Won: Forth chapter! I apologize for two things:

1) The shortness of this chapter.

2) The OCness of the Elite Four. I haven't seen many episodes with them, in fact, I've only seen one with Lorelei, and I've heard talk of Lance. Isn't that just awful?

So hit that review button down at the bottom and tell Ol' Wonny what else you wanna see, as far as this story goes. I also want to know what of my other fanfictions you want to see updated soon...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. And the baby, I own that.

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It hadn't been easy, escaping from under Brock's nose. Ash had cut it close: The moment Brock had turned the corner to the stairs, he himself had shut the front door and hurried down the steps. From there, he'd had to rush about five blocks and flag down a taxi. Unlike his earlier days, Ash couldn't walk all the way to where he had in mind. As it was, he didn't think, a few years ago, that he'd actually to call on the services of the Elite Four again. He'd purposely distanced himself from them ever since their last encounter.

It looked, now, as though he had no choice. If he stayed much longer, he knew that he was bound to find out that no one really wanted to deal with him. What Ash was attempting to pull off was a crude and unlikely plan. For all he knew, the Elite Four might slam the door in his face. All he could hope for was that they would hear what he had to say.

Thankfully, the taxi-driver asked nothing more then where he was headed, and didn't inquire why when Ash told him to take him to the head quarters of the Elite Four. This gave the tired boy plenty of time to think over the whole business of why he was going there.

Pressing a hand to his belly, the dark-haired boy would've given anything in the world to be normal. He didn't even care if he went back to the lonely life he had led with his crumbling relationship with Gary. Now he didn't even have that. All he had was himself, what little he could carry, and what started all this mess. And how would the Elite Four take that, for that matter? No one was going to believe him unless he had proof, and the physical proof wouldn't show until five months from now, he was sure.

What it came down to was that if this plan backfired, Ash was on his own. And that wasn't promising.

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The drive to the Elite Four's head quarters was a long one, and Ash found himself asleep half way through against his will. Not that he could help it: The last few days had been exhausting ones, and sleep had been few and far between. He only awoke when the driver gently shook him, telling him that they had reached their destination.

The headquarters was remote, and the boy felt oddly alone, as the driver pulled away. It was when the cab was a speck in the distance did Ash finally walk up to the door and, swallowing, knocked.

As if on cue, the door swung open, revealing a rather large, muscled man. He looked around and then turned his eyes down upon Ash.

"Well! This is a surprise!" His voice was so loud that it sounded like a bellow. "It isn't that often we get return visitors, Ash Ketchem."

"Hello Bruno." The dark-haired boy said, softly. "May I-?"
"Of course! Where are my manners...come right in."

Upon walking into the threshold, the door closed behind him, and Bruno started to walk ahead. "Come, come, the others will be delighted to see you!" He chortled, happily. Ash followed as best he could with the man's big stride. "What brings you back to this ole' decrepit place?"

If he expected Ash to laugh, he was disappointed. "I, um...have a favor to ask of you...all of you..."

"Ah." Bruno rubbed his chin. "Then we'd best find the others more quickly. It may take all of us to decide whether or not to take you up on that favor." He gave the boy a pat on the shoulder that nearly sent Ash crashing through the floor.

"I see you've been working out more..." He gasped. Bruno laughed loudly.

"Yep!" He flexed one of his arms for Ash to see. "Gotta keep up my strength! Never know if someone like you's gonna walk through those doors, one of these days...Ah! Here we are!"

The door he entered now led down a narrow hallway that Ash wasn't familiar with, and assumed this must have been the Elite Four's living quarters. He should have expected it when Bruno yelled: "COMPANY!"

At once, three other faces appeared. First came Lorelei, with her blue hair and icy cold demeanor, then Agatha, who's old face stared into people like a dead person's, and finally, and much to Ash's relief, Lance, the dragon-trainer.

"No need to shout, Bruno, unless you want all of the Indigo region to hear you." Lorelei said coolly. She set her eyes on Ash. "Ah, but what's this? I see that one of our challengers has returned."

Agatha scrutinized the dark-haired boy. "Most defiantly. But he looks troubled." She came forward, standing a little under Ash's chin, now. "Tell me, lad, what bothers you s much that you seek out us four, hm?"

"Relax, Agatha." Lance brushed past her, "He'll tell us when he needs to." He turned his fiery eyes to Ash's. "You will, won't you?"

The boy nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry to have bothered you all..." Amidst the protests that he wasn't a bother at all, he continued, "...But I...I have a bit of an...emergency..."

After taking in the seriousness of his tone, the four of them ushered Ash into their living room, seating him on the sofa and lounging in different places around him. Lance chose to sit next to him, for which Ash was rather grateful of.

"Now, boy." Agatha snapped, briskly. "What is this emergency you speak of?"

Feeling nervous under the four pairs of eyes on him, Ash nevertheless told them the whole tale, starting with his and Gary's dying love and ending to him now. For a moment, they were all silent.

Lorelei was the first to open her mouth, and Ash had a bad feeling that she would call him a liar.

However, she said this: "And you are here to seek shelter, are you not?"

Feeling confused and yet relieved, the boy nodded.

The Elite Four exchanged looks.

"While it's against our code to accept guests in our headquarters," Agatha stated, finally, making Ash flinch, "seeing as we promised you a favor, we will allow you to stay with us and provide for you until you have your child." She then turned to the others. "Does anyone wish to object or add to this?"

Bruno did. "I think it'd be best if we allowed him to stay a little longer..."

"Seconded." Lorelei cut in. "To give time for his body to recover from the pregnancy and birth, and for the baby to become accustomed to a suitable environment."

"Err..." Bruno rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I was gonna say something else, but that sounds better..."

"How about you, Lance?" The oldest of all of them asked, and all eyes were on him. "Anything to add?"

The dragon-master thought for a moment, looked at Ash, and then shook his head. "Nothing. I have nothing to add, and I don't object."

"Then it's agreed." Agatha stated, and she looked at Ash as well. "Do YOU agree?"

The dark-haired boy nodded, then looked to his feet. "You're all...too kind...thank you so much..." He looked beside himself with thankfulness. The boy almost seemed like he wanted to cry. It was all okay, now. He and his child would be all right. Everything was falling into place...

He didn't count on one thing, though; one thing that would make the whole pregnancy very difficult to deal with. Because once you're out of love, how do you fall back into it?