DISCLAIMER: We don't own Pokémon. I think everyone really should know that by now…
A/N: Alrighty, the newly reformed Grocko (don't ya love that name!) has produced this chapter and woo yeah we're back into it! Sorry about the delays as per usual, life is busy and all that. In the mean time, read on and hopefully enjoy!
The rain came down in its druids once again that night, with much more force and conviction from the eve before. Ash found it somewhat ironic that the weather matched his state of mind perfectly at this time. Both dreary, both depressing, and both uncertain of when the sun would shine again. However the uncertainty did not end there, there were so many things swirling around in that head of his. What was he going to do? He had debated to himself all day whether or not to enlighten Misty about the days shocking revelation, and after a stern conversation with Brock earlier he had assured him he would make a decision either way when he had gotten his head around it. The sound of thunder rapidly echoed through out his eardrums, as Misty entered their temporary bedroom. She sighed in apparent exhaustion from the day's events herself.
"Thank god, she's finally asleep" she muttered, referring to Felicity as she walked up and flopped herself down on her bed. Ash stole a glance around at her a second then redirected his gaze to the window pane silently, observing the raindrops splattering down it.
"Guess it takes a while for those pills to kick in" he mumbled, bringing light to the medication his youngest daughter had been given for her burnt hand earlier that day. Misty took a moment to study her husband's features. For some inexplicable reason he had been acting rather uncouth and unlike himself all day. This coinciding with the fact that Brock was avoiding her like the plague, as if he had just hit on her then regretted it, did nothing but consolidate her suspicions that something was amiss here. She thought for a moment, wondering how to approach the topic at hand.
"Hun, you ok?" she asked softly. He sighed inwardly.
"All things considered I guess" he blurted out, not intending his wife to hear that last comment. He mentally kicked himself. She stared at him inquisitively a moment as she arose from the bed. She approached him and laid a hand to rest on his shoulder.
"Alright Ash Ketchum, spill! You've been acting like a zombie all day! What's up?" she asked with a hint of humour in her tone but also at the same time showing genuine concern. He slumped his shoulders in response.
"Funny you should mention the un-dead Mist" he choked out. She blinked, unsure whether she had heard properly.
"What?" she asked in confusion. He turned and faced her and with a shake of his head responded.
"Nothing Mist, look I'm just tired, I'll be fine after a nights sleep" he told her. Misty watched him walk over to the bed and sit down upon it as he began to take off his shoes, she knew something was up and was determined to wheedle it out of him. Slowly she walked around the bed, and sat behind him in a kneeling position and started rubbing his shoulders.
"Ash you're all tense" she commented as her hands proceeded to work their magic upon the upper part of his body. He leaned back slightly allowing his wife's touch to soothe away the worry and tension he had undergone through out the whole day. He was just about relaxed when his wife's next words brought him crashing back down to reality.
"It's begun again hasn't it?" she choked out, her voice barely above a whisper. Within that instant the colour practically drained from Ash's face as he whirled around in shock. He gazed into those aqua orbs, the same eyes that had intoxicated him for over two decades now. They sought guidance, reassurance, but above all they sought out the truth. He swallowed back the lump in his throat.
"How..?" he whispered as he leaned in closer to her. She forced a somewhat sad smile as she traced her hand down his jaw line.
"Because I love you, because I know you better than anyone, probably more so than you do your own self." She paused as she struggled to hold back tears.
"And because I have only seen you like this twice before, the first was with Giovanni, the second with Gary, so you try telling me now my theory is inaccurate Mr pokemon master" she finished as her emotions kicked in. He gently took her into an embrace. He sighed in disbelief, his wife knew him too well, perhaps a little too well for her own good.
"Sssh, I didn't want to pile this on you right now" he whispered as he rocked her back and forth showing his support.
"You've got enough on your plate without all this" he pointed out. She pulled away and looked at him sternly.
"And what, you were going to carry this by yourself? How could you! Ash dammit! You know damn well anything we ever have to overcome we do it together, that is just the way it is" she reminded him.
"I know," he mumbled. He paused as an eerie silence ensued round them .It was broken just as quickly however as Misty spoke up once more, bringing light to a question Ash at this time could not answer.
"So who?" she whispered. He sighed and with a hint of uncertainty in his tone responded to her question.
"Babes, at this time, within this moment, I can honestly say I have no idea whom he, she or even they might be, all I can tell you is that the threat seems to be directing itself from a more psychological stance this time" he told her. With his explanation issued he lay down upon the bed in frustration.
"Dammit! I wish I had more of an idea of what the hell we are up against here!" he muttered. He covered his face with his hands.
"I dunno how much more of this I can take Mist." She gazed down at him sympathetically as she lay down beside him, laying her head to rest on his chest.
"Ash, maybe you're reading too much into things, maybe there is no one out to get us after all, I mean how could there be if you have no ideas as to who it might be?" she replied hopefully after a few minutes of silence. Her husband sighed dejectedly in response.
"As much as I'd like to believe that Mist, I can't, there is something out there" he admitted softly. She gazed up from his chest.
"But how do you know that? You said yourself you have no indication of who it might be, so what evidence do you have that allowed you to reach that conclusion?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Well there's the house for one -" His wife interrupted him.
"Ash no! You swore blind to me this morning our house situation had nothing to do with our past, you damn well might as well have stood there and promised me so, you were so sure, why the sudden change now?" He sat up and turned his back to his wife.
"I know what I said this morning" he choked out. "And it kills me to think I have let you down in that respect, but…" He fell silent.
"But?" Misty asked, sitting up and engulfing him in her arms from behind.
"I guess ones views or circumstances can change over a short space of time Mist" he choked out. His wife right there within that instant directed his body towards hers and gave him yet another questioning look.
"Ash, you're not making any sense at the moment, what are you saying?" she almost pleaded, wanting an end to the games and just a clear cut explanation of the seemingly untold events that had transpired without her knowledge.
"I know, but it's hard to make sense of something you know very little about Misty, all I know is that this time the head games have begun, and whoever is behind them is going to attack us at our most volatile and weakest points" Ash explained. His wife frantically shook her head, still trying to make sense of what he was saying.
"Ash, what you just said there is absolutely ludicrous, our most volatile and weakest points? You know damn well nothing could ever come between both you and myself" she told him tenderly as she encircled her arms around his neck. Ash sighed, realising where the break down in communication had occurred throughout the later part of the conversation. He placed a hand to her cheek.
"Mist, those weak points I mentioned, it's not you and me because you're right, nothing could break the bond we have" he confirmed. Her eyes widened.
"Then if it's not our love that is going to be put under scrutiny by this mysterious outside force then -" She stopped and swallowed hard.
"What is it?" she asked casually but also knowing she might dread the answer.
"Mist, please just leave it be for the moment" he almost begged, not wanting to worry his wife any further. She let go of him and scowled at him. She gazed him over, and as the realisation hit her she gasped as she placed a hand to her mouth.
"You know don't you?" she asked him as he arose from the bed and took a few steps away from her in the direction of the mini bar.
"You know the weak points you speak of, you know who or what they represent don't you?" Misty was proving persistent in this matter and Ash just wished he had kept his mouth shut. Of course in reality Misty had spoken for him, thus starting this whole conversation, but this? How was he supposed to tell her this particular revelation? Her finding out her dead mother in law of 12 years was alive would be bad enough, but hearing from her husband that someone was messing with the head of their first born? Could she be able to take that without totally losing her sanity?
"Ash?" Misty mouthed again, for he had still not answered her and by this time had reached the bar and was viewing his options. He gazed round and eyed her a moment as he poured himself a drink once he had made his choice. He turned and swirled the malt liquid in his glass to find his wife had arisen from the bed and had approached him, biting her lip as she intently stared him down. She was not going to let up, she wanted to know. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he cast his eyes between both the drink in his hand and her. And it was then in Misty's eyes he made his most fatal mistake. He went to down the drink in his hand when his wife's frustration broke through and she swiped the glass from his grasp.
"Godammit Ash!" she screamed in his face as she shoved the glass back in his view. Her husband faltered as he slightly backed away.
"You don't need this shit!!" she yelled as she threw the glass to the side resulting in it smashing to bits as it came into contact with the hotel room wall. Ash just blankly stared at his wife in shock as she went on.
"What you need to do is stop shutting me out from anything or everything that you think I might not be able to handle!" She paused as she yet again was finding her emotions hard to keep under wraps.
"I mean my god Ash! We've been through it all! I have gotten to the stage where nothing surprises me anymore, please…please stop shutting me out" she whimpered as she buried her face in his chest. Her husband sighed as he lifted her chin up to lock eyes with him.
"Don't you think I know all we've been through Mist? I was there remember?" He paused with a sigh as he let his wife go and walked towards the window.
"And yet each and every time, the origins of all we endured over the last 20 years comes down to one simple factor." His wife walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What's that?" he spun around and faced her once more.
"Me." His wife narrowed her eyes at him as her blood was at a boil.
"Ash please don't start this again, we've been over this! You are not to blame!" she pointed out.
"Aren't I Mist, aren't I?" She bit her lip as she backed away from him slightly. He sighed.
"Everything, every goddamn thing that we have gone through has been as a result of something I did in my younger years" he explained. Misty frantically shook her head at him.
"No? Let's examine my track record shall we? The whole gym fiasco, refresh my memory, how did that start again Misty?" He asked, knowing all too well the answer. His wife fell silent. She could not respond to that, for the hardship and pain of that whole scenario still haunted her to this day.
"Exactly, my negligence on your 16th birthday got the ball rolling on that one, and as a result you had to marry me probably a little sooner than you would have liked" he spat out bitterly. Upon hearing this she instantly walked up and swung him around and smacked him hard across the face.
"Bastard! Don't you dare throw that back in my face! One, need I remind you who put forth the suggestion to get married in the first place! Two you know damn well I would have married you at some stage anyways, and three, I don't regret a damn thing!" she screamed in his face as she broke down into tears in front of him. Ash just stood there stunned, his eyes almost imploding from their sockets. The situation with his mother, to which Misty still had no clue about at this time, was eating away at him, not to mention the circumstances with Rose which was all Misty was asking for a little clarity over at this time, was also at the forefront of his thoughts, and the stress of it all had obviously caught up with him, and as a result his wife was bearing the brunt of it. Slowly and tenderly he took her in his arms.
"Shh, Mist, I'm sorry" he mouthed as he pulled her close.
"Look" he started with a sigh. "It's not you it's me, I've had a real rough day an -" He was cut short as his wife choked out one word.
"Giovanni?" she mouthed. He blinked.
"What?" he asked in befuddlement.
"You say you're responsible for all we have gone through so enlighten me, how do you account for Giovanni?" she challenged. Ash thought for a moment closing his eyes as he did so, and then in a composed and relaxed tone responded to his wife thus showing how the link to Giovanni became clear.
"My interference, my meddling, my father, need I go on?" he whispered eyeing his wife carefully. She slumped her head in response. She could not stand to see him lay blame upon himself for thier ordeals over the years, and yet the arguments he put forth did make some poetic sense, but she refused to support him on this wild theory of his, she had been through too much with him by her side to start believing such things now.
"And Gary?" she choked out after a few seconds of silence. He rubbed his temple in frustration as he let his wife go. He knew it killed her to hear him talk about himself in this manner, but an honest and open relationship (excluding a few recently uncovered revelations) was what they always had, and if she wanted to hear his take on it he was going to tell her. Slowly and with a hint of uncertainty in his tone he spoke softly to her as he took her by the waist once more and said 6 simple words that answered his wife's previous question.
"My abilities, my glory, my rival" he muttered as she encircled her arms around his neck. She looked away to avoid his gaze for an instant then locked eyes with those brown eyes that had entranced her for so long once more. Slowly and almost reluctantly she reached up and dissented her lips on his, as if trying to give reassurances that none of this was his fault even though all signs albeit unintentionally did point to numerous of his past actions whether she was willing to admit it or not. Slowly she placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed him back indicating she wanted it to end. He did with no hesitation as he broke apart from her embrace once more.
"You know, it kills me to think you're going through life with such burden and feelings of guilt on your shoulders" she explained, her voice a whisper in volume as she cast her gaze to the ground. He tucked his hand under her chin and redirected her focus on him; he shot her a sombre but never the less sad smile.
"Nah I can take it, have done for the past 20 years, and will continue to do so for the next 20 and then some" he assured her. He eyed her seriously.
"And do you know why I can live with all I have done?" he asked. She shook her head in reply.
"Because each and every time I have come out the better for it, I came out with new friendships, and more stabilised ones, I came out of it all with my kids." He paused and raised a hand to her cheek.
"But most important of all, each and every time, I came out with you" he told her as her eyes widened at his statement.
"Ash…." she whimpered as she pulled her body against his. In reality she wanted to say more but the call of his name was all she could get out. Finally some words did come to mind.
"Ash I -" Her husband placed a finger to her lips thus silencing her.
"You don't get it do you?" he murmured with a sigh. She stared at him in confusion wanting an indication of what he was talking about. He brushed his thumb across her lips.
"No matter what happens Mist, I'm not going to let you get rid of me, should you someday want to." He paused as he choked back the lump in his throat.
"For you complete me…. you complete me. And I -" Misty through emotion muffled sobs cut him short.
"Shut up! Just shut up! You dense sentimental……you had me at hello, you hear me? You had me at hello…….." She wailed as she reached up and locked lips with him once more. Seconds later, they parted as she walked over to the bed and sat herself down upon it. After a few seconds of nothingness had ensued Misty broke the tension by airing a request.
"I still want to know" she warned him. He almost fell back in shock.
"Mist, please give me some more time until I have more of an idea of what we are up against here" he begged, but she was not to be denied.
"No Ash, everything else we have done from the beginning as one, why should this time be any different?" He sighed in frustration - his wife had him there. He rubbed his face with his hands.
"Alright" he finally conceded.
" So what was it? What was the so called weak spot you spoke of?" He approached her slowly and kneeled before her as he reached the bed.
"I'll show you, but promise me one thing, don't freak out, don't jump to conclusions, and above all, don't say or do anything you may regret later" he told her. She nodded, trusting his judgment on this issue. He went into a nearby drawer and obtained something from it. He shielded it from her view, as he approached and sat down beside her. He thought for a moment considering how to break this to her he shuffled around uncomfortably in his sitting position as he spoke.
"So you want to know?" She nodded.
"Positive, what are the weak points you speak of?" she asked for about the fifth time that night. He gulped.
"Mist, it's not a what, it's a who" he whispered. Her eyes shot wide open.
"What…. who?" Ash produced Rose's cell phone for her to see.
"Our first born Mist, our first born." Misty gasped in shock as she covered her mouth with her hand and shakily took the cell phone from her husband with the other hand.
"Oh my god…." she muttered as she scanned the message Rose had received, as the door to their room opened to reveal Brock.
"Hey, you guys ok? Thought I heard something shatter a few minutes ago and thought I would check it out" he told them, thus explaining his intrusion. Ash and Misty exchanged an all too knowing glance between each other before Ash responded to Brock's question.
"Nah Brocko, we're fine" he assured his friend. Brock nodded as he studied the couple's features. They had obviously been in intense discussions, and it was when that thought entered his mind that he put forth what he assumed the deal was.
"Oh my god you know don't you?" Brock asked Misty, thinking it was about the Delia situation when in reality it was the Rose thing. Misty gazed around at him.
"Yeah I know" she told him. He smirked.
"It's great news isn't it?" Misty's jaw almost hit the floor.
"What!!!" Ash immediately picked up on where the communication crosswire had occurred and he sighed to himself in exasperation. Brock could be such an idiot at times. He opened his mouth to try and salvage the situation but by that time it was too late as Misty had jumped from the bed and had backed Brock up
against a wall.
"The fact that someone is messing with my daughter's head is great news to you is it?" she snapped as she got right in his face. Brock blinked in total shock.
"Huh? Say what?" he spluttered, finally it hit him.
"Oh! The cell phone message!" he marveled as he realised the real revaluation she had uncovered from her husband. Misty let go of him in somewhat bemusement.
"Yes." She looked him over. He was hiding something. "Brock? What did you think I meant?" He almost went chalk white with fear at the relatively simple question. His saving grace came in the form of Ash.
"Uh, nothing, nothing!" he rather hastily got out as he approached them and stood between both Brock and his wife.
"Just a um, surprise I got in mind for Cory's birthday in a couple weeks, in fact Brock I need to see you about that, can I see you in the lounge room a minute?" He indicated to Brock really showing he had to speak with him. Brock merely nodded as Ash lead him out the room. Misty ever intently kept her eyes cast over the two men as they did so. She knew something was once again amiss here and in due time she inwardly vowed she would find her answers. Little did she know it would be sooner then she first thought.
***
"Ash what the hell's going on? Christ! I thought I was a goner there!" Brock proclaimed once they were alone within the lounge.
"Look Brock, cut me some slack will ya? I mean I did not even have time to gauge her reaction to the whole Rose and her phone messages things, ya barged in there before I could get one, can't I deal with one issue at a time?" Brock shrugged.
"What and you think the possibility of a threat which in due time may not happen is more important than your deceased mother of 12 years being alive? My god Ash!"
"Brock l -" He was cut short, as James had emerged into the room.
"Hey! There you guys are, was getting jibs from Jess, had to get outta that room for a while" he proclaimed happily. Ash noticed the so-called spring in his step and the hyper and surprisingly ecstatic tone within his tone of voice. He instantly turned to Brock with a scowl.
"Fucking hell Brock! You told him!" he muttered as James approached. Brock shrugged.
"Ash for god's sake! The woman has been presumed dead for over a decade! It's not the kind of news you can expect one to keep to themselves for very long" he explained. James nodded, agreeing with Brock's words.
"Look I know I heard it third hand kid, but congrats about your mom, memory loss or not, her being here is a goddamn bonus!" James explained, remembering the time when both he and Brock were sure of her death all those years ago. He shuddered at the memory. Ash smiled gratefully at his long time friend.
"Yeah thanks Jimmy" he replied. It was then something registered in Ash's mind. He looked at his two friends a moment.
"Guys are Jess and Will ok? Mist told me she ain't seen much of them since she got back from the docs earlier." Brock and James exchanged glances.
"They are fine as far as I know Ash" James said. Ash thought for a second.
"They aren't worried about anything are they?" Brock and James slumped their shoulders in response.
"I mean, they know we're good in here for at least another two weeks in terms of the accommodation right?"
"Yes they do…." James muttered.
"And they know Flick's ok and that the doc give her the all clear don't they?"
"Yes they do…." Brock chipped in this time. Ash sighed as he folded his arms.
"And they know my mom's alive don't they?" Brock and James slumped their heads to avoid his gaze.
"Yes they do…" they both muttered just above a whisper in volume.
"Christ! No wonder they have been avoiding Mist, probably thought they might spill something before I got a chance to" he replied.
"So, how did she take the news?" James asked.
"He hasn't told her" Brock supplied.
"What?" James spluttered in shock. Ash focused his gaze on James.
"Jimmy! Don't you start! I've had enough of the pep talks from the breeder here" he pointed out.
"Besides, I had other things I had to bring to her attention" he told him. James stood there unsure what he was going on about.
"What other things?" Ash gazed at Brock then back at James.
"I'll fill you in later" he promised his blue haired companion. It was then Brock spoke up airing his concerns once more.
"Ash, if I were you I would go in there and tell her about this, the longer you go on hiding from her and leading such a ridiculous lie, the more likely it is going to blow up in your face!" Brock warned as a knock came at the front door part of their hotel room. Ash sighed sarcastically as he made his way to the door.
"Oh godammit Brock! Why must you be such a doomsdays? As long as I keep track of what I'm saying and who I am saying it to, there is no need for anything to blow up in anybodies face!" he explained bitterly as he yanked open the front door and whirled around only to be confronted by the figure of Delia Ketchum.
"Oh fuck!" he muttered. Brock turned to James while slapping his head.
"Caboom!" he muttered, as James found it hard not to see the funny side of the situation.
"Oh! I'm sorry, look I don't mean to impose on you so late, the doctor who treated me today told me where I could find you, and I -" The older woman was cut short as Misty's voice came from the other room.
"Ash? Did I hear the door? It's a little late for visitors" she announced walking through from her bedroom. She stopped.
"Oh hey James, so is that who -" she stopped short as she saw the figure in the door way standing inches away from her husband. Her throat clamped up and her mouth went dry as her knees buckled beneath her. As she hit the floor a scream of terror could not help but emerge from the back of her throat as Ash jumped from the door way and rushed to his wife's side.
"Honey! Please calm down!" he told her quietly, not wanting to wake the kids. The older woman just looked on in bewilderment as Brock and James had walked up by her side, still trying to keep their own composure, still stunned at the fact it was really her.
"Oh my, have I come at a bad time?" she asked no one in particular. James shrugged as he folded his arms.
"That depends upon how you look at it" he muttered to himself. However it was not till after that last statement from James that the older woman got a good look at the red haired girl crying openly and trying to be consoled via her husbands best efforts. The older woman frowned, there was something… Suddenly her mind cast her back to an unknown time.
**
"What, you mean it? You two are getting married?"
"Delia I swear to you no joke, he proposed this afternoon, and to think I was going upstairs to kill him, instead I came out his wife to be!"
**
"You look beautiful sweetheart!"
"Gosh thanks Delia."
"Call me mom."
"Alright mom."
"I always knew you would be the one…"
**
"Hey miss, are you ok?" James asked all of a sudden, as the older woman's trance was broken. She did not reply. Slowly and almost reluctantly she walked up closer to the boy she had met in the clinic earlier that day and the girl she presumed to be his wife. She stopped a few inches away as Ash whirled around to gaze up at her as a totally terrified girl, in the older woman's eyes that is looked on, on the verge of passing out. She eyed the redhead yet again more carefully, as if trying to remember something. She bit her lip, and then within an instant she changed the lives of everyone within the room by uttering one simple word, one simple name, and to what others would regard as one simple question.
"Misty?"
A/N: And so now it's my turn to write! Woohoo! Actually I'd better warn that there will be even more delays with this fic as I am going up north next week for a holiday. But hopefully in between the America's Cup racing (with my team kicking the Swiss's ass!) I'll get a bit of writing done. So thanks for the support guys, more on the way soon!