DISCLAIMER: Don't own Pokémon, nada nope no way!
A/N: I gotta make this quick cos I'm not supposed to be on here, lol. This is my chapter and after this there will be quite a big delay cos I'm going to Australia for two weeks so no updates or anything sorry. And this one is kinda long cos I got carried away, oops! Anyways read on and hopefully enjoy!
Misty continued to stare at the woman she was holding, venom daggers shooting from her eyes. But the anger she was portraying at that moment didn't even compare in size to the immeasurable amount of hurt surging throughout her. It was the most painful thing she could ever witness, another woman in her husband's arms, and she fiercely and successfully deceived any tears that threatened to fall.
"You're looking well, Misty" Alice said with an aloof exterior. Misty gulped back her nerves and focused on her anger instead.
"I know you" she repeated flatly.
"No, you know of me" Alice corrected. She never flinched during the confrontation despite Misty's strong grip and her poisonous eyes. "I do believe this is our first proper introduction."
"And what a way to be introduced" Ash mumbled under his breath. Misty swiveled her head round at his words and he reeled in shock. He hadn't thought she had heard him, but she quickly reverted her attention back to Alice.
"Then who are you?" Misty asked cautiously.
"Alice" the girl replied simply.
"Don't you have a surname or something?" Misty viciously spat out.
"What does it matter to you? You only need to call me by my first name" Alice explained coolly.
"Oh no I don't. I'll never have to call you anything because I am never seeing you again. Get out of my house, and if you dare go near me or my husband again I can guarantee you the consequences will -"
"Sure Misty. Whatever you say" Alice interrupted. "I can guarantee you I'll see ya round." Misty narrowed her eyes with an almost uncontrollable desire to slap the woman in front of her but never got the chance as Alice freed herself from her grip and calmly but quickly walked out. Misty slammed the door after her and stared vacantly at it as silence engulfed the room. The aloof attitude of a girl she had just caught kissing her husband stunned her, and she was also slightly jittered by Alice's eyes. There was something chillingly familiar about them. She only seemingly recognised her from the store she had been at earlier but she somehow knew there was something else. It was what had paralysed her from landing any sort of physical punishment on the girl.
"Misty?" Ash timidly spoke up. His wife didn't move at the calling of her name and Ash sighed nervously. "You know it was nothing -"
"Nothing?" Misty interrupted coldly. "It was nothing? You mean to tell me the one person I have loved and shared everything with being unfaithful to me in my own bedroom is nothing?! I'd like to see your idea of something!" she exclaimed.
"It was one kiss! And she forced herself on me!" Ash said defensively.
"Oh you poor thing, she forced you" Misty said sarcastically.
"Do you honestly think I would look at anyone else when I've got you?" Ash asked.
"She's not exactly horrible to look at" Misty snarled.
"I don't care what she looks like! I only want to look at and be with you! I dunno what she was playing at, I never made a move towards her."
"Sure you didn't. She was just wearing my necklace for the hell of it" Misty snapped.
"Actually you're pretty much right. Look, I walked in and found her wearing it. I asked for it back and she jumped on me. You know I would never even think of doing anything of the sort because I love you so much, Misty. You know that!" Ash said desperately.
"I don't know anything anymore" Misty said, her tone still frigid and her eyes cast on the floor. "Maybe I've just been a fool, falling for the heartfelt speeches and the sentimental trinkets and -"
"The two decades I've known and loved you, only you. Do you think that was all a charade you fell for? That I put all of that on for show or something?" Ash asked.
"I don't know" Misty sighed.
"Misty! After everything we've been through, the deaths we've grieved over, the sacrifices we've made for each other, the constant worry at the mere thought of losing the other, you're saying you don't know if it was all for real?!" Ash exclaimed in shock.
"Oh it was real for me, Ash! Just like the scene I just walked in on! That was real!" Misty yelled.
"No it wasn't -"
"Yes it damn well was! You were lip locking with a babysitter you wouldn't let me appraise while she was wearing one of my best necklaces! Looks a bit fishy, don't you think? Shit, she was still wearing the goddamn necklace when she left!" At this realisation, Misty kicked the door and collapsed on the bed, sobbing with confusion and a hurt that affected her more deeply than anything ever had. Bullets of pain shot through her soul as the scene replayed itself over and over in her mind.
Ash found himself frozen to the spot. He hated seeing his wife in any sort of distress but this time he knew it was immensely different. She had witnessed a nightmare come true and was too overcome with pain and bitterness to hear any sort of explanation. Unable to bear her cries any longer, Ash tentatively stepped forward.
"Misty…please, you've gotta believe me. I know it looked bad but I swear to you on our mothers' graves that I in no way reciprocated whatever it was she was feeling. I love you." He said it so tenderly that Misty finally looked up at him, tears obstructing her vision. She couldn't look at him for long before the image once again hit her and she buried her face in her hands.
"I love you too. I wouldn't be this upset if I didn't. But I just…God Ash, it didn't look like you were in a hurry to tear yourself away from her."
"I tried to" Ash said honestly.
"Well whatever. But the worst thing about all this is that just twelve or so hours ago you were practically spurting sonnets about your undying love for me." Misty paused and took in a deep breath before continuing. "What you said earlier, with the bike lock and all, was the most reassuring thing I've ever heard. I finally felt myself falling into some sort of security and it was all because of you. I love you that much that I believed you. But I'm sort of having trouble believing you now."
"Oh God, Mist. Please believe me. You're the only one for me" Ash said. He reached out to touch her face but was shocked when she moved away.
"I can't" she whispered. "I can't even look at you. I just need to think." Her pleading, hurt-filled eyes met his shocked ones and he concluded that she was probably best left alone for a while.
"Okay. I love you." Ash thought he was starting to sound like a broken record, and Misty only nodded as he slowly walked out. She then dejectedly lay on her bed and silently let more tears loose before she fell into a distracting slumber, for the first time in fourteen years of marriage without her husband by her side.
*******
The next morning was not pleasant for most in the Ketchum household. People were waking up with hangovers, heartbreaks or just plain boredom. Rose returned from Mandy's place at 9.30 with stories she was dying to tell someone but she found no one who was interested. Her father hadn't slept all night, having just sat on the couch and thought about the same thing. Her siblings were still asleep, as was her mother, and everyone else was either sleeping too or refusing to move. She trudged off to her room and didn't hear anyone stirring until about ten.
"Daddy, there's nothing to do" Felicity announced to a weary and melancholy Ash.
"Flick, there is tons to do" Ash flatly replied.
"Can you take us swimming?" Felicity asked. Ash noticed she had Lisa, Jack, Andrew and Scott in tow, who were all keeping silent.
"No, I can't."
"But why?" Felicity pouted.
"Because I can't" Ash said feebly.
"Daaaaaaddy, we're sooo bored" Felicity complained.
"Not now Flick."
"But Dad -"
"FELICITY! I said not now!" Ash shouted, finally reaching breaking point. His youngest daughter stared at him with wide eyes before cautiously backing off with the others. Ash sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He would never usually yell at any of his kids over something so minor but he had never felt so messed up before.
He knew what had happened the previous night wasn't his fault but he also knew how much he had hurt Misty. The thought of her in another man's arms, even by accident, sometimes brought him to the brink of his sanity, much like when she had been raped by Gary. The memory still made him shudder in disgust and regret that he could let that happen.
Even Cory had had a bad night's sleep. He woke up with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach and slowly padded down the hall towards his sister's room.
"And she was all like, no way, but we so knew she was lying. I can't believe she -" A knock on the door and her phone conversation was interrupted. "What is it!" she yelled. Cory slowly walked through, much to his older sister's exasperation. "Cory, I'm on the phone."
"I need to talk to you" Cory quietly announced.
"Now?" Rose asked. Cory nodded and Rose sighed before speaking into the phone. "Liz, I'll have to call you back." She hung up and eyed her brother in irritation. "This better be good, squirt."
Cory closed the door and sat down on Rose's bed so he could face her while she was in her desk chair. For a moment he avoided her eyes and she became genuinely worried.
"Cory? Come on, you can tell me" Rose gently offered. Suddenly his words came out in an uncontrollable flurry.
"Mom and Dad are getting a divorce! Rosella, I heard them, they were shouting and saying bad things and stuff, it was so -"
"Woah, slow down! You say Mom and Dad are getting a divorce?" Rose asked calmly. Cory frantically nodded. "Who on earth told you that?"
"Well, nobody…"
"See? No one's confirmed it so you're just jumping to conclusions. Cory, Mom and Dad sort of have to fight. It's healthy, like when you and me fight. It lets them let off some steam" Rose shrugged.
"But Rose…" Cory scanned his eyes around the room nervously, as though someone would be listening to the crucial information he was about to put forth. "Mom said he was lip locking the babysitter. I'm not stupid, I know what that means."
Rose's face slowly began to lose colour and she mentally willed her heart to stop beating so frantically. Drawing in a heavy breath, she calmly replied to his words.
"Are you sure Mom said that?"
"I'm positive."
"Cory…" Rose trailed off, unsure of how to go on. "Are you absolutely sure our mother said -"
"I was practically outside the door! Mom thought she'd put me to bed but I heard them yelling and went to see what was going on. I'm surprised you didn't hear it. They were shouting and Mom was crying real bad. I've never know her to cry like that" Cory said worriedly.
"Oh God" Rose sighed. "I'm sure this is all just some big misunderstanding. Dad wouldn't have kissed the babysitter, it's not possible."
"But she was crying!" Cory exclaimed.
"Shhh, keep it down!" Rose hissed. "We can't let Andy, Flick or Scott know about this. They would freak. Just keep quiet. I'll sort all this out." She smiled at her younger brother, deceiving her own uncertainties as she did. What did she do now? Confront her parents? Confide in someone else? But who? She watched Cory leave with a wave of anxiety washing over her.
All day Rose kept her thoughts to herself. She observed her parents behaviour, wondering if she was just imagining the distance she saw between them. But she wasn't the only one to see this, and it took until late afternoon for Brock to finally get it out of his best friend.
"She kissed you? Woah, can kinda see why Mist is giving you the cold shoulder" Brock commented. The girls had taken the kids excluding Rose to a movie, with Misty icily declining Ash's offer to join them, and James had fallen asleep on the couch after some sort of complaint of light being too harsh on his eyes.
"But I didn't initiate it or make any sort of move towards her. I wish Misty would believe me" Ash sighed.
"Come on, you know that eventually she'll find life unbearable without you and she'll hear you out. Do the others know?" Ash shook his head and Brock let out a low whistle. "Must be serious. You're usually always joking about the spats you guys have."
"Of course this is serious! My wife walked in on another woman kissing me!" Ash snapped.
"So Cory wasn't hearing things then."
Ash quickly turned around and eyed his eldest daughter in shock. She had been standing behind them without either of them ever knowing and now tears were uncontrollably filling her eyes.
"Rose…"
"I thought he, you know, might have misheard or something. I didn't actually think you would…" Rose trailed off and wiped at her eyes in a desperate attempt not to cry. "How could you do that to Mom?" she whispered, the hurt in her voice undeniable.
"It's not what you think, Rose. You and Cory should not be jumping to any conclusions right now, nothing has been sorted out, your mother has hardly spoken to me since last night" Ash explained.
"Can't say I blame her" Rose said coldly. Ash sighed. She was too much like her mother.
"Brock, can you give us a minute?" Ash asked. Brock got the hint and quickly stood up.
"Uh, sure thing guys." It was all he said before he dashed from the front porch steps where he had been talking with Ash back inside. Rose continued to stare at her father in an emotion he couldn't decipher.
"Rose, sit down" Ash commanded. Rose hesitated slightly before sitting next to Ash but keeping her distance at the same time. "Last night was something I'm not proud of. But you have to understand, it wasn't my fault. That babysitter must be a psycho or something, I don't know. She jumped on me and I was about to pull away when your mom walked in. It meant nothing but Mom's finding it hard to come to terms with, so give her some space and don't go making demands on her. I'll get this sorted and everything will go back to normal again, you'll see."
"Do you still love Mom?" Rose asked quietly.
"Oh God, Rosella I love her more than anything. And I'll do my damndest to make sure she understands the truth about last night" Ash vowed. There was a silence after this statement. Rose kept her gaze directed out to the front yard as she thought about what her dad had said. She saw it for herself every day - those two needed each other in every way possible. She sighed and fiddled with her fingers.
"I know Mom. She loves you too. She'll believe you."
"Yeah, but she doesn't right now" Ash groaned.
"She will." Rose smiled weakly and eyed her father. "She has to. She always forgives you when you mess up."
"But this is a little more than just a mess up."
"Just trust me. She'll forgive you and believe you. I believe you, Daddy" Rose said quietly. Ash smiled and hugged his first born with some sort of reassurance hitting him. Maybe good things took time after all, he thought.
"Thank you sweetheart." They sat in silence for a few seconds more before Rose suddenly spoke up.
"Do you want me to talk to Mom? I can if you want me to."
"No no, Rose that's okay, I'll talk to her when she gets back. I just might need you to keep everyone out of our hair for a while."
"No probs Dad, I'll keep the brats entertained."
"And make sure Cory's alright. He shouldn't have overheard anything but now that he has all I can do is tell him that everything's gonna be okay" Ash explained.
"Yeah" Rose nodded. It was at this point that the two of them noticed the others arriving back from the movies. "Hey guys, how was it?" Rose asked.
"It was awesome!"
"It was scary."
"It was too loud" Wilhelmina groaned, reaching into her handbag and producing a bag of painkillers. Rose raised an eyebrow at her actions and proceeded to follow the others inside to leave Ash and Misty alone on the front porch.
"Mist, we've gotta talk" Ash started.
"Go to hell" Misty replied flatly. She headed for the door but was halted when Ash forcefully grabbed her arm and hauled her back.
"I know you don't mean that" Ash said quietly. Misty bit her lip and avoided his eyes - she knew he was right.
"I'm sorry" she whispered.
"It's okay. Are you in one bit willing to hear me out now?" Ash asked. Misty looked up at him and quickly shook her head.
"I can't right now. I've got a doctor's appointment" she announced.
"What? Why?" Ash asked in astonishment.
"Because I feel like it" Misty shrugged.
"No Misty, that's not an answer."
"I feel I don't need to tell you until I get back. So just hang out till then and you'll get all the answers you want." Ash raised an eyebrow at her words but didn't reply as he saw her heading for the door. She came back out a few moments later with car keys in her hand and was gearing to step into the car but hesitated before she opened the door. Turning around slightly, she blew a kiss to her husband, who saw it as nothing short of a hopeful sign, and drove away.
Meanwhile Rose was back in her room after quickly assuring and convincing Cory that their father wasn't in the wrong. She had her radio blaring to drown out the sound of children's squeals and was lying on her bed, her eyes directed to the ceiling. With a sigh she wondered how long it would be before the dynamics of her family went back to normal. The tension between her parents was something so rare that it confused her. Surely her mom wouldn't be that unforgiving to the one guy she'd ever loved?
She didn't know hoe long she'd been lying there until the radio started playing the five o'clock news, which meant she'd been there for about an hour. She flicked the radio off and was preparing to leave when the phone in her room rang. With a groan she flopped back down on her bed.
"Hello?" she answered wearily. There was a pause on the other end before a female reply finally filtered through.
"Um, is this Rose Ketchum?"
"Well you did call my personal number so yeah, it's me" Rose said flatly. The second phone line was a new novelty and one that her parents were sure would start wearing thin when the phone bills started coming in.
"Oh good, I thought I'd rung the wrong number, you sound a lot older than you are."
It finally dawned on Rose that a complete stranger was on the other end and at this realisation she slowly sat up to a sitting position.
"Who are you and how did you get this number?"
"I'm going to become your new best friend very quickly, Rose. I needed your number because, well, what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't call you once in a while?"
"W-what?" Rose stammered in confusion.
"Trust me girl, we're gonna be two peas in a pod. I know your mom and dad are kinda on edge right now but seriously, that was a long time coming. It would have to be with a past like theirs."
"I…I, um…" Rose couldn't help being more than a little scared by the fact that this woman seemed to know so much, even about her parents at that point in time. "They don't really have much of a past." The woman started laughing, a sarcastic mocking laugh that very nearly made Rose shudder.
"Oh dear. What on earth have they told you?"
"They first met at school and -"
"God, they didn't even tell you they were Pokémon trainers?" the woman interrupted.
"No…well they used to keep a few but after the triplets were born it became too much work" Rose explained. "And my aunt runs the Cerulean Gym but…" Rose trailed off. Why was she telling a stranger all this? Curiosity seemed to be the only viable explanation.
"You poor thing. I can't believe how much they've lied to you. Well go on, what supposedly happened at school then?"
"They fell in love and got married when they were sixteen" Rose supplied.
"I suppose they didn't tell you all lies then" the woman muttered.
"Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything but how the hell could you ever know about me or my parents or their past? I know they would never lie to me" Rose said.
"They already have. Try asking them where their high school year books are. Talk to you later, Rosella." With that the phone went dead and Rose sat there clutching it with a confusion that completely took her over.
"Rose!" She snapped her head up at the sound of her mother's voice and gazed at her form standing in the doorway.
"Uh, yeah Mom?"
"Get off that goddamn phone! We've got visitors here and all you can do is yak about mindless crap to people you see every weekday!" Misty snapped. Rose eyed her mother in shock. She had never seen her so short-tempered and she quickly hung up the phone to avoid further confrontation.
"Sorry Mom." Misty sighed and sat next to her daughter on the bed.
"No, I'm sorry Rose, I shouldn't yell at you like that. It's only because I just found out…" Her words died away, surrounded by hesitation and mystery.
"What? What did you just find out?" Rose asked.
"Nothing, nothing" Misty shook her head and turned on a bright smile. "So, who were you talking to?"
"No one" Rose shrugged.
"You and your secrets" Misty said teasingly as she stood up. My secrets? Rose thought. Is it really me who's being the secretive one around here? "Come on, come and be a tad sociable." Misty smiled again and Rose desperately tried to ignore the voice that was saying her mom was too innocent to lie to her face. She had just so obviously covered something up only moments ago.
"Alright, I'm coming" Rose replied. She followed her mother out to the lounge where a game of Pictionary was in progress between the triplets playing against Cory, Lisa and Jack. At the point Rose walked in, it seemed the triple Ketchum force was too strong for their counterparts.
"What is that supposed to be?" Andy asked Felicity accusingly.
"I can't tell you, stupid, otherwise they'll know and they'll get a point" Felicity pointed out.
"No seriously Flick, what is it?" Cory asked on behalf of his team.
"It's not finished yet" Felicity said slowly as she delicately traced the pencil over her scrap of paper. Rose rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch where Wilhelmina and Jessie had been talking.
"Hey Rose, where have you been? Haven't seen you all day" Jessie commented.
"In my room. No biggie" Rose shrugged.
"It's that telephone. I bet all the boys are calling her up and we're holding her back from having any fun. Instead she has to stay here and be a Pictionary spectator" Misty grinned.
"Mom, no boys have been calling me" Rose said wearily, sick of this kind of teasing that often went on.
"Sure sure." Misty winked at her two friends who were also grinning their heads off and Rose closed her eyes in exasperation. She thought playing Pictionary was immature…
"Okay guys, come and get it!" James yelled from the kitchen.
"He cooked?" Wilhelmina raised an eyebrow at Jessie.
"No, I made him go and get Chinese" Jessie explained as they all stood up. Everyone gathered at the dining room where trays of fried rice and noodles and sweet and sour pork adorned the table. The kids couldn't help showing their excitement at such a vast array of food and immediately dug in, ignoring their parent's requests to wait for everyone else.
Dinner was only kept alive by the sound of the children arguing over measly things and commenting excitedly on their favourite things. Rose didn't join in the sometimes random topics of conversation and instead eyed her parents carefully. They were sitting together, nothing unusual there, but a word never passed their lips unless they were talking to Jessie, James, Brock or Wilhelmina, and even then their voices were lowered. Finally deciding she'd had enough, Rose put forward the question that her caller had suggested she use.
"Mom, Dad, can I ask you something?" Ash worriedly gazed at his daughter in the fear that she would bring up last night's events but nodded nonetheless.
"Of course you can" Misty offered. Rose inhaled deeply before speaking.
"Can I see your school year books?"
Misty nearly choked on her rice and Ash glanced around the table at the other adults who were also looking worried. They knew the cover-up they had used on Rose and Cory when it came to their past, the other three were two young to want to know, but they had never even considered the thought of either of them wanting to see their year books.
"Um…why, sweetie?" Misty asked when she had finally regained some composure. Now Rose was the one scraping for excuses but she quickly found one.
"We're going to start a project at school about our parents' childhood and adolescence. You know, comparing then and now and all that" Rose explained. She hated lying to her parents and very rarely did it but she knew she had no choice here.
"They got lost" Ash replied quickly. Rose stared at him in disbelief.
"You lost both your year books?"
"We lost them when we moved." Ash tried to convince his daughter with the look he sent her and he could only pray he had succeeded. Misty avoided all eyes but tried to somehow keep a normal air about her. The rest of the dinner went by quietly and Rose suddenly lost her appetite.
"May I be excused?" she asked politely.
"No, you can wait till everyone else has finished" Misty said quietly. Rose sighed. Everyone in that house had changed, everyone was quieter and uptight, scared to say something that would show gaps in lies. She ended up clearing the table and doing the dishes, something that she usually shared with another member of her family, but this time she offered to do it alone. She needed to think, she needed to make some sort of conclusion about what was going on. Were her parents lying? Should she trust a complete stranger? Would her parents ever resolve their differences?
Her last question would be answered by morning without her ever having to ask it. Misty could only bear an hour alone in that big bed before it became too much, and she finally admitted to herself that she had been somewhat harshly over-the-top with her husband. She should've believed him but her assumptions and fears had overridden any sort of common sense, and at this realisation she found herself making her way down the dark stairs towards the lounge, where Ash had taken sleepless refuge on the couch again.
"Ash." The word was barely whispered but he heard it and sat up in shock at the sight of his wife standing before him with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Relief surged throughout Ash at the words he had just heard and he stood up to face Misty.
"Don't be. I love you too much to care about apologies" he smiled. "What happened last night won't ever happen again, you hear me?" Misty nodded at his words, finally finding some sort of peace within herself, and she happily returned the loving kiss Ash bestowed on her lips. But she suddenly remembered something and broke away abruptly, grinning at her confused husband.
"You still wanna know why I went to the doctor?" she asked.
"Of course I do. I was so damn worried about you" Ash confessed. Misty smiled warmly and whispered two words in her husband's ear that he had already heard three times before.
"I'm pregnant."
"Whaaaa…" Ash trailed off and eyed Misty in amazement. "Are you serious?"
"I'm serious" Misty nodded. "I'm only two months along but I sort of had an idea, so I made an appointment. I guess it was just bad timing that everything happened when it did. I didn't want to tell you straight away in case I was wrong but I was pretty sure."
"God Mist, you worry me too much. So Ketchum Junior number six huh?" Ash shook his head, overwhelmed at the prospect of it all. "I don't believe it. Do you think we can do it?"
"I know we can" Misty said quietly. She kissed him again and he instantly believed her. If they could overcome the last obstacle that had happened in the last twenty four hours, they could bring up their sixth child with all the love and care they had done for their children now. Nothing but happiness and love finally surrounded them, after a harrowing day of tension and uncertainty, and now it seemed that nothing could stand in their way when it came to keeping it that way.
A/N: Done! It took me…I think a week to write this? I dunno. But yeah, delays ahead, sorry about that. Nonetheless, thanks for the reviews and look out for an update in a couple of weeks!