DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon, so please don't sue me, I BEG you!

A/N: I'm sooo sorry it took me sooo long to put up this chapter, I've just got back to school and I've been doing homework allll week. But here we go, chapter twelve - ranking time!

Four days and still no word. Misty was going crazy. The inspector hadn't called, emailed or faxed a reply yet, and the League website still hadn't put up the rankings. Was the gym really that bad that he won't bother to tell me where I got? she thought to herself, but then realised that if the rankings weren't up yet, he wouldn't have decided.
The phone rang and interrupted her thoughts. Daisy, Violet and Lily had gone to catch up with some friends, and Ash was in his room.
"Hello, Cerulean Gym?" Misty answered, since the after hours gym phone had rung and not her personal line.
"Hello, this is Lionel, the League Inspector" he started. Misty nearly jumped out of her skin in fright. She hadn't been ready for this. "I was wondering if I could speak to the gym leader, Misty?"
"This is Misty." She half-gulped her reply.
Lionel paused. "I have the rankings of the nine gyms here, and I am ringing to inform you that your gym came seventh."
Misty literally dropped the phone in shock. She stared into space, not quite knowing what to do. She picked the phone back up and breathed deeply. "So, my gym...failed?" She whispered the last word.
"I'm afraid so. You must resign as gym leader by the end of the month" Lionel informed her.
Misty nearly burst into tears. The gym she had lived in and worked so hard for was no longer hers. And what her mother would say if she knew...
"You have two options about what to do with the gym. You may either shut it down..."
"No!" Misty yelled. "I don't want to shut the gym down" she added.
"Okay. Well, the other option is to pass gym leadership down to a family member, whether they be by blood or marriage, who will be living in Cerulean from now until at least March next year." Lionel made the choices very clear, but left Misty in an awkward position. She couldn't shut down the gym, her mother had wished her not to, but then again, she had no family members living in Cerulean until next year.
She fought back her tears as she replied. "Can I get back to you by the end of the month?" she asked politly.
"Certainly. But that is the deadline. If we hear no word from you by then, the gym will be shut down or put up for auction" Lionel explained.
Misty nodded. "Okay, thankyou." She put down the phone and immediatly burst into tears. All that work...five years...gone. Suddenly, she remembered why. One person had wiped away all her work.
He was sitting in his room, playing with Pikachu, when Misty entered, angrier than anyone had ever seen.
"Misty...is everything okay?" Ash asked cautiously.
Misty walked right up to him, grabbed his shirt, and started shaking him. "You cost me and my family our gym! You and your little birthday stunt!" she screamed, letting all her feelings out.
"Misty! Let go, would ya?" Ash half-asked, half-screamed.
"I will NOT let go! You are in the biggest trouble of your LIFE!" Misty shoved him back on his bed with such force that he nearly twisted his neck into a dangerous position. "Just when I thought I could like you again, just when I was falling for you harder and faster than ever, you screw up big time! That gym was my life and you've stolen it from me! Now you'll pay!" Misty shouted, grabbing a lead pole and about to take a swipe, when Pikachu shocked her.
Misty dropped the pole and fell to the ground, crying with all her heart and soul.
Ash sat beside her. "Misty, what happened?" he asked gently.
Misty sniffled and didn't bother to look up. "The gym came seventh. Out of nine gyms. If I don't find a family member to run it instead of me, one who'll be living in Cerulean for at least the next year, I have to shut it down or sell it. But either way, the gym's no longer mine" she explained quietly.
Ash was stunned. It was his fault this had happened, and he knew it. "Misty...I am so sorry...I can't make up for it..."
"No, you can't" Misty replied, feeling no sympathy or feelings towards him anymore. She despised him and everything he did and said.
Ash went quiet. After a minute, he spoke up. "So, what are you going to do?" he asked bravely.
"I don't have much of a choice, do I? No one in my family is living in Cerulean for the next year, either by blood or marriage, so..."
Ash interrupted and grabbed her hand. "Did you say blood or marriage?" he asked excitidly. Misty nodded and continued to sob into the carpet as Ash's eyes lit up. "Misty, I have an idea. I just have to think through it" he explained. Misty looked up in curiosity.
"I don't want your ideas, I can sort this out for myself" she spat almost in hatred.
"Thought about it" Ash said and looked at her. "How about we get married?" he asked bluntly.
Misty took half a second to absorb the words, then sat bolt upright and gasped. "You can't be serious" she whispered.
"I'm dead serious. If you have to pass it down to a family member, why not make it me? We can get married and then I'd be a family member!" Ash thought it was a brilliant plan, but Misty disagreed.
"Okay, have you really thought about this? It will upset your whole training...you wouldn't be able to compete in a league competition ever again, you'd never get to go home" she pointed out.
"I'm willing to give that up if you are" Ash said seriously.
"I am sixteen years old, for goodness sake! It's ridiculous!" Misty protested. What would her sisters say? "I can't do that, I can't stop you training." She shook her head as she said it. "And besides, I can't just marry someone cos of the gym. I could pick anyone up from the street and do that. When I get married, it will be out of love."
Ash grinned. "But you just said that you were falling for me." He had caught her out.
Misty blushed, feeling ten years old again. "That's true...I don't know, Ash. Marriage is such a huge thing...especially cos we're only sixteen."
"But think about it - you'd be close to gym, you could still live in Cerulean, and it two years time you can give it to one of your sisters and do whatever you want" Ash shrugged.
"But I'd still be married to you! I would've ruined your dreams and your hopes...I can't do that to anyone, Ash, not even you." Misty weakly smiled.
"I can train here and compete in two years time. Two years is not a lifetime, Misty. Besides..." He thought he might as well tell her now, just to reassure her about this. "I think I'm in love with you."
Misty stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?" Ash nodded his answer, making Misty's decision even harder. She breathed deeply and tried to analyse the situation quickly, but she couldn't. "Gimme some time to think about it. This isn't an easy choice" she said quietly.
Ash nodded. "I know. Take all the time you need." With that they both stood up and Misty stared into his eyes.
"You know, I'll probably never forgive you for this" she grinned. Ash smiled back, and gently kissed her cheek.
"Take your time. I can wait" he said. Misty nodded and left in a trance. She trudged to her room, replaying the scene and trying to figure out what to do. Marry Ash? Her ten-year old dream was here, and now it seemed like a nightmare. A dilemma was suddenly weighing her down like she could never have imagined. As she lay on her bed, a tear escaped. She knew that either way she had failed her mother...and her sisters...and the gym. She could never make up for that, even if Ash ran the gym for the next two years. But it did seem like an ideal solution. She marries Ash, gives the leadership to him, he runs it for two years, then gives it to either Daisy, Violet or Lily.
But two years of Ash's training gone for the sake of her gym? It was a huge sacrifice, and Misty was faced with a decision she never thought she would have to make. The fate of her family's gym lay in her hands, and she hated the sudden situation she was in.
"Misty? Misty!" She heard Lily's voice and her heart started pounding. She then reminded herself that she hadn't come to a decision yet, so there was no need to worry around her sisters yet.
"I'm in here!" she yelled back. Lily opened the door and happily jumped on Misty's bed next to her.
"How are you?" Lily asked chirpily.
Misty forced a smile. "I'm fine. Everything's great" she lied.
Lily ruffled her little sister's hair as Misty protested. "Cool. Hey, we wanna take you out to dinner tonight, cos the gym looks great! Bring Ash if you want, cos it wouldn't be fair to leave him here" Lily laughed.
Misty gulped. "Sounds fun."
"Where do you wanna go? Anywhere but seafood, Violet is begging to go to Captain Sealord's all you can eat seafood buffet, but me and Daisy hate seafood, so anywhere but there!" Lily complained and Misty had to laugh. Lily had been most famous for complaining out of the four sisters, and she hadn't grown out of it.
"Okay. How about Michael's Pallazo? It's all you can eat, but it's got variety" Misty explained.
"Sure, whatever you want, sis. Go tell Ash and I'll tell the other two." Lily stood up and left with a warm smile at her sister. Misty warily smiled back and immediatly flopped back on her bed, knowing she had more to tell Ash then just about dinner.

A/N: Woah. Hasty, huh? Too hasty? Tell me in your reviews, I can handle flames, I have before! Chapter 13 coming soon!