Professor Oak was awakened by the early morning sunshine streaming through the window. Groaning, he slowly opened his eyes. Even though the couch had been a significant improvement over the floor, he had had slept poorly most of the night. A faint breeze wafting in from the direction of the sliding glass door across the room made him shiver and brought him to further wakefulness.

Now who in the world left the door open?

Realizing that the cool breeze blowing in on him had been responsible for his poor night's sleep, Professor Oak stood up and made his way to the back porch. He started to slide the door shut and then caught sight of a red-haired girl asleep in the wicker love seat next to the door.

What in the world is Misty doing out here by herself? Professor Oak wondered as he stepped onto the deck.

Then he saw that Misty wasn't alone.

Lying asleep next to her was Ash. His head was resting atop Misty's shoulder, and he was snoring softly. Misty's red head was pillowed atop Ash's, and her cheek was nestled in his unruly dark hair.

Professor Oak smiled when he saw that the two were holding hands. He went back inside to retrieve the quilt from the couch and spread it atop the sleeping couple, being careful not to awaken them.

Too bad I don't have a camera. Delia really ought to see this.

Shivering slightly from the cool ocean breeze, he checked to make certain Ash and Misty were warm enough under the blanket, then went back inside to make a pot of hot tea.

Delia found him in the kitchen sipping a cup of chamomile tea when she awoke ten minutes later.

"Good morning, Samuel, did you sleep…"

Professor Oak held up a finger to his lips, then motioned for Delia to follow him. Curious, Delia followed him outside and smiled at the sight of her son and Misty asleep together on the back porch.

"Oh, that's so sweet," Delia whispered to her companion. "They look so cute together. I've got to go get my camera before they wake up." Delia went back inside and returned a moment later with a disposable camera. "I had it in my beach bag," she explained as she snapped a picture of the sleeping couple. Delia then reached down and tucked the blanket around Ash's chin. "Do you think they'll be warm enough out here?"

Professor Oak nodded. "They'll be warm enough under that quilt. And it looks like it's going to be a sunny day today. They'll be fine. Come on, let's go back inside and have some tea." Once back inside the cabin, he poured her a cup of tea and the two sat down on the couch.

"I always figured those two would get together someday," Delia said as she sipped her tea. "Misty's a sweet young lady. She'll be good for Ash. She has a crush on him, you know."

Samuel smiled. "And it looks like Ash feels the same way about Misty. When I found them there on the porch, they were holding hands."

"Oh, that's so sweet." Delia put down her cup of tea and snuggled against her friend. "Did you sleep well last night, Samuel?"

He shook his head. "Between Brock's talking in his sleep about Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy and that hard floor, I couldn't sleep in the same room with the two boys. I came out here to get some peace and quiet and Ash followed me out here."

"Ash followed you out here? Why?"

"He had a question about the Goldeen we saw last night. I don't remember all of it…I nodded off in the middle of our conversation."

"Poor baby," Delia said soothingly as she laid her head against his chest. Samuel wrapped his arms around her. "Why don't you just close your eyes and go back to sleep? I could use a few more winks myself."

Samuel yawned and cuddled Delia closer to him. "I was hoping that I'd be able to sleep with you while we were here."

Delia smiled and closed her eyes. "Me too. It's not exactly the way we planned it, but it's pretty nice just the same."

---

Ash awoke with a terrible crick in his neck.

Oh man, my neck is killing…

He then saw that the reason why his neck hurt so much was because he was lying with his head on Misty's shoulder.

Whoa…how come Misty and I are out here? And where did this blanket come from?

Ash then realized that he and Misty were still holding hands.

Hey, how come we're…?

And then a smile spread over his face as he remembered.

Misty's eyelids fluttered open. "Mmmm…Ash…?" she muttered sleepily.

"Hey, Misty. Did you sleep okay last night?"

"My neck's a little sore but…hey, where did the blanket come from?"

"I dunno. Looks like we've been asleep for a while. The sun's already up." Ash's stomach growled. "And it's time for breakfast, too." Ash reluctantly let go of Misty's hand, stood up, and stretched. "Come on, Misty. Let's go get something to eat."

Misty smiled as Ash held out his hand to her and helped her up. Ash picked up his sleeping Pikachu (who was still curled up in his trainer's jacket on the chair next to the love seat) and they all went inside to get some breakfast.

"I'm so hungry that I could eat a…whoa!" Ash's jaw dropped at the sight of his mother and Professor Oak curled up asleep together on the couch.

"Oh, that's so sweet," Misty said. "They look so cute together. I wish I had a camera."

Ash continued to stare at the sleeping couple. "Misty, how come Professor Oak is hugging my mom? And how come she's hugging him back?"

"Don't be so dense, Ash. Brock and I already told you – your mom is Professor Oak's girlfriend. And your mom told me so last night."

Ash's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "My mom told you…that she and Professor Oak were…?"

Misty nodded. "Oh, don't look so shocked, Ash. Sometimes two people who are friends – like your mom and Professor Oak – fall in love. It's not so strange once you think about it, you know."

It took Ash a few seconds for him to figure out the true meaning of Misty's words, but then he smiled and reached for her hand. "Yeah, Misty…you're right. It's not so weird after all – two friends falling in love. Come on, let's go have some breakfast. After all, we've got a big day ahead of us training our Goldeen."

THE END