DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon or the song "Mirror Mirror" by M2M.

A/N: Yes everyone, it's back to a chapter every day or two days or whatever I feel like. And I was gonna upload two today but my mind was kinda going everywhere at once. It was…strange. Anyways, totally not relevant so I'll let you read now!

Chapter Twenty Two - The letter.

Mirror mirror hanging on the wall

You don't have to tell me who's the biggest fool of all

Mirror mirror I wish you could lie to me

And bring my baby back

Bring my baby back to me…

That chorus reverberated around my mind the minute I heard it. It couldn't have summed up my thoughts any better than I could. Four days after the fight with Ash, suicide seemed like a plausible solution to my problems. No baby, no pain, no stupid mistakes ever being made again…

But I couldn't do that. I owed this child a life after I had so defiantly sworn that I couldn't go through an abortion. At least everyone was minding their own business about this, especially the damn media. They hadn't been on the doorstep for weeks now and it was a blessing I'd be forever indebted about. And Delia was feeling better, so I shouldn't really have had that much to complain about. Apart from my now ex-boyfriend.

"Oh Ash. Talk to me, shout at me, whatever you wanna do, just please please forgive me. I love you so much, I'm sorry about every stupid thing I've ever done."

"Misty? Is everything okay, dear?" I raised my eyes from the photo of Ash I held in my hand to meet his mother's confused gaze. She had no idea what had happened. I don't know why I never brought myself forward to tell her, but I guess I was still trying to understand the whole situation for myself.

"Everything's fine" I smiled weakly. "I just miss Ash."

"I know you do. It's a shame he has to stay up there another week" Delia sighed.

"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "He's staying another week? But why?" I knew exactly why. This was his perfect escape from having to face me for now.

"He told me he's still got to tie up some loose ends when the competitions are over. I thought he would've told you." Delia knitted her brow in confusion and my mind raced to think of a realistic reason why Ash hadn't informed me of this.

"Um…maybe he did tell me, I might've been daydreaming." Yeah, go Misty, the master of deception. I could've done better, but no, panic totally dissolves my common sense.

"Well he did say something about you…"

"What did he say?!" I cried out in alarm. Delia's eyes went wide but she was happy to answer my forceful and somewhat unexpected question.

"He just wanted to know if you were alright. Sounded more concerned than usual but maybe that's just my mind's eye. Is something wrong that I don't know about?" Now Delia was sounding panicked and I knew I had to pacify her before she jumped to conclusions.

"No, of course not, the baby is fine. Ash must be stressed, I mean, it is only two days until the complete end of his status as Pokémon Master. He'll be worrying about everything and everyone" I explained. I hated lying to her face, I truly hated it, but if I told her that we'd had a wrangle she would drill Ash or myself. Well I didn't have to worry about that for very long, because I forgot something important about Delia Ketchum - she's a smart woman.

"Maybe you're right. Still…" Delia trailed off and raised an eyebrow at me. Unable to suppress the nervous gulp that traveled down my throat, she came and sat next to me on my bed with a questioning but serious look on her face. "He never asked to talk to you. Stress or not, you know and I know that's not normal for Ash."

"Well maybe he's…" My voice died away with my lies and I looked at Delia with sorrowful eyes. "He never wants to speak to me again. In fact, I should probably move out quickly, that way he can get home sooner."

"Misty, what are you talking about? Why would he never want to speak to you again?" Delia asked in plain astonishment.

"Ash hates me. He hates me because I signed the adoption papers without his permission and he has every right to feel the way he does. We had a bit of an argument on Saturday night and he said he can't trust me, therefore he can't keep being my boyfriend." I had to hold back my tears at the last sentence.

"What?!" Delia exclaimed in disbelief. "Is that son of mine absolutely mad?! Geez, I thought I brought him up better than that" she muttered. I raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her to go on as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Ash can't say things like that about you and mean them. He loves you. One little argument isn't going to get in the way of that."

"But it has" I sighed. "And it wasn't a little argument. It was huge. I said something I shouldn't have said and we exchanged a few nasty words."

"A few nasty words?" Delia laughed. "Oh Misty, I see you two together every day and I know that would be the last thing to come between you. He'll get over himself eventually, just give him some time."

"I wish I could believe you Delia, but he has a very valid reason for behaving like this towards me. I shouldn't have made any rash decisions without him, we both know it too" I said softly.

"You were just doing what you thought was best. I assure you, as his mother, the person who's known him his whole life, that he will forgive you and come back with the same love and affection he's always had for you." Delia kissed the top of my head and stood up. "Don't worry hun, everything will work out eventually. Just look after yourself, don't worry about Ash's little mood problems."

"Okay." I smiled as I watched her walk away, wondering if what she had said was true. Still, after the way Ash had talked to me I was seriously doubting any chance of him ever talking to me again. I placed the photo down on my bedside table and stared at the ceiling with my hands cradling my head.

Going home seemed like my only option but it was an option that made tidal waves of nausea sweep over me. My mother and my sisters never wanted to face me again, Dad…well, Dad was nice but he was still living in the same house as the other four. Not that I'd want him to move out. The word 'divorce' sent panic tremors through me, even though I was no longer anywhere near home. The idea of our family being split in the core pained me terribly. It was okay for me to go, but for Mom and Dad to go their separate ways was something I couldn't imagine.

All day I moped around the house with the motivation of a turtle and ankles the size of boulders. They were killing me. I could hardly fit into any size shoe and if I was lucky enough to struggle into a pair it only resulted in massive blisters and even less motivation to do anything.

Ash called but again declined to talk to me. He told Delia he would be home in six days when he'd signed some more papers and talked to some more people. I had watched the closing ceremony of the tournament, fireworks and all, but all I could see were the tears in Ash's eyes. He had nearly cried. Nearly. Somehow he was still holding up a strong fort and the public fell for it, commenting on how brave he was and how dignified his leaving was despite the 'circumstances.' But I saw those tears, I almost felt them, and I knew Delia had seen them too, even though she never mentioned it as we watched in an enveloping silence.

My moping continued until the next day when I woke up with a lighter weight on my chest. This confused me. Nothing had changed overnight to make me feel any better, Ash was coming home in five days to be greeted by my awkwardness, or maybe not greeted by me at all. I was seriously contemplating going back to Cerulean that morning. Little did I know that something would waltz back into my life to change my mind about that.

I was cleaning up the lunch dishes when Delia announced that she was going to the market. I had no desire to go shopping with my engorged ankles and politely turned down her invitation to join her and Mimey. Dishes clean and housework, as always, completed, I flopped onto the couch with a magazine and prepared to enjoy the silence that now surrounded me.

Ding dong.

Grr. I hated that doorbell. It always rang at the most inappropriate of times and today was no exception. The magazine was tossed aside and I slowly got up and made my way towards the door. Neither myself nor Delia were expecting company so I was cautious in opening the door.

"Hello?" I answered before an uncontrollable shriek escaped my mouth as I realised who was in front of me. "Brock! What are you doing here?!" I screamed as I hugged him in overwhelming delight. I hadn't seen or heard from him in two years and now here he was, on my doorstep, hugging me back with a few laughs in between.

"I thought I'd drop by for a visit while I was in town" Brock replied as he pulled away. "That and the fact that your boyfriend called me."

"Oh" I muttered, staring at my oversized stomach since I couldn't see the ground below me. "I suppose he told you -"

"Everything" Brock supplied. "I knew he was leaving the League before the public, I think I was the first to find out after you. He also told me about the little, uh, tiff you guys just had."

"He did?" I asked, to which Brock nodded. "It was anything but little. God I'm impolite, come in" I offered as I held the door open. Brock walked through and observed his surroundings.

"Man, it's been ages since I've been in here" he marveled.

"I know. Do you want a drink or something?" I asked. Brock shook his head and I led him to the lounge, where he sat himself down on the couch I had been resting on before he had made his guest appearance. "So did Ash sound alright when you talked to him on the phone?"

"Quite frankly, he sounded like he'd been dragged through hell and back. He's pretty messed up at the moment. He's missing you like hell and -"

"What? Did I hear you right? Did you just say that Ash is missing me?" I asked in astonishment.

"You better believe it. He misses you, but he's still sorta angry about the whole thing" Brock admitted.

"He has every right to be. He can be angry about it for the rest of his life if he wants, I wouldn't blame him" I sighed.

"Misty, don't be so hard on yourself. He's angry but he's also very very remorseful about what he said. He loves you, I know he does, he told me himself. He wouldn't be giving up the title if he didn't love you" Brock pointed out.

"Yeah…but still, what am I gonna do when he gets home? What are we gonna say to each other?" I asked hopelessly.

"How about sorry? Seems to work when you want to resolve an argument."

"He said he couldn't face me again" I said quietly. There was a silence as the painful words hung in the air and I bit my lip in protest to any oncoming tears. "I love him so much, I was such an idiot for doing what I did. I think the best thing I can do is go back to Cerulean, adopt the baby out and just forget this ever happened."

"What, and run away from the biggest thing you've ever had to deal with in your life? No Misty, you can't do that. I totally forbid it. So does Ash, by the way" Brock announced.

"He forbids me from leaving?" I asked. Brock nodded and I sighed in exasperation. "You don't understand, he hates me, he said he never wanted to see me again so why would he suddenly turn around now?"

"Because like I said, he loves you. He realised what a mistake he made and wants to come back, but he's scared of how you're gonna react. Hence my reason for being here" Brock explained.

"So he sent you here" I realised. "Like a messenger of death or something. The grim reaper."

"Why don't you think of it more like the angel Gabriel? I'm trying to send you a miracle, or a compromise at the very least" Brock grinned.

I stared at him with too many thoughts running round my mind to make much sense. If Ash was sorry, he could apologise, it's no big deal. But he had sent Brock…geez, he must have been really scared. I drummed my fingers on the arm rest and exhaled deeply, thinking everything through.

"I suppose he wants you to send a message or something back" I said flatly.

"Something like that, yeah. He just wants to know if it's safe to come home. He doesn't want to lose you, Misty" Brock said, his tone suddenly serious. "That is the last thing he wants. I think what the two of you need to do is just sit down and talk this through. I don't blame him for wanting to have a say in this but this is a mutual fault. Much like the mutual situation you both got yourselves into."

"Yeah yeah, I know" I groaned. I squeezed my eyes shut in confusion and finally managed to blurt out an answer. "Okay, you can tell Ash that I'm alright and that I desperately want him home and for him to forgive me. And then you can call him a wimp for not even attempting to call me" I said in a teasing tone.

"Well all I can say is that after witnessing your wrath for three years, I think he had reason to be scared. I know I would be" Brock smiled.

"I'd never mean to hurt him."

"Yeah well I heard you were pretty vicious those first couple of weeks at Washbay. Didn't even give the poor guy a chance at first."

"Hey, he had -" I cut myself off as I saw the mailman cycling past the window, thus indicating that the mail had arrived. "Woohoo, mail's here!" I exclaimed.

"Why is that such a good thing?" Brock asked cautiously.

"Because I can only walk as far to the mailbox and back before my ankles start yelling at me and sometimes I even receive stuff. Come on, help me up will you?" I stretched out my arm and Brock grabbed a hold to pull me up. "Friggin' back" I muttered as my back became painfully strained at the load it was taking on. This always happened when I stood up. I was surprised my spinal cord hadn't cracked under the pressure. This baby wasn't even born and already it was huge and causing way too much stress.

Sure enough, I found three envelopes, two for Delia and one for Ash. No parcels, no letters, no postcards for me. Then again, who the hell would be writing to me?

"Nada for Misty" I sighed as we walked back inside. "Maybe I should open Ash's one."

"Misty, that is mail violation or privacy violation…or something…" Brock wrinkled his nose in confusion before shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever, either way you shouldn't open that. It's addressed to Ash for a reason."

"Hey, who the hell is Cohen and McMahon?" I asked as I scanned over the envelope. "They don't even sound like proper names."

"They sound more like surnames" Brock informed me. He stole an apple from the fruit basket and proceeded to chomp noisily on it beside me while reading the envelope over my shoulder. "Yup, they're surnames. Sounds like a doctor's practice, or a lawyer's, or even a real estate agent."

"Ash doesn't need any of those things" I mused. I paused, running my fingers over the mysterious envelope. What was Ash hiding in there? I'd never seen anything like this arrive for him, something so formal and business-like. It even looked more prestigious than the Pokémon League's envelopes.

"Maybe he went for some blood tests or something, checking up his iron. I'm sure it's not a life or death thing. He would've told you if it was." Brock took another bite out of his apple when a pause followed his words. I was seriously pondering on whether I should open the envelope out of my own sheer curiousness. Well, in truth I was also a little worried. Ash had never needed letters from doctors, lawyers or real estate agents before and he certainly hadn't mentioned being sick or moving house. What sixteen-year old gets letters from a real estate agent?

"Whoever sent this is from Cerulean" I suddenly realised with a churning stomach at the sight of the Cerulean stamp. "What the hell has Mom done now?"

"Come on, you know more people in Cerulean than your mother" Brock pointed out.

"Yeah but Ash doesn't and this is addressed to Ash."

"It's probably League stuff. Just leave it, he'll be upset if you open it and you really don't want that five days before he's due home. For now you should just concentrate on him coming home and you guys being happy again" Brock suggested.

"Yeah, I'm sooo happy with this" I complained as I pointed to my stomach. Brock laughed and again shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll bet he's a cute little thing."

"Don't even know if it is a he" I pointed out.

"You're not finding out?" Brock asked.

I shook my head. "Nah. Element of surprise and all that. If anything good has gotta come outta this it has to be the surprise of it all at the end. Finding out would ruin the one thing I'm looking forward to."

"Are you allowed to choose the name?"

I stared at Brock for half a minute, contemplating his question with confusion. "You know, I never found that out. But if we are I'm ready for it, I know what my kids are gonna be called."

"God, you plan in advance" Brock groaned.

"I sure do. If I have a girl she'll be Stacy or Cassandra, and if I have a boy he'll be Adam or Zachary. But with this one, this mistake that we made, I'll have to seek Ash's approval before I sign any birth certificates or anything. That's a lesson I learnt the hard way" I said. I suddenly broke into a grin and let out an excited squeal much to Brock's surprise. "He's coming home and he loves me. I am the happiest girl in the world! I love him so much and I thought he hated me, ahhh, he's coming home because he loves me!"

"Okay Mist, take it easy" Brock laughed.

"But getting back to this bitch of a thing here…" I trailed off as I held up the envelope again. "I'm actually kinda nervous about what's in there. I think I should open it."

"Misty! How would you feel if Ash went ahead and opened your mail without his permission?" Brock asked in horror.

"I trust him enough to look at my mail, there's nothing I don't tell him and he's said the same for me, so this shouldn't be anything too drastic." Not wanting to hear any more protests, I ripped open the envelope to reveal the Cohen and McMahon letterhead at the top of an otherwise plain piece of paper.

"So what is it? He's moving out, he's got low iron, the Pokémon League are suing him…" Brock rolled his eyes in exasperation but I could only see him out of the corner of my widening eyes. I never, not in a million years, would have imagined this happening after all the other shit that had rained down on us. There was no God, I suddenly decided, and turned to Brock with panic coursing throughout me.

"Read it" I feebly commanded. He took the letter off me with a raised eyebrow but I soon saw him going pale at the words that were echoing in my mind.

"Call him. Call him now, and for God's sake try not to panic" Brock said calmly. I nodded, although inwardly I was panicking like a deranged nut, and picked up the phone's receiver. I didn't bother to switch it to the video phone as time was of the essence and impatiently waited four rings before he picked up.

"Mom? What are you doing calling?" Ash asked when his caller I.D flashed up his home number.

"No Ash, it's me."

"Mist? I'm sorry, that's all I wanna say to you, I'll go and interview these people and -"

"Ash, I don't give two shits about what happened between us the other day. I love you no matter what and especially now." My voice trembled as I fought a battle with myself not to break down.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

"You have to come home. Now. Don't ask any questions and tell them up there that you've got no choice in the matter. This is going to be an encounter bigger than anything you've ever fought up there."

A/N: I don't actually have a lot to say…uh, I guess just look out for more. And thanks for the reviews! They are truly awesome. I swear we're getting closer to the end! I swear! Would I lie to you? Hehe. Thanks everyone, more soon!