Oh my God, I actually finished another chapter before break ended?

I wasn't expecting that, to be totally honest. I have a new internship, so I've been very busy with that, and getting used to it. And I go back to school on Monday, so all hell is going to break loose...can't wait!

But that doesn't matter, because I actually managed to finish this chapter! And it's a pretty important one, if I do say so myself. So, how about we get to it and find out why exactly Ash originally quit the G-Men, shall we?

LAST TIME: Back home in Cerulean City, the children discover that Ash has barely been home. They also notice that Misty is acting out of sorts and seems rather depressed. That night, a huge storm causes the power to go out, and the entire family (plus Brandon) is forced to stay together in the living room. Misty is completely distraught, and the twins assume it's because their father hasn't come home. Ash returns home in the middle of the storm, much to Misty's relief, who runs up to him and hugs him, refusing to let go. While she's hugging him, Ash's poke gear falls out of his pocket, and Michelle looks through it. She asks her father what the G-Men are, alarming the man...and forcing him to reveal his secret to them.

Chapter 50: Flashback to the Fallback

I hadn't been Pokémon Master for very long. Just over a year, actually. I thought I'd already seen and done everything that was expected of a master. I made appearances, spoke to kids and trainers, battled in tournaments and exhibitions, trained at the world class facility, and even filled out mass amounts of paperwork for the League whenever they wanted it.

Apparently, I hadn't experienced it all yet.

I'll never forget the day it happened. I was training at the facility for an upcoming exhibition battle. It had already been a long day, and I was getting exhausted, which was already unusual for me. In the middle of one of my afternoon practice rounds, I was approached by Lance.

Of course, Lance and I are friends. I already knew him as the champion of Kanto. But, I had forgotten that a long time ago, when I was still on the first leg of my journey, that I had learned that Lance was also a member of the G-Men. You see, the G-Men are a group of operatives that travel around the world, investigating cases of Pokémon abuse and mistreatment. As it would turn out, somewhere along the line, Lance had become the coordinator of the G-Men. He was totally in charge of the group. And he wanted them to branch out and investigate more than just cases involving mistreated Pokémon. He wanted to help solve all kinds of widespread, serious crime. Most specifically, crime put on by large scale organizations.

He came up to me that day because he wanted me to become part of the organization. They were investigating the beginnings of a very serious crime ring, and apparently, I was a valuable asset to them because I had so much knowledge of the group behind the scheme. On top of that, I was strong enough to be able to handle all of the work and training that went into being a G-man. I was excited by the prospect of joining, so I agreed without a second thought.

As your mother will tell you, I definitely should've thought about it before joining right away.

"Ow…"

Misty heard that ominous groan and immediately shot up from her seat in the kitchen, running to the front door. She was not surprised to find Ash there, wincing and rapidly shrugging his shoulders up and down.

"Oh, what did you do to yourself today?"

Ash frowned and looked over at his wife, who was wearing a playful smile on her face. He tried to match her teasing nature, but he just couldn't find the power to do it.

"Nothing," Ash quickly replied. "Just too much training is all."

At this, Misty's face fell. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Ash lied skillfully, finally forcing a smile onto his face. "I went on for hours and hours. I didn't even take a break today!"

The gym leader shook her head at this. "I hope you at least let your Pokémon have a break."

"Of course. I'd never run them that hard. It was me, not them."

Misty seemed to accept this, as she smiled more genuinely and slowly nodded her head. "I'm going to help your mom make dinner. Maybe you should head on upstairs and get ready to eat."

Ash smiled more widely and nodded his own head. Misty giggled girlishly at this and headed back into the kitchen, seeming completely relieved from before when he'd first walked in.

I hadn't realized how hard the G-Men training would be. It was extremely intense. Lots of obstacle courses and climbing up walls and mountains. I hadn't felt my muscles ache that way in years. I barely had enough energy to pick up my fork that night, which your mother and grandmother found extremely abnormal. They kept asking me if I was alright, but fortunately for me, the excuse of intense training seemed to resonate well enough with them. They didn't pry any further. And I didn't think anything of it. I thought that it would just get easier. That's how training and exercising worked, after all. It was excruciating at first, but the more you did it, the more you got used to it.

Unfortunately, G-Men training proved to totally defy that logic.

"Ash, I'm so glad you're…what happened to you?!"

The Pokémon Master chuckled nervously and tried to look away from his wife. "It's nothing! No worries, Mist."

"Ash…you have a black eye!"

The young man scoffed at the mention of this new feature. "Ah, is that all you're worried about?"

Misty furrowed her brow at this and stepped closer to Ash, gently pressing the tips of her fingers against the dark ring that surrounded Ash's chocolate brown orb. He winced upon the contact, but tried his hardest not to make any vocal protests.

"Just a little bruise is all," Ash dismissed.

"A little bruise?" Misty drawled. "My gods, Ash. If that's your idea of small, I don't want to know what your idea of big is."

"It's not a big deal, Misty," Ash sighed. "I promise you don't have to fuss over me like I'm a baby. I can take care of myself."

At this, Misty's expression softened, and Ash was instantly afraid he had hurt his wife's feelings. "But…oh, I'm sorry, Ash. Sometimes I just can't help myself. I worry about you all the time! Especially now…I just want to make sure you're okay."

"That means a lot to me," Ash crooned earnestly, reaching out and pulling Misty in closer to him. "You're the best wife a guy could ask for, Mist."

"Thanks," Misty giggled, resting her head against Ash's chest. "But, please. I just want you to know that if anything bad is ever happening, you can come to me. I'll help you. And I won't treat you like a baby."

"Well, you can treat me like a baby sometimes," Ash teased.

At this, Misty pulled away and raised a wry, though curious, eyebrow. "Like when?"

"Well, I love it when you feed me my dinner," Ash drawled sweetly. "You giving me food. That's like…combining my two favorite things!"

"Oh Ash," Misty sighed, giggling afterwards.

But things just kept getting more and more intense. Every day when I went to work to train, I thought it would get easier. But it never did. On one of my last days of G-Men training, I got into a bit of an accident. See, I ended up falling off of the top of one of the small platforms, and I hit my head on the ground. I was knocked out right away, and that set Lance into a panic. We'd been keeping the whole G-Men thing a secret from your mother, for a multitude of reasons.

Of course, the G-Men being a top secret organization was only one of the reasons. And it wasn't even the top one. And the only person who knew that was the main reason was me.

Lance would find out that day. After he had to call your mother.

"Where's Ash?!"

"Misty, I promise you that everything will be alright-"

"Lance, my husband fell and hit his head," Misty hissed, her eyes narrowing. "Obviously, it's not just alright. Where is he?"

"Misty-"

"Lance, you know that I respect you, but if you don't bring me to Ash right now, I will not hesitate to strangle you," Misty breathed, her cheeks flashing red.

Solemnly nodding, Lance led Misty to the back of the training facility's infirmary, where Ash was lying unresponsive in a bed. Gasping, Misty ran forward and held the Pokémon Master's face in her hands, biting her lip as she tried her hardest not to burst into tears.

"Ash…" she rasped.

"It's actually not as bad as it looks," Lance tried to placate Misty. "Yes, he does have a concussion, but a very minor one. He didn't fully hit his head, you know. When he went down, he put his arms out in front of himself and tried to land mostly on those. I believe he succeeded, based on the amount of scrapes he has going up and down. Obviously, those will heal. He'll wake up in a little while."

"How did this even happen?" Misty bemoaned, sounding just as distressed as she'd been before.

"He slipped while training," Lance replied simply. That wasn't technically a lie. He had slipped while training. But…he had slipped during G-Men training; not Pokémon training.

"Something is wrong here," Misty breathed shakily.

"What do you mean?" Lance prodded.

"Lately, Ash has been coming home battered and bruised almost every single day," Misty whimpered. "I know that he trains hard, but I think something else is happening at this point. I mean…why would my husband have a black eye from battling? How could he slip so badly that he hit his head? I don't understand!"

Misty was quickly becoming more and more upset, and Lance was getting nervous. He didn't know how to comfort Misty when this was supposed to be such a big secret. Obviously, Ash had done a good job of keeping it quiet, but now it was hurting his wife.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Misty groaned and bent over, snapping Lance out of his stupor.

"Misty?" Lance murmured, moving up next to the gym leader and gently shaking her shoulder. "Misty, what's wrong?"

Misty tried to respond, but she was in too much pain to do so. Heart racing, Lance gripped Misty's shoulders more tightly and helped her towards a chair in the corner, urging her to sit down. She did, but was still doubled over in pain.

"Do you need me to get Nurse Joy?" Lance nudged.

"N-no…" Misty huffed, her body relaxing as she slowly began to sit back up. "I think I'm okay."

Lance's brown eyes scanned Misty's figure curiously, and upon doing this, he received quite another shock. For upon further examination, he realized Misty was clutching her midsection.

Her rounded, burgeoning midsection.

"Misty," Lance began, his voice heavy, "are…are you pregnant?"

The gym leader quickly cast her own emerald eyes down towards the floor, her hand flying off of her stomach at the exact same time. "I…I…"

"Misty…" Lance breathed.

"Yes," Misty finally squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut. "Yes. I'm pregnant."

Lance shook his head at this, eyes widening as he tried to get some sense back into himself. "For how long?"

"Four months…almost four and a half," Misty admitted. Then, with a dry, humorless chuckle, she added, "I'm surprised I've managed to get away with it for this long."

Getting up from the chair, Misty walked back over to Ash and reached for his hand, holding it in her own and giving it a firm squeeze.

"Perhaps you should sit back down," Lance suggested, his fear rising all over again.

"No, I'm alright now," Misty exhaled. "I don't know what that was. It was strange. But it seems to be over now."

"You were too stressed," Lance informed the gym leader, whose eyebrows raised at the idea. "That's very bad for you when you're pregnant."

"Stress?" Misty repeated, sounding rather distraught.

"I would recommend trying to take it easy from now on, Misty," Lance warned.

"And how would you suggest I do that, Lance?" Misty questioned, her voice sounding rather terse.

"I'd start by going back home," Lance replied honestly. "This is not the ideal situation for you to be in the middle of."

"I'm not leaving him! Not again!" Misty snapped, turning back towards Ash and staring down sadly at him. "He just keeps getting hurt worse and worse. And I've let him be. I can't do that anymore. I have to protect him. For my sake and, more importantly, our family's sake."

Lance sighed, but chose not to argue. He knew doing that would only bring Misty even more stress. And after the prior incident, it was clear that more stress was the last thing she needed.

"Mmm…"

"Ash?"

Straightening himself out, the dragon master rushed forward to stand beside Misty, looking down and watching as Ash's eyes fluttered open, wincing as soon as the light poured in.

"Oh…man. My head…"

"Do you remember what happened, Ash?" Lance asked quite seriously.

"…no," Ash admitted after a moment of deliberation. "I don't."

"You hit your head," Misty cooed softly, still holding Ash's hand. "And it knocked you out."

"Oh, so that's why my head hurts so bad," Ash chuckled lowly.

"You scared me," Misty murmured, her eyes darkening. "I was worried sick, you know."

"Sorry, Mist," Ash apologized earnestly. "I didn't mean to. I feel like we've had this conversation a lot recently."

"Well, that's not the concussion talking," Misty sighed laughingly. "We have. Because for some reason, you just keep getting hurt."

Ash once again fell silent to think this over. Smiling gently, Misty raised Ash's hand and held it against her stomach, knowing this would reinvigorate him, if only a little.

"Baby…" Ash mumbled, his smile widening instantaneously. He freed his hand from Misty's and flattened it against her belly, slowly rubbing it in a small circle. "Good. You're okay."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Misty giggled. "I'm protective."

"Thank goodness," Ash sighed, patting his wife's belly. "I'm glad."

Lance watched the exchange with nervous eyes. With this information newly revealed to him, he knew he'd have to have a very serious talk with Ash.

Alone.

"Misty, could Ash and I have a moment to ourselves, please?" Lance requested.

Misty took in a nervous, shuttered breath, but Ash managed to calm her down by picking his head up just enough to kiss her stomach.

"It'll be okay," Ash whispered against her bump. "I promise."

"You've been saying that too much for my own comfort," Misty admitted, despite the smirk on her face.

"You can come back as soon as we're done," Ash promised. "Right, Lance?"

"Of course," Lance agreed.

Misty bit her lip, but nodded hesitantly and stepped out the door, closing it behind her and leaving the two champions behind her.

"Ash, I wasn't aware that your wife is pregnant," Lance stated.

"It was kind of a secret," Ash admitted. "I just wanted to protect her. But I guess everyone will find out now."

"I'm not going to tell anyone," Lance swore. "It's not in my interests to give away people's secrets. Especially when they are meant for protection."

"Thanks," Ash sighed, smiling afterwards.

"But, this changes things," Lance sighed. "About the offer, I mean."

"Are you gonna take it away?" Ash muttered, his smile quickly fading.

"No," Lance quickly replied. "I am not looking to punish you for starting a family, Ash. But I do want you to look out for your wife's best interests."

"How?" Ash queried.

"I want you to tell her what you're involved in," Lance decided, though he still looked unsure of his decision.

"But Lance-"

"I know this is a top secret matter," Lance interrupted the younger male, already knowing what he was going to say. "Don't divulge any information about the actual mission to her. But…you have to tell her you're a part of this. Leaving her in the dark, in this condition, is not a wise choice. In fact, it's practically cruel."

"Lance…"

"You have my permission to discuss this with her," Lance finished. "But absolutely none of the intel. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Ash breathed, nodding his head.

Sighing, Lance made his way towards the door and opened it up, finding Misty waiting against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. He didn't have to say anything before she noticed him, a smile appearing on her face.

"I can go back to Ash now?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes," Lance replied with an airy laugh. "You may."

Misty didn't have to be told twice. She rushed past Lance and back into the room, making a beeline towards the bed where Ash was now sitting up.

"That was quick!" Misty commented about his and Lance's exchange. "What was it about? Oh…unless it's a secret."

"No, it's not," Ash refuted, his eyes looking shifty.

"You look kind of nervous," Misty noted, tilting her head to the side. "Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah," Ash sighed, rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his palm. "Just…sit down, Misty. Right here."

He patted the side of the bed, and Misty quietly followed his orders. She sat down and watched him as he breathed softly in and out, thinking over his next words.

"Ash…you're freaking me out," Misty admitted.

"Misty, look, there's something I need to tell you," Ash sighed, his wife suddenly looking extremely nervous. "I…I haven't been getting hurt training. Not with my Pokémon, anyway. I…I've been training to be a member of the G-Men."

"The G-Men?" Misty repeated, sounding on edge.

"Yes," Ash confirmed. "You remember all those years ago when we first met Lance, and he told us about his crime stopping operation?"

"Yes…"

"Well, they have an important mission, and they wanted my help with it," Ash explained.

"So…you were invited to be a member?" Misty murmured.

"Yeah," Ash muttered. "Anyway, I've been training for the mission. It's really intense, really tough stuff. That's why I've been so sore, and sometimes I come home all beat up. Remember that black eye?"

"Yeah…"

"I got hit with a projectile while I was practicing dodging," Ash admitted sheepishly. "Nothing that could've taken my eye out. Just a rubber ball. But it was hard enough to leave a mark."

Misty said nothing in response.

"Lance didn't know you were pregnant…that we're going to have a baby," Ash continued. "This was supposed to be top secret, but he gave me permission to tell you."

"Do I get any say in this?" Misty finally managed to ask, her voice dark.

"Huh?" Ash murmured.

"What if I don't want you to be a member of the G-Men?" Misty asked shakily. "What if I'm scared and worried that you won't be around to see your child grow up? Or even be born?"

"Misty, I'm as careful with myself as I can possibly be," Ash murmured.

"Great, you're trying to protect yourself," Misty scoffed. "What about the people you're trying to fight? Ash, they're going to have their eyes set dead on you. Not only are you trying stop them from whatever the hell it is they're attempting to do, but you're the Pokémon Master."

"So?"

"So they're going to try and take you out!" Misty cried. "How do you not realize that?! Are you really this dense?!"

"Misty, please don't get so worked up," Ash pleaded. "You know it's not good for you!"

"I can't help it that you're so dense," Misty grumbled, turning her head away from Ash as she folded her arms over her chest.

"And I can't help it that you're so stubborn," Ash fired back. At this, Misty turned her head and glared at Ash. "Sorry, but it's true! It's like you don't trust me."

"Ash, it's not that I don't trust you," Misty sighed. "It's that I don't trust other people. And do you really blame me?"

"I…I just….no," Ash finally admitted begrudgingly. "I understand why you're worried, Mist. But I promise that I'll do my best to stay safe! I haven't even been on a real mission yet, so-"

"So all of these horrific injuries you've suffered have come from nothing more than practice."

Ash rolled in his lips and nodded sheepishly.

"Great," Misty muttered. "So you're just completely done for."

"Misty-"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Misty huffed, standing up from the bed and moving towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Ash demanded.

"Outside, to talk to Lance," Misty replied curtly. "This ends right now."

"Misty!" Ash cried.

The redhead paid her husband no mind. She laid her hand on the door handle and started to push it down, having every intention of leaving the room.

"Misty, get back over here!" Ash finally snapped.

"I'm not-"

"Now!"

Eyes widening, Misty slowly let go of the handle and dropped her arm, staring at Ash in disbelief. As much as it hurt him, Ash kept on the scowl, not letting up for even a second. Her eyes still wide, Misty slowly slunk back over to Ash, standing by the side of his bed with her arms crossed.

"Don't go and talk to Lance," Ash firmly directed.

"Why?" Misty hissed.

"Because I'm going to quit myself," Ash breathed. "I don't need my wife doing it for me."

Misty bit her lower lip and began to rock nervously on her heels. She was suddenly feeling guilty, and Ash could tell. He knew Misty better than anyone else. Aside from Pikachu, of course.

"I know how upset you are," Ash murmured, further lowering his voice. "That much is obvious. I don't want you to be so worked up and worried about me. That's the last thing I want, Mist. I'm your husband, and I want to protect you."

"Ash, I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to be sorry," Ash interrupted, holding his hand out. Misty hesitantly reached out and took it, allowing Ash to pull her in closer. She sat on the side of his bed, close to his head, and stared down at him with sorrowful eyes. "You're just being a wife. I understand."

"Don't hate me," Misty whispered, shaking her head.

"You crazy girl," Ash chuckled, holding Misty's arms and gently tugging at them. Misty frowned and lay down beside Ash, resting her head against his chest. "Don't you know by now that I could never hate you?"

"I guess I don't," Misty scoffed.

"Ah, you'll figure it out," Ash teased, smirking at his sheepish wife. "If anything, all I could ever do is love you. I'm doing this for you and the baby, after all. You two are the center of my whole world. I won't ever do anything again to put either of you in danger, or scare you. I promise."

Once your mother went home for the night, I told Lance I was going to drop my participation with the G-Men. He was disappointed, but he understood. He knew I wanted to be there for her, and not put either of us in harm's way. I wasn't totally happy about the decision either, but I knew that this wasn't all about me. I had more important things to worry about.

After you two were born, I realized that I had, in fact, made the right decision. I'd never had something so special in my life before, and I knew that if I had stayed with the G-Men, chances were I wouldn't have made it to even see you two. I loved raising you two, and watching you both grow up. Then Elizabeth came along, and I got to do it all over again. There was nothing more important to me than my family; you guys and your mom.

But deep in the back of my mind, I still wondered what would have happened if I had stayed as a G-Man. There was still so much bad in the world. The world you guys were all growing up in. I mean, with all of those times Team Rocket had tried to kidnap you…could I have prevented that? Could I have helped stop them? I would never know. I was always wondering.

"And that's why I took up the opportunity to rejoin," Ash recanted, staring decidedly over the children's' heads. "Most people don't get second chances at anything, let alone becoming a member of the G-Men. It was finally a chance to put all of my thoughts to rest."

Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon all glanced up at Misty, who was sitting between Ash and the sleeping Elizabeth with her arms folded and face completely blank.

"Mom, you let him go back?" Michelle breathed.

"No," Misty replied quickly, shaking her head. "I definitely did not. I didn't want him to at all. This time, he didn't listen to me. He just decided all by himself that he was going to do it. I was furious. I still am!"

"I'm a lot smarter than I was back then, even if your mother doesn't want to admit it," Ash continued, smirking at his secondary comment. "I haven't had any accidents like last time. So far, everything's worked out perfectly. Soon enough, we'll be able to actually start the mission."

"So…what's the mission?" Aiden prodded.

"That I can't tell you," Ash confessed.

"Huh?" Aiden groaned.

"It's top secret intel," Ash explained. "No one outside of the G-Men can know the specifics."

"Not even Mom?" Aiden pressed.

"Not even Mom," Ash confirmed.

"All I know is it's dangerous and I don't like it," Misty growled, looking down at her feet.

"Hey, come on," Ash soothed, gently lifting Misty's head by placing his fingers beneath her chin. "It'll be just fine! I've been honest with you about everything so far, unlike last time. I've kept no secrets from you."

"Except for the mission," Misty grumbled.

"And that's only because you know I can't," Ash quickly added. "But I promise you that it's extremely important. When all is said and done, you'll understand."

"Well…I think that's really cool!" Aiden declared, beaming at his father. "Once I become the Pokémon Master, I'm going to join the G-Men and go after bad guys, just like you!"

"Oh no you won't!" Misty jumped in, anger flashing through her emerald eyes. "It's bad enough that your father has to participate in this, but never will I allow my own son to do the same thing!"

"Aw, come on, Mom!" Aiden whined. "I can do everything Dad can!"

"You're never going to intentionally put yourself in danger like this," Misty vehemently argued, shaking her head. "And I don't care how old you get; I'll ground you! Even if you're 30 years old and you try to join the G-Men, I will drag you all the way back here and lock you in your room until you're 50! Understand?"

"Not really," Aiden replied honestly.

Misty huffed and turned her head towards Ash, narrowing her eyes even further. "Talk some sense into our son!"

"Don't worry but him, Mist, he's only ten years old," Ash chuckled. "There will be no possibility of the G-Men for him for a long, long time. Besides, what he should be focused on right now is his battle against you for his eighth and final gym badge."

Misty looked back over at Aiden and smirked when she saw that his whole face had turned bright red.

"What's the matter, little guy?" Misty teased, using the same nickname she'd used on Aiden when he was much younger. "Don't think you can beat me?"

"I know I can!" Aiden roared, the blush instantly dissipating from his face. "I've been training really hard, and I've picked up a whole bunch of new battling techniques. I'm ready for this."

"Good," Misty purred, smirking at her son. "I look forward to it, then."

Aiden and Misty both sound pretty confident about their battle, but let's see if they actually feel that way once the day actually comes ;)

I can't give you guys a definitive date on the next chapter, since real life is going to be taking over again. I am, however, very excited about what is coming up, so I will be trying my hardest not to take too long!

But until then, let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! We've been waiting on this revelation for a while, so I want to know everyone's reactions! Feel free to leave those in a review...and let me know what you think might happen next!