the house if you have to, but I'm not severing my time with him! He's a sweet guy."

"And a cold-blooded killer!"

"He is not!"

"May! Ash underwent Commando training and they go through multiple final tests to prove they are worthy! One of those tests is compliance with orders from one's superior. They go inside an isolated room, just them and a prisoner of the state. Only one person comes out and I'll give you a hint…it's not the prisoner."

She was definitely stunned by the information bombshell dropped on her, but what should have been more surprising is how he was aware of it. Most Commando training Ash had told her was classified.

"Ash didn't tell you that, I take it." His attitude became more civil as the anger cooled off, "May, I'm worried about you. Drew's worried about you. All you're feeling for Ash is natural, he saved your life. I understand it. I really do, but he's probably taking you out on dangerous activities! You are going to end up hurt!"

"You call teaching me how to defend myself dangerous? Then you'll be happy to hear that I went with him on a Jet ski today! Just so you know, it's just the beginning." She saw Ash coming out of the door after paying the attendant. "I have to go dad, I love you."

She hung up just as Norman was about to protest. Never had May done such a tension filled conversation with her father. Of course she loved him, but his stubbornness had decided to be extremely thick recently and it was starting to become irritating.

Her thoughts drifted back to that test that he had done. Was Ash really a cold-blooded killer? His final test meant complying orders to kill…no execute an unarmed person with no eyewitnesses, the exact formula to a murderer.

There had to be a way to not hurt him, but there was no way she was going to just drop her relationship with Ash. She was falling in love with him. Even though her father revealed a shocking secret, her attraction and love towards the man were prevailing. No part of it was because he had saved her, it was for who he was as a person.

Ash opened the door to the driver's seat, "Alright, let's go home." He turned and saw May wiping away tears that stained her face, "May, you alright?"

She nodded, but didn't reply.

"May, what's wrong?" He repeated.

"I…" She stammered, "I like being with you…No, I love being with you."

"May?" He was a little puzzled on why she was so sad, but still clasped her hand in his.

"What we did today out in the ocean…I want more of that. No more…No more just sitting down and reading about an adventure. I want to experience it for myself!"

May continued crying, so Ash grabbed a spare towel and used it to dry her puffy eyes, "You want to go on a jet ski again or wave riding. I'll take you. The possibilities of things to experience are endless. Life's short! Yes, there may be things you can't do alone, but we can do it together! There are going to be trying times too, but I am also willing to take the hardships with the good."

"That was my father who called." She sniffed, "He told me to stay away from you."

"He doesn't like me May." Ash confirmed, "And I don't think his opinion is going to change anytime soon."

"It has to."

"And what if it doesn't?" Both of them knew that the outcome was a very real possibility.

May's eyes suddenly brightened, "I got it!" She exclaimed, almost yelling. Her mood now much different, "Ash, what does a Commando do when he comes across a hostile threat?"

"We neutralize it as quickly and effectively as possible." His answer was more out of habit.

"If that doesn't work?" May pressed.

"Fall back. Get into a more advantageous position or gather reinforcements."

"Reinforcements!" She said excitedly, "I know one person who might be able to help us! We can visit tomorrow. She lives in Littleroot."

"Don't see why not." Ash started the engine and rolled out of the station. "That military talk you just gave me is a dead giveaway, you've been hanging around me and my team for too long."

May laughed, now her usual cheerful self and the conversation with her father pushed to the back of her head, "Can't get rid of me that easily. What did you mean by team?"

"That was the first question I asked them on our first major operation," Ash replied, "I just relayed you the Commando's correct answer and back then, Jewell was the only one to get it right."

Well, another chapter in the books. Little bit of family togetherness and some drama mixed in with that. May is definitely going to confront Ash about the revelation her father just revealed about him and it's definitely going to be a touchy subject. And who is this person May knows? Probably most if not all of you already know, but I enjoy asking it at the end anyway!

Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.