This is the first one that I really strayed from the song, since the original is Brock and Misty singing about how they miss their homes while on their journey with Ash :)

So, with that being said, this one is based off of the fifth track on the CD :)

I Keep My Home in My Heart

"Look, she wants you!"

Ash smiled sadly at his baby daughter, who was beaming at him and holding one of her little hands out, opening and closing her little fingers in obvious want.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin," Ash cooed. "I wish I could come to you…I really do."

Misty, who was holding onto the baby's sides, frowned and pulled the infant closer to her. Elizabeth squeaked unhappily, her jubilant expression turning into one of sadness.

"Ash, are you sure there isn't any possible way for you to come home?" Misty was practically pleading. "Aiden and Michelle haven't been acting like themselves without you here, and I think you being gone is even affecting baby Lizzie. She hasn't been so happy the past few days."

"I really wish I could, Mist," Ash shook his head, "but they're not gonna' let me go. There's so much work they want me to do."

"This isn't fair," Misty pouted. She didn't want to make her husband feel any worse; his not being home wasn't his fault, after all, and it was killing him just as much as it was killing everyone else in the family. But she just couldn't help herself. She may have been married, and a mother, but in all honesty, Misty was still nothing more than a young woman. The same went for Ash; he was hardly a full-fledged adult either. They were both still growing as people, and sometimes, they slipped back into a more childish state.

"I know it isn't," Ash admitted. He wasn't going to lie.

As if sensing her parents' anguish (and she probably did, because babies were so susceptible to others' emotions), Elizabeth started to cry, still staring at her father as she wailed. If anything, this only made Ash feel even worse.

"Okay, I know, baby, I know," Misty shushed, bouncing the girl up and down on her lap. This didn't seem to do anything for Elizabeth, however. She was really carrying on.

"This is killing me, Mist," Ash buried his face in his hands.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Misty sighed, reaching over to retrieve one of Elizabeth's pacifiers in the hopes that it would soothe the girl. "I guess you're just gonna' have to go now…"

He could hear the disappointment in his wife's voice, and although he didn't think it was at all possible at this point, Ash was beginning to feel worse.

"I'm sorry, angel," Ash whispered, his throat tightening.

"Honey, don't be sorry, it's okay," Misty tried to coax the translucent pacifier with the floral pink printed center into the baby's mouth. "Aiden, Michelle, come say good bye to your Daddy. He has to go now."

The two young children appeared next to their mother, their own expressions reflecting a sense of sorrow.

"Daddy, when are you comin' home?" Michelle murmured.

"I told you, princess, I don't know," Ash bit his lip.

"You'll be home for Christmas, right?" Aiden piped up.

"I…I don't know about that either, champ."

The raven haired boy's shoulders fell, as did his eyes. Michelle had already taken this path and looked as equally downtrodden as her twin.

"I'm really sorry, you guys," Ash was trying to hold back his tears.

Elizabeth let out a scream; the pacifier tumbling out of her mouth and into Aiden's awaiting hands, which he had readied as soon as he saw the pacifier beginning to slip.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Misty sighed, turning Elizabeth around so she could pat the baby on her back.

Ash nodded before murmuring, "I love you guys. And I'll be home as soon as I can."

He didn't even get a response before the connection ended. Sighing, he stood up from the chair that was seated in front of the video phone and shuffled over to his hotel bed. Throwing himself down on the messy, unmade bed, Ash stared up at the ceiling and continued to try and hold back tears. He'd wanted to be a Pokémon Master all of his life. He hadn't expected to fall in love, and get married, and have beautiful children, but he had, and he loved them dearly. And very often, this job kept him away from them. No one had told him it would be like this.

While still immersed in deep thought, staring a hole into the ceiling with tears flooding his chocolate brown eyes, Ash felt something jump on his chest; something light and rather fluffy.

"Pikapi?"

Frowning, Ash sat up on his elbows so he could lock eyes with his partner. Pikachu shook his ears and smiled gently at Ash. He could sense that his trainer wasn't happy, and Pikachu wanted to fix that.

"Thanks buddy," Ash smiled weakly, knowing exactly what the mouse was trying to do. "But…I don't think anything is really going to make me feel better right now."

Ash sat up fully, Pikachu climbing atop his shoulder. Sliding off the bed, Ash wandered over to the large window in the room, pulling open the curtains and staring out into the night. Snow was falling from the sky, sprinkling the darkness with little white sparkles.

"You should've seen their faces, Pikachu," Ash muttered. "It was awful. Having to face my little ones and tell them I probably won't be home for Christmas."

"Kachu."

"Even Misty looked like she was about to cry. Which…I guess makes sense. I am her husband, after all. And now I left her alone with three little kids at Christmas."

"Pii…"

"I just feel so…bad," Ash sighed, resting his forehead against the cool glass of the window. He stayed like that for a few seconds, until the phone rang. Squeezing his eyes shut, Ash separated himself from the window and wandered over to the phone, picking it up and holding the receiver against his face before answering in a rather miserable fashion.

"Hello?"

XXX

At the same time, back in Cerulean City, Misty was finally managing to get Elizabeth to calm down. She kissed the baby's head and gently rocked her back and forth, trying not to cry herself for fear of upsetting the children even further.

"Mommy, here's Lizzie's pacifier," Aiden held the object towards his mother.

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart," Misty smiled at her son and took the pacifier, once again putting it in front of Elizabeth's mouth. This time, the baby accepted it without any fussing and started sucking on it quietly. "Good girl."

Frowning, Michelle folded her arms on her mother's lap and looked up at the older red head, murmuring, "Mommy, why can't Daddy come home?"

"You know that his job sometimes gets in the way, sweetie," Misty freed one of her hands so she could soothingly play with her older daughter's hair. "He doesn't do it on purpose."

"I want Daddy," Michelle muttered.

"I know you do, princess," Misty stood up and instead walked over to sit on the couch, so it would be easier for the twins to sit next to her. "I know you all do. I want Daddy, too."

Elizabeth, while still content with her pacifier, let out an indiscernible moan, leading Misty to once again bounce the baby up and down on her lap. Michelle leaned over to hug the little girl, the warmth of Elizabeth's fleece, pink and white snowflake printed pajamas making her feel a little better.

"Does Daddy think about us when he's not here?" Aiden frowned.

"Oh, of course he does, baby," Misty hugged Aiden against her side. "He always does. Just because he's not here with us doesn't mean we're not on his mind…or in his heart."

"His heart?" Aiden murmured, staring up at Misty with dazzling brown eyes.

"Yes, sweetie," Misty giggled, "that's where he keeps all of us when we're not there with him! Tucked away safely inside of his heart."

"So, he doesn't forget about us?" Michelle murmured, as if wanting to make sure of this fact.

"No, never," Misty smiled. "He keeps his home in his heart. Every time he leaves. But he always knows he'll come back."

"You know he'll come back, right Mommy?" Michelle queried.

"Of course I do," Misty's voice dipped to a near whisper. "Your Daddy will always come back to us."

XXX

That night, Misty laid alone in her and Ash's bed, completely unable to sleep. She stared at the ceiling for a while, actually hoping that Elizabeth would wake up and want to be fed. Unfortunately for her, however, the baby had started sleeping through the night, for the most part. Getting too antsy for her own good, Misty slipped out of bed and wandered over to the window on the far right side of the room, staring out into the dark winter night. The snow was still falling, she could see, though it was beginning to die down.

"What am I supposed to do?" Misty mumbled to herself. "I want Christmas to be special for my little ones, but without Ash…it can't be very good."

She raised her eyes to the stars in the sky, hoping they could maybe give her an answer. Perhaps she could try wishing on one…it was such a childish thing to do, but Misty didn't even care at that point. Even thinking about her not having Ash at Christmas was a tough one to face. Squeezing her eyes shut, Misty started whispering a wish to herself, hoping that the stars could somehow grant it.

Just then, the sound of a doorknob twisting downstairs alerted the gym leader. Her heart leapt into her throat, and the adrenaline started racing through her veins. She turned slowly, just in time to see Aiden scurrying into her room with baby Elizabeth in his arms.

"Aiden!" Misty gasped, kneeling in front of the boy.

"Mommy, I heard a noise downstairs," Aiden's eyes were wide with fear.

"I know, I heard it too," Misty sighed, running a hand through her red hair as she got back to her full height.

"It even woke Lizzie up," Aiden motioned towards the squirmy infant in his grasp.

"Hold onto her, Aiden," Misty advised softly, running over to her dresser and plucking one of the poke balls that had been sitting atop it. "I'm going to see what's up."

"I'm scared, Mommy," Aiden whispered.

"Don't be, sweetie."

"But what if they steal our Christmas decorations?" Aiden fussed. "Or our tree?"

"Don't worry, honey," Misty reassured, "Mommy isn't going to let them take anything. Just stay here, okay?"

Aiden nodded swiftly, clutching the baby just a little more tightly. Misty, meanwhile, stalked her way out of the bedroom, quietly making her way down the stairs while clutching the poke ball in her hand. She was going to protect her family, no matter what.

I just wish Ash was here to help me. I don't need it…but I want it.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Misty let out a fierce, threatening growl and wound up her arm, preparing to throw the red and white sphere. She was stopped by a hand on her wrist, however, gripping it tightly. Shocked, and a little bit frightened, Misty let out a shriek and lowered her eyes until they were locked with the eyes of her home's intruder.

"A…Ash?" Misty muttered in disbelief.

"Please don't hurt me," Ash rushed out desperately.

Misty could only stare at her husband as if he was a ghost. Her heart was racing, but her brain didn't seem to be working. The sound of trampling down the stairs wasn't even enough to move Misty. As it would turn out, it was the children who were bustling down the stairs; Aiden leading the way with Elizabeth still in his arms, and Michelle tagging along sleepily behind him.

"Mommy, we got scared because we heard you yell, and then you stopped-"Aiden sounded very frantic, but he stopped talking as soon as he saw who was standing in front of his mother. Michelle perked up as well, and even Elizabeth stopped wiggling in her brother's grasp to turn her head.

"Daddy?" Michelle asked, her voice low and quavering slightly.

Releasing his still stunned wife's wrist, Ash stepped over to the staircase, beaming at his three young children. This was just enough to prove to them that he was really there, and they were soon bursting with excitement.

"DADDY!"

They flew down towards their father, who knelt so he could catch them in his arms. Ash snuggled the children and kissed all of their heads, the two older kids crying out happily. Elizabeth, on the other hand, started to whimper, not liking between squished between her father and older siblings.

"Oops, someone's getting smushed!" Ash chuckled, gathering the baby into his own arms and giving her a snuggle. This calmed her down instantly, bringing the smile back to the child's face. Looking down at the twins, Ash inquired, "so, are you two happy to see me?"

"Yes!" Aiden and Michelle chorused, their eyes sparkling like the lights on the family's Christmas tree.

"Pika!" Pikachu, who had been sitting so diligently on his trainer's shoulder, jumped off to rub against the children's legs.

"Aiden, Michelle, it's a little late, don't you think?" Misty finally managed to speak up. "Maybe you should go back to sleep…you can play with Daddy more tomorrow."

"Okay!" Both children chirped. Ash gave them both another kiss before they jumped back up the stairs, happily running to their bedrooms with Pikachu following behind.

Misty was still staring at her husband in disbelief. Ash stood up to his full height, a now softly cooing Elizabeth still held in his arms. He walked over to the baby's basket, sitting on the couch, and laid her in it, hoping she would fall back asleep after all of the excitement. Wordlessly, Misty moved over to him, touching her hands to his face to make sure he wasn't a figment of her imagination. Ash just watched his wife curiously, staring her right into her emerald eyes the entire time.

"Ash…" Misty whispered again.

"Hi," Ash replied simply, a boyish smile appearing on his face.

Misty threw her arms around Ash. It was all she could think to do. She squeezed him so tightly that Ash could hardly breathe, but he wasn't about to complain. Instead, he hugged her right back, pressing her head against his chest and silently breathing in and out.

She pulled away just enough to look up at him, though Ash refused to remove his arms from around Misty. She was perfectly fine with that as she asked, "wh-what are you doing here? I thought you couldn't come home."

"That's what I thought," Ash was still smiling, "but not too long after I hung up with you, I got a call from the League offices telling me to go home. I didn't even question it. I got on the soonest flight that I possibly could."

"You…you really did that?" Misty was breathless.

"Of course," Ash pulled Misty into him yet again. "I love you guys, and it was killing me to be away from you at Christmas. I would do it a thousand times over."

Misty smiled against her husband's chest. She loved him so much, and it was the best feeling in the world to have him there with her. Sighing contently, she wrapped her arms around him once again, turning her head to cuddle her cheek against his chest.

"I'm so glad you keep us all in your heart when you're gone," Misty murmured, "but having you here with us is so much better."