Hi and hello! Here's Chapter 20 of Inconceivable, ready to re-introduce Ash and May's families and bring them toward their kids. What's in store this week? Let's raise the curtain and find out!

A/N: We've officially topped 100 comments, folks! Thanks so much for your continued readership and support!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon; Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri do.

INCONCEIVABLE

CHAPTER 20-MISCALCULATIONS

"She's what? Where? And with whom?"

Caroline had been afraid that Norman would react this way, but she let him express his disbelief anyway. Upon being told of May's pregnancy, the Petalburg Gym Leader had spent two minutes staring at her in shock before letting fly.

"Exactly what I told you, Norman. She's pregnant, and she's in Ecruteak City along with Ash. I have decided that we are going out there to be with her, and I do not want to hear excuses."

"But...but...!" Norman's mouth flopped open and shut like a Magikarp's, and he cast wildly around for something to say. "How did this happen? Did they...?" His eyes narrowed as he realized what this meant. "You mean to tell me that Ash Ketchum...has...with my little girl? He'd better hide when we get there, because I am going to..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Norman Maple!" Caroline was not about to let Norman go threatening anyone, especially not Ash, regardless of their conduct. "I know you're not happy about it; I wish they hadn't ended up like this, they shouldn't have done what they did. But you are not going to do anything to Ash, he's done so much for her thus far."

"He's...exactly what has he done that's helped anything? He's done...you-know-what...with May, dragged her two regions away..."

"He did not drag her, Norman. She agreed to go."

"Is that why she went off to Kanto? So she could run away with him?"

"Who ran away?" Both parents turned to see Max standing in the living room doorway.

"Max, what are you doing here? I thought you were out training."

"I finished the training session twenty minutes ago. You guys really need to calm it down, I heard you guys yelling from two houses away. But anyway, who ran away?" Norman opened his mouth to speak, but a gesture from his wife silenced him.

"I'll tell him, Norman. Max, your sister is the one who ran away. She's with Ash in Johto, and she's going to have a baby in just under two months." Max stared, then started laughing.

"What are you laughing about, son? This isn't funny in the slightest."

"Because I said this might happen, didn't I? I said they could've run away, and that they might've eloped or something. Makes sense, since Ash knocked her up..."

"Max Maple!" Caroline's furious tone made Max back up instinctively. "I do not want to hear that expression ever again!"

"But it's what happened, right?"

"I don't care, I will not have you using that language!" Caroline breathed in heavily, then composed herself. "Max, your father and I are going to Johto to stay with her until the child is born."

"I'm going too, then." At this, Norman spoke again, calmer this time.

"If you come with us, we'll have to close the Gym. I'd rather you stayed here and covered for me." Max shook his head.

"Dad, I know you don't want to shut the Gym down, and I'd love to be the temporary Leader. But I'm still going to come with you." Norman stared in disbelief; Max should have been jumping at the chance to be the Petalburg Gym Leader, if only for a couple of months. Max spoke again to clarify. "Dad, I haven't seen May in a long time, and...I don't know, I kinda miss her. There, I said it!" He looked at both his parents, as if daring them to say something. Caroline just nodded, and Norman sighed as he conceded the point.

"Alright, Max." He turned to his wife. "Caroline, when are we leaving?"

"In the next few days. You need to let the Pokémon League know that the Gym will be closed, and Max needs to start getting himself ready to go if he's coming with us." Caroline turned to head for the videophone.

"Where are you going?" Norman asked her, puzzled. Caroline sighed.

"We'll be making a stopover in Pallet Town, to see if Delia is going to come with us. She needs to know that we're coming, it's the polite thing to do." Norman nodded and walked away, and Caroline switched on the phone and dialed Delia's number.

A few days after Caroline had rung Delia and confirmed their approach, the Maples got onto the ferry to Kanto at Littleroot Town. Max had suggested using Gardevoir's Teleport to save time, but Norman had shot down the idea on the grounds that teleporting between regions was too risky.

The few days they spent on the ferry were relatively uneventful. Max spent most of his time training his Pokémon, occasionally having a battle with one of the kids on the deck. Norman and Caroline stayed in their cabin, mulling over how they were going to get to Ecruteak from Pallet. Delia had mentioned that she knew how the Kanto transit systems worked, so they could make further plans once they got there.

Delia was waiting on the dock when the Maples arrived.

"Oh, my goodness, you're here!" Delia embraced Caroline and Norman, and nodded to Max. "So...why don't you come to my house for a bit? You must be tired after that trip."

"That sounds fine." They started up the path, and as they walked Delia told them about Ash calling her up after what must have been nearly six months, telling her about his running off with May.

"So of course I was completely shocked, you know, since Ash never goes anywhere long-term without telling me." she said as they reached the house. "Samuel was just as surprised when I told him, since he didn't have the information Ash gave me. Ash said he would call the Professor, so hopefully that's all straightened out."

Max and Norman found seats in the living room, and both Delia and Caroline headed for the kitchen to make a pot of tea. After Delia put the water on to boil, she turned to Caroline.

"Can you believe this, though? Ash never made any indication of liking May until she had already left on her own, and now he's fathered a child with her."

"I couldn't believe it when May told me, either. They're still so young, and they've had such a big change in their lives in a short time."

"Ash will find a way to take care of her, don't worry. He may not be the greatest romantically, but he won't let anything happen to May or their child. He's just that kind of boy." The kettle started to shriek, and Delia poured it into four mugs, then put the mugs on a serving tray. As she walked in, she put the tray on the table, then sat down. Caroline took the last remaining seat, and everyone took a mug to drink their tea.

After a few minutes, Norman spoke up.

"I just can't understand this. One minute May's at home, considering whether to take off for Unova, and the next she's all the way in Johto, where she's already traveled."

"Is that where her friends went? Ash had just gotten back from Unova when this whole thing took off."

"Yes, but May decided not to travel out there." Caroline sipped her tea, then spoke again. "She said it was too far even for her."

"And yet she ran off just as far." Norman shook his head and took another swig. "I just can't understand it."

"Do you want to know why she ran?" Norman raised an eyebrow at this, and Caroline continued. "She ran because she was afraid of you, Norman. Or, actually, your reaction to this whole thing."

"What?" Norman nearly spit his tea out as he realized what Caroline had said.

"Exactly what I told you. She was frightened of how you would react to her being pregnant, so she and Ash made a run for it. It's what I'd have done at her age."

"But...I have very good reasons to react badly! I'm her father, it's my job! Besides, she's too young to be having children! She's what, seventeen..."

"Eighteen." Caroline corrected.

"Eighteen, thank you." Norman stopped, realizing he had to change what he was about to say, then kept going. "She may be of age, but she's much too young, especially when she's not married yet."

"Norman?" Delia piped up, and Norman stopped venting to look at her. "I understand your frustration; May might very well be too young for this, and Ash is going to have to grow up fast too. But, to put things in perspective, I was even younger than May when I had Ash."

"You were?" Caroline was confused, Delia had never mentioned this. Come to think of it, she didn't even know how old Delia was. Looking at her, one might think she was fairly young, but Caroline couldn't be sure.

"Yes. When I had Ash, I was barely sixteen. His father disappeared for a while—he and I never thought it could happen—and I never got the chance to tell him. It wasn't until Ash was a year old that he came back, and opted to take responsibility for his actions."

"He did?" Norman looked even more bemused than ever. "Delia, I know there's something significant about this story, but I can't tell what it is."

"There are two things. One, May's in a better position than I was; she's older, even if it's not by much, and Ash knew about her pregnancy fairly early, if what he told me is true. The other is that like his father, Ash will come good for May. He's never been one to shirk his responsibilities, whether to his Pokémon or to his friends." Max nodded; even if he'd never tell anyone else, he knew about Ash's near-fatal exploits at Samiya, risking his life to restore the Sea Crown. If that didn't count as taking responsibility, nothing did. Norman, for his part, turned to Caroline to see what she had to say, and noticed her fiddling with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Caroline, what's that you're holding?" Caroline looked up from the paper to find Norman staring at her.

"Oh, nothing." Realizing she was lying, Caroline sighed. "Okay, it's not nothing. I've actually known May was pregnant for a while."

"Huh?" This time, Max was the one to be surprised. "Mom, did you really?"

"Yes, Max. May sent me this note a while ago, and she asked me to keep her pregnancy a secret." The others in the room stared at her, and she sighed again. "But now that the Meowth's out of the bag, I might as well tell you what it says." She adjusted the paper so she could read the entire thing, and read May's message from all those weeks ago:

Dear Mom,

I'm so sorry I've disappeared like this. The last few months have really flown by, and I'm starting to wish I was still at home. I wish I could tell you where I am, but I just can't.

I won't sugar-coat it, Mom: I'm pregnant, and that's why I ran for it. I got really scared that Daddy would react badly, and I didn't want to face him, at least not by myself. Please don't tell him, or Max. I couldn't bear them knowing, even though I'm not around for the reaction.

Ash is the father, in case you wanted to know. It was his idea to run, and I decided it would be best to listen to him. Please don't worry about me, Ash is taking good care of me, and he's prepared for anything when it comes to taking care of our baby as well.

I miss you guys so much. But like I said, please don't worry, I'm well taken care of and we'll be fine.

Your loving daughter

MAY

The room was filled with stunned silence when Caroline finished. Norman was staring so wildly, it looked like his eyes might pop out. Delia was nearly in tears. And Max's mouth was hanging wide open, his chin bumping the rim of his mug. Caroline folded the note and put in in her pocket, then looked around, waiting for a response.

"Caroline?" Norman had composed himself, and Caroline turned to look at him. "Why didn't you tell us you knew beforehand?"

"Because May asked me not to, Norman. I wanted desperately to say something, to someone, but I knew May would never forgive me if I did. I was assured she was safe, and I decided not to pursue it any further."

"Judging by how you've taken this, Dad, I'm not surprised she wants it kept quiet." Max chuckled, realizing something else. "And I think May was remembering some stuff I've said in the past when she wrote that."

"Well, now everybody knows." Delia finished her tea and put the mug on the table. "Okay, now that that's out in the open, what do you say we make our plans to get to Ecruteak." Everyone agreed, and the preparations began.

Wow. I can't believe I got that all into one chapter. It wasn't too hard to write, but I think the content was pretty heavy. So now the families are headed for Ecruteak, and everyone should be reunited pretty soon. Don't touch that dial, folks!

Alright, all joking aside, standard operating procedure remains in effect. Please read, REVIEW and tell me how it went. Until next time, namárië!