Chapter 42

"Does your mom know you're coming with us?" Misty asks her boyfriend as they near Delia's house.

Ash awkwardly scratches the back of his head. "No. Sometimes I come home late, so she probably thinks that's what today is." Plus, he isn't sure how to tell his mother that he's dating Misty again. He knows Delia will be very happy, but Ash is shy.

"Yes! We're gonna surprise grandma!" Ariel grins.

Soon, they pull up to Delia's house. It's not too late, so Delia is awake. Also, because Ash isn't home, then Delia walks out of the house to greet Misty and Ariel. When the older woman's eyes land on the third figure with Misty and Ariel, Delia stares at them in confusion. "Did you just get here too, Ash?"

Ash nervously smiles at his mother. She must think he just flew in. "Yeah." He's not lying because he did just arrive, though he arrived with Misty. "Let's go inside, mom."

With everyone inside and greeted, Delia now asks, "Aren't you tired, Misty?" Misty never comes inside when dropping off Ariel since the redhead is usually tired and just wants to sleep at her hotel room.

Misty warmly smiles at Delia. "Yes. I can't wait to sleep. Thank you for waiting for us, Delia."

Even though Delia expected Misty to leave now, the redhead doesn't. Delia won't question her for fear Misty may think Delia doesn't want her here. Delia always welcomes Misty in her home. "I'm sorry I don't have a guestroom." Ariel's room was once the guest bedroom

"Mom is sleeping with dad, grandma." Ariel pipes up after talking to Mr. Mime.

Delia now looks at her son with confusion. Did she just hear that correctly? Why did Ariel say that? Is there something Delia doesn't know? "Ash."

The man flinches from her stern tone. "I wanted to tell you in person, mom!" Ash panics. Misty can't help but giggle at her flustered boyfriend.

"Tell me what?" Delia narrows her eyes at Ash, making him more nervous.

"Misty and I are dating!"

Delia blinks in confusion. She then shifts her gaze slowly over to the smiling redhead. "Is that true, Misty?" When Misty nods, Delia hugs her tightly. "I always wanted you two to patch things up again."

Misty welcomes the hug. "Thank you, Delia." Misty knows she always wanted to patch things up again with Ash too.

After hugging Misty, Delia hugs her son tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Ash."

"Thanks, mom." Ash is relieved that he told her. Even though he knew his mother would love the idea of him and Misty dating again, he just wasn't sure how to tell his mother.

"I was so sad knowing my grandbaby will be visiting me less, but now I might get another one!" Delia happily claps her hands together, making the couple blush profusely from her words.

"Mom!" Ash whines. While he wouldn't mind having another child with Misty, now is not the time. They're both trying to work on their relationship, and they're busy with their jobs.

"What are you talking about, grandma?" Ariel curiously asks.

"Nothing!" Misty pushes her daughter to the stairs. "Just adult stuff, baby. Go to sleep. We're waking up early tomorrow."

"What? Why?" However, Ariel is soon up the stairs without any explanation from her mother.

Misty returns to see Ash suffering from his mother's many embarrassing questions. Even Misty is embarrassed for Ash. After talking to Delia some more and convincing her that they're not having another child, Ash and Misty make their way up to his room. The last time Misty was in here, she had forced her way onto that journey with him. Now that she doesn't hate him anymore, she finds herself taking in the room. It still looks the same.

The woman's eyes land on his desk where she sees a framed drawing. It's a poorly drawn family picture in colorful crayons. Misty assumes the little person is Ariel, the yellow spiky ball is Pikachu, the brunette is Delia, the black haired person is Ash, and the redhead is her. Everyone is holding hands in the picture except for Pikachu who is on Ariel's shoulder. In the corner of the drawing is a small photo of Ash holding a newborn Ariel. Misty recognizes it as the day Ariel was born.

"Hey, Ash?"

"Yeah?" He's in his closet grabbing pajamas.

"Why'd you frame this drawing?" Despite hating Misty, Ash still kept this drawing with her in it. Of course, it doesn't really look like her, but everyone knows that's her. He must've still had it when he was with Melody too.

Ash peeks his head out of the closet to see her looking at the framed drawing. "It's the first thing she ever made for me." Ash was rarely around when Ariel was younger; thus, she didn't have many opportunities to make him anything. Her first weekend with Ash in Pallet Town, she made that drawing and cried about missing her family.

"But I'm in it. And we hated each other."

The man walks over to her. "Yeah, but her drawings after this one look more like you."

Misty looks up into Ash's shy brown eyes. "You're a great dad, Ash." She's still so amazed by the kind of father he is. Seeing him interact with Ariel and the little things he does for her just makes Misty see him in an even better light.

Ash chuckles. "I'm like all dads." He never had a father, so he isn't sure how to be one. His parenting comes from his mother and what he thinks Ariel would like. Watching Gary with Jace and Lauren also helped too.

Misty shakes her head. "No. You're a great dad, Ash." She repeats.

"Thanks, Mist. You're an awesome mom." She was the one raising Ariel mostly by herself in the beginning. And then Misty had to take care of all of Ariel's needs while Ash just got to play with her on the weekends.

After they change and lay in bed, since they know that sleeping together means they don't have nightmares, Misty listens to Ash's heartbeat. She loves being in his arms, and he loves having her in them. Mew, he can't believe he was ever an idiot to spend so much time away from her. This is where he feels happiest, though he was always at the League. No wonder why she hated him.

"Mist?"

"Hm?" the tired redhead replies with her eyes shut.

Ash blushes. "I don't know if this matters anymore…" Misty curiously raises her head to meet his eyes. "But I like you." They haven't confessed any feelings for each other, though they did agree to be together.

She blushes as a smile appears on her mouth. After passionately kissing him, Misty says, "I like you too, idiot." She giggles and hugs him tighter. "I never stopped loving you." She loved and hated him after the divorce, which angered her a lot because she couldn't get rid of her love for him. Misty had always loved him.

Ash buries his face in her hair. "Same. I never stopped loving you either." Even when he was with Melody. Even after the divorce. Even though he hated her. Ash knows he still had a lot of love for Misty. It's why he could never fully commit to Melody, and why he hated the water. Anything reminding him of Misty was just too painful because he still loved her, and he lost her.

Misty hears his racing heartbeat, which makes her smile. This heart still beats quickly for her, and she's sure he can hear her pounding heart too. She still loves this man as much as she did the day she married him. That feeling won't ever go away. Now that she's back with him, she's very happy and content. Soon, the two blissfully fall asleep together.

Flashback

"We need to tell my mom." the young man mumbles to his girlfriend.

Sighing, Misty nervously smiles at him. "I'm free this weekend. We can go to Pallet Town." The two have been dating for about two weeks now with Ash staying at the gym. Of course, Delia thinks this is just Ash visiting his friend, Misty.

Ash gives her a weak smile back. "I know she'll love that we're dating, but I'm still scared to tell her." Misty is his first girlfriend. He knows his mother has been waiting for him to get a girlfriend. Moreover, Delia often brings up Misty to get Ash to think about her in that way.

Misty nods. "Same." She visits Delia when Ash is traveling because Delia is like a mother to her. "But you're right. We need to tell her before the media finds out." She'd hate for her friends and family to find out about her new relationship with Ash from the news. "Then we need to tell my sisters and Brock."

"And Gary and Leaf." Ash groans. His Pallet Town friends often tease him about being single. Sometimes, they tease him and Misty when they're hanging out together. Misty and Leaf are close friends due to being gym leaders.

"Let's tell them last."

"I agree." Ash stands up from the bed to walk over to the girl at the desk. He swivels her chair to face him as he sits on the edge of the bed.

"What?" Misty raises a curious eyebrow at him.

"It's a lot easier cuz my mom loves you a lot." Ash knows his mother likes Misty the most out of all of his friends. Delia views Misty like a daughter.

"I love your mom too." Misty locks eyes with the man.

"I know." Ash leans toward her. "It's a reason I like you, Mist." Before Misty can say anything, Ash crashes his lips onto hers. Mew, he loves her kisses, especially when she snakes her tongue into his mouth. He isn't as nervous about telling his mom he has a girlfriend this weekend.

Pallet Town

"We're dating." the young man mutters.

"What was that?" His mother curiously raises an eyebrow at him.

Misty nervously keeps her gaze on the ground. She's always seen Delia as a mother figure to her, and she knows Delia loves her. However, Misty and Ash are anxious about telling Delia that they're dating.

Taking in a deep breath, Ash meets his mother's eyes. "Misty and I are dating, mom."

Like he expected, Delia breaks out in a huge grin. She pulls the two into a hug. "I've always waited for this day!"

Misty wraps an arm around Delia too. "Me too. I'm glad you're okay with it."

Delia pulls away from them to just hug Misty now. "I'm more than okay with it, Misty! I'm so happy!" The older woman then turns to sternly look at her son. "You better call Misty every day."

Ash sighs. "I will, mom." He will be traveling around Kanto again anyway, so he'll be sure to visit when he can.

Flashback Over

"Not cool, guys!" shouts the auburn haired man in only his boxers.

"Yeah! Give us our blankets back!" his wife commands beside him.

At the shore, a raven haired man pulls his girlfriend closer to him by wrapping his arm around her waist. Waving his free hand at the couple in the ocean, he yells, "Payback!"

The redhead leans into his side with her own huge smirk on her lips. "You guys better think twice before setting us up again!"

The couple in the water woke up to their mattress being in the ocean south of Pallet Town. To add to their unfortunate circumstances, Misty and Ash also took their blanket, and Gary sleeps in his boxers. Ash and Misty are glad they didn't have to see their friends naked. Ash and Misty had Ariel come visit the Oaks early today, waking Jace up to let them in. Since they know Leaf can be a light sleeper, they made sure to use some of Bulbasaur's sleep powder they had packed. Ariel went straight to sleep the moment she arrived at the Oaks; thus, all the children are still sleeping with Pikachu on babysitting duty.

"Come get us!" Leaf exclaims. She and Gary don't have their pokemon, and their smirking friends across the water are annoying her.

"Yeah! It's cold!" Gary shivers.

"Are you gonna stop setting us up?" Misty calls over to them.

Leaf groans. She and Gary have only been trying to help Ash and Misty get along again. Of course, the Oaks enjoy teasing their friends too, but it's for a good cause. "Fine! Come get us before Gary gets hypothermia!"

Misty looks up at her boyfriend to see he's also looking down at her. Their eyes lock, and she nods. "I think they got our message."

Chuckling, Ash throws out a pokeball. "Loud and clear. Mew, you're evil." Misty was the one who came up with the plan as well as to take away the Oaks' blanket. "Get them, Aerodactyl." Ash knows Charizard would not like the Oaks on him, so he made sure to take Gary's Aerodactyl.

Once the Oak parents are rescued and on shore, Gary charges at Ash. "You're going down, Ketchum!"

Ash releases Misty to jog around them. "Hey! We had a deal!"

Fortunately, Leaf grabs her husband. "At least give him your jacket, Ash."

The champion begrudgingly hands his jacket over. "Fine. But this is it. No more pranks or lies."

"You owe us a new mattress." Gary hisses as he puts on the coat.

Misty rolls her eyes. "It'll be delivered later today." They did plan this prank days ago, so she was sure to order a mattress in time.

"Why are you guys alone together?" Now that everyone is out of the water, and Gary's lack of clothing has been somewhat taken care of, Leaf has taken notice of the situation. There are no children or even Pikachu here. Just Ash and Misty who supposedly hate each other but had sex last week.

Misty and Ash shyly look away with blushes on their faces. "Uh…"

"C'mon, Leaf. They were probably fucking again." Gary knowingly replies, earning him an annoyed glare from his wife.

Ash's and Misty's faces heat up more from Gary's statement. "Actually, we're dating." Misty squeaks out.

Gary and Leaf return their now shocked gazes to their friends. "What?" Leaf must not have heard that right.

Letting out a breath, Misty meets her friends' faces again. She reaches over a hand to hold Ash's, which he squeezes. "Ash and I are dating again." Ash weakly eyes his friends too.

After a few silent seconds, Gary and Leaf break out in grins. "See! I knew they still like each other!" Gary cheers.

Leaf high fives her husband. "I'm so happy! Oh my Suicune, you need to tell us the details!" They are great matchmakers.

Giggling, Misty nods. "Let's do it after Gary puts on pants."

"I'm not giving him mine." Ash mutters.

Misty rolls her eyes. "Duh. No one's asking you to, Ash."

"I'm pretty sure you like it when he takes his pants off though." Gary snickers, and Misty shoots him a glare while she and Ash blush more.

"We can tease them later, Gare." Leaf drags Gary back to Aerodactyl. "I don't need the town thinking you're a weird professor again."

"I remember that." Ash laughs as he calls out Charizard. "Why were you moving like that outside of the lab?"

"I was dancing!" Gary blushes from embarrassment.

"Oh! I remember that too!" Misty laughs while getting on Charizard.

The Next Day

"Bye, dad!" Ariel hugs her father tightly. She had said goodbye to her grandmother and Mr. Mime inside. Ash walked Ariel and Misty to the car where Pikachu is currently saying bye to Misty.

"Bye, champ. Text me when you get home." Pikachu hops into Ariel's arms, and Ash walks over to his girlfriend.

Despite dating for the past couple of days, the two still are a little awkward around each other. They did hate each other a week ago. Misty leans in for a kiss, but Ash has already started extending his arms for a hug. Seeing that they both want different things, Misty changes to a hug, but Ash changes to a kiss.

"Uh. Sorry." Misty mumbles in embarrassment.

Ash sheepishly rubs the back of his head. "No. It's my fault."

Ariel giggles with the sweatdropping Pikachu in her arms. Misty finds herself laughing too, which makes Ash chuckle. Why are they so awkward with this goodbye when they've been having sex and cuddling? Locking eyes with him, Misty suggests, "Both?"

Ash smiles warmly at her as both of their nerves are gone. He wraps his arms around the woman he doesn't want to be separated from. This week has been a lot of fun with his family. Bringing up a hand, he cups Misty's face and plants a long kiss on them while she wraps her arms around his neck, and their bodies are pressed together. Ariel shields Pikachu's eyes and closes her own.

When Ash pulls away from the kiss, he rests his head on Misty's shoulder in their tight hug. With his lips brushing her ear, he asks, "Do you have another house key?"

Misty wants to look at his face, but she can't due to his hold. "What?"

"Do you have another house key?" Ash calmly repeats.

"Why?"

"So I can come over tomorrow night." He has a meeting at the League all day tomorrow, so he can't leave until late.

"Ash-"

The man pulls away to meet her curious blue eyes. "Don't tell me about work, Mist. I have it handled."

Misty lets out a sigh as a smile makes its way to her lips. Looking over at Ariel, Misty says, "Give your dad your keys, Ariel."

"Why?" Ariel hadn't heard anything that Ash had whispered in Misty's ear.

"So I can come over, champ." Ash grins. "I'll make a copy and give it to you later."

Ariel quickly pulls out her keys from her pocket to put in his hands. "Really? You're coming over, dad? When?"

Ash chuckles at the girl hugging him and jumping in place. "Tomorrow night. I have meetings tomorrow, so I'll come after them." The man, with Ariel still hugging him, leans over to Misty. "If it's okay with your mom that is."

Misty blushes at his coolness. Mew. Whenever Ash gives her that sexy smirk of his with those playful eyes, she just wants to capture those lips, which she instantly does by leaning into him. After passionately kissing the man, Misty replies, "I guess you can come over."

Ash pulls her in for their family hug. He loves having these two in his arms. The woman he loves, and the girl who binds them together. "I love you both so much."

Next Week

"I'm glad you two are getting along again." the tan man smiles while sitting down. He and his friends are sitting in a circle in Delia's backyard while Delia gardens. Ariel and the Oak siblings are playing in the yard too. Ash invited Brock over for the weekend because he hasn't seen Brock in a while. Brock knows Ash and Misty have been getting better with co-parenting.

"Actually, we're dating." Misty knowingly remarks, making Brock spit out his drink.

The Pokemon breeder stares wide eyed at his friends. "What?"

Ash can't help but smirk along with Misty. He intertwines his fingers with hers and raises their hands up for Brock to noticeably see. "We're together again."

Brock rubs his eyes in disbelief. The last time he checked, his friends still hated each other, but they were getting along for Ariel's sake. "Someone explain!"

Misty rolls her eyes at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Brock."

"I feel like it too! What's going on?"

Ash chuckles while clapping Brock on the back. "Look, Brock. Misty and I had been doing couple things, so we figured we might as well date again."

"What do you mean by couple things?" Brock questions.

"We're raising Ariel together-"

"Lots of divorced parents do that and they don't get back together." Brock really hopes this just isn't a phase his friends are going through. Ariel doesn't deserve to have her family break again. As much as Brock is happy to have Ash and Misty together, he is scared for the possibility they'll break up. They were just fine coparenting.

Ash sighs. "Well, we were getting along good and having sex-"

Misty hits his back, making him glare at her. "You don't need to tell him that!"

"You guys had sex before you dated?" Brock wasn't sure his eyes could open any wider. The couple blushes profusely, confirming that Brock's assumption is right. "I thought you guys hated each other?"

"We did. It just kind of happened." Ash sheepishly rubs the back of his head. "But we then realized we still love each other, so we're trying again."

To Misty's surprise, Ash was in Cerulean City the whole week. After he came late Monday night from his League meetings, he stayed in Cerulean City for the rest of the week. Because Misty left clothes at Delia's house from last weekend, Ash had them fly on Charizard to Pallet Town. It's a lot faster, and Misty doesn't need to be exhausted from driving. Plus, Ash is able to fly them back tomorrow because he doesn't need to be at the League this week. The League keeps calling and scolding him, but he doesn't care.

Brock sighs. "If you're together for lust-"

"We're not, Brock. We tried being bed buddies." Misty sternly tells him. "We love each other, and we want to make this work."

"Okay. But just know, you can't break Ariel's family again." Brock seriously says.

Ash shakes his head. "We'd never do that, Brock! We love each other and her. We're going to fix us." He and Misty didn't have this talk at all, but Ash wants to spend the rest of his life with her. She's the only person he's ever saw in that position.

Misty curiously looks at her boyfriend. His passion for wanting to be with her makes her heart beat quicker. She finds herself falling for him even more, so she squeezes his hand. "Yeah, Brock. We're going to fix us."

Letting out a breath, Brock now meets his friends' gazes with a bright smile on his face. "Alright. Then congrats, guys! I'm so happy!"

Weeks Later

"Leave, Ash." Misty narrows her eyes at the man in their bed.

"Don't wanna." he tiredly mumbles.

"The League has been blowing up my pokenav! You need to go there today!" While Ash and Misty didn't tell the media they're dating, they weren't hiding their relationship either. Eventually, the media caught wind of them kissing and holding hands in public. Ash and Misty have even gone on a few dates, and the media knows Ash spends his weekdays in Cerulean City.

"I thought you hated it when I was at the League?" grumbles the man.

Misty groans. "Ash, I appreciate you being here every day, but you can't neglect your duties." As much as Misty wants having Ash with her in Cerulean City, she knows he needs to go on this League mission. He rarely has them; thus, she's fine with him going.

"They can send Lance or someone else."

"They want the champion. Just finish the job quickly, and you can come back." Misty pulls the blanket off of him. "I know I said I hate when you leave me for the League, but you need to do this. Ariel and I will be fine."

Ash groans and stands up. Frowning at his girlfriend, he mutters, "Fine. I'll be back on Friday to fly us to Pallet Town." The League knows that Ash will always be in Pallet Town on the weekends. Even if a mission isn't done yet, Ash would take a break from the mission to spend time with Ariel.

Furthermore, the League has also been calling and emailing Ash nonstop. They want him back at the Indigo Plateau, but he told them he'd rather work from home. He still gets his work done on time, so the League isn't threatening him yet. Ash hopes to show them that he can stay in Cerulean City and still be a Champion.

After Ash kisses Misty and leaves, the woman lets out a long breath. She's currently on a lunch break from the gym, but she stopped by the pokemart before forcing Ash to leave. Walking into the bathroom, Misty opens a box to pull out a wrapped pink and white stick. Her period is late, and she wants to have some peace of mind.

However, when the test shows two lines, the woman uses another one. The same results, so she uses the final test and groans. With her head in her hands, Misty thinks about when this could've happened. They were being careful and using protection. She hasn't been feeling nauseous, like she was when she was pregnant with Ariel. What if these tests are wrong? Or it's something else in her urine?

"Psy?" Psyduck knocks on the door. He heard his trainer groaning and wanted to make sure she's okay.

"Go away, Psyduck!"

"Psy!" Psyduck frowns.

Misty returns her attention to the pregnancy tests indicating that she and Ash are expecting. How will he feel? Will he think she trapped him? They just started dating again, and Ariel will be gone in a couple of months. Being pregnant now will just give Misty a reason to keep seeing her ex if they don't work out. Why did this have to happen?

Lol. Yeah. Misty and Ash were bound to have another kid. Someone said it in a review. If you read my stories, you know I love having babies and making characters pregnant. Also, it's for Ash to redeem himself too, though he is a good dad to Ariel. Anyway...drama in the next chapter. :P