A/N: Quickly posting this before I have to go to work today. Here's another chapter for you all. I've already started working on the next chapter, so I'm hoping to put that one out sooner than this one. For some reason, I felt sluggish writing this chapter in particular. Oh well, enjoy.

Also, this story has had over 10k views so far, so thank you to all of my readers! I love you guys.

- Sarah

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of it's characters.

P. S. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Chapter Four: An Egg-cellent Adventure

"Ash, can you hand me that bucket of water?"

They were on another island, yet again being roped into helping someone. This time it was a daycare for Pokémon. Brock had been the one to offer assistance. This decision had the power to shock his two friends, considering this was not a favor for a young beautiful woman. An elderly couple ran the center, starting out when they were young newly-weds. People from all over Kanto came there to leave their Pokémon with the two people, whom they considered experts in Pokémon breeding. Although Brock was studying to become a Pokémon doctor, he remained interested in aspects of breeding. Also, one of his essential classes was on the subject of breeding and how it affects genetics. A lot of the course related breeding and certain diseases and conditions within certain species of Pokémon.

Brock shadowed the old woman named Muriel around the grounds, while Ash and Misty were stuck with most of the grunt work. They hauled enormous bags of Pokémon food to the feeding pens, and now they were filling the troughs full of water. It was rough work for even Ash, with his strong build and youth. He did not understand how the old couple was able to do it on a daily basis. He did wonder if they had a tendency of recruiting young naïve trainers. Ash handed Misty a full bucket, and they finished with the daily tasks.

After the morning work was done, they were able to have a small picnic on the far end of the grounds. Brock was nowhere to be seen, probably taking a break to find women out in the small town. He was hopeless. Misty enjoyed her sandwich as she watched water Pokémon swim in the small pond. Their blanket lay on the edge of the bank, and they basked in the sun, mainly in silence. Ash gave Pikachu an apple from his bag, much to his friend's delight.

"How come you still have my handkerchief?" Misty asked suddenly, causing Ash to choke on his water.

"W-Why?" he stuttered. "Do you want it back or something?"

"No, that's not it," she said. "I was wondering why you had it for so long."

"It was special to me," Ash said flopping back against the grass. "You gave it to me, and it helped to have it around when I missed you."

"Oh," Misty said, also lying against the grass. "I'd never ask for it back, you know."

"I know."

A comfortable silence draped over them as they lay in the meadow. They relished the sunlight, knowing that it would not be this warm back at home upon their return. Pikachu, wanting to give the two humans space, pranced away along the banks of the meadow. He did not notice the figures creeping up from behind as he took a sip of water from the tiny pond. A pair of hands snatched him from his spot, taking him away from his trainer.

"Hey, Ash?"

"Hmm?"

She hesitated, aware of the question on the precipice of leaving her lips. It was a frivolous one, she decided as soon as he responded. She wanted to ask him something that could be personal. She was curious; however, at the same time she did not want him to get the wrong idea.

"Well?" Ash said, his voice declaring his impatience.

"Nothing. Never mind."

"No," he said, rolling on his side to face her. "Tell me what you were going to say?"

"How were you able to be so good with Rebecca right away?"

It wasn't what she originally wanted to ask him, but it was related in a way that might indirectly answer it. It was something that he could answer without him knowing her true question. What she actually desired to know was his thoughts on having kids. They were a bit young for that, and it was not to say that she thought they would be a couple in the future. The way he interacted with Rebecca started her thoughts on the subject, so it was a good place to begin.

"What do you mean?"

"You were able to calm her down and talk to her on her level. It's not easy to talk to a kid like that."

"I was once a kid, Misty. It wasn't that long ago."

"I've never been able to do that. I tried a side-job of babysitting a few years back, and it ended disastrously. I was watching two little girls. It started out fine, but when I tried to put them to bed, one of them refused to brush her teeth. It caused this epic battle between us. Eventually, she shouted at me that I was the worst babysitter ever. I felt like shit after she said that. They went to sleep, and when I returned downstairs, I cried for a good five minutes about it. So yeah, kids and I are not a good mix."

"That doesn't mean that sort of thing would happen with all kids," Ash replied, in a reassuring voice. "Besides when are you going to encounter little kids any time soon? Why are you worried about this?"

"I was thinking more so about years from now…you know, when I might have kids of my own."

"Oh."

It flummoxed Ash that Misty would even have thought about motherhood at their age. It had not even been a year since he had thought of a girl as more than a friend, let alone think about having children. In a way, he was still a child himself, navigating through life as if he were making his way through a pitch-black room. He admired her for her self-sufficiency. She had tangible goals that were within reach. His was once to be a Pokémon Master, but what did that even mean? The longer he had been a trainer, the more cynical he had become on the idea, especially when his ex girlfriend would had pointed out all that he had yet to accomplish. There were so many leagues in which he had competed, and the only one he came out on top was the Orange League. There were hundreds more Pokémon out there than originally known when he first became a trainer, and he was nowhere near completing his Pokedex.

He stared at her as the image of his best friend holding a small child fluttered into his brain. The baby she held in his imagination had to be no much older than a year old. He was not sure of its gender, for it was wearing generic clothes. The baby had her eyes of course, but dark hair like his. The thought went through him like a flash of lightning, disappearing as suddenly as it appeared, and he found himself wistfully wishing for it to return to him. Before that moment, he never thought of having a child, but then, he could not picture himself having one with anyone but Misty.

"I'm afraid that I'm going to be a terrible mother someday," she confessed, yanking him back into reality.

"No, you won't," he responded immediately.

"How can you be so sure?"

"You're amazing with your Pokémon for one thing, so you can't possibly be terrible."

"Ash, children are not the same thing as Pokémon."

"They can't be that different, right Pikachu?"

Ash expected for the electric mouse to chime in with enthusiasm, but instead, he was greeted with silence. He shot up instantaneously, knowing that something was wrong. He could not see his buddy anywhere. Where could he have gone in the matter of minutes? Misty mirrored Ash in searching around for the yellow furball with her eyes. As far as they could tell, he was not anywhere near the pond anymore.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted after getting to his feet.

Again, there was nothing but silence.

"Pikachu!" Misty called.

"Where are you, little buddy?" Ash shouted.

With no sign of him, they searched onward toward the front of the daycare center, passing all sorts of Pokémon, just not Pikachu. Ash was on the precipice of panic. Something was wrong. It was not in Pikachu's character to wonder away.

"Pikachu!" he called again. That was when he heard manacle laughing.

"Those voices," cried Misty.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

Team Rocket appeared from behind the large barn. This time, they were wearing their standard uniforms. James stood solemnly, a rose gripped into his hand. Jessie wore a smug look on her face.

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light. Surrender now or prepare to fight," they recited together, as always.

"Meowth, that's right," the cat Pokémon shouted, appearing from behind.

Pikachu was in what appeared to be a glass container, which Meowth was holding over his head. Pikachu tried to break free by using his electricity, but it was no use. Team Rocket knew what they were doing this time.

"Give me back Pikachu!" Ash demanded.

"Now why on earth would we do that?" James taunted.

"Pikachu is coming with us now," Jessie added.

"So you twos can run along and play," said Meowth.

"How dare you?" Ash said, gritting his teeth.

Ash was beside himself. He did not know what to do. Pikachu was the only Pokémon he had brought with him. He hadn't trained in a couple of months, and he figured that his other Pokémon would be much happier at Professor Oak's lab rather than stuck inside of a Pokeball most of the time. In that moment, he regretted his decision. There was no way for him to get back Pikachu. He was contemplating lunging at them when he heard shouting.

"Stop, thieves!"

Muriel and Brock were headed toward them. The woman was able to match Brock's pace in spite of her age. Team Rocket panicked when she grew closer. She was petite, yet properly intimidating. James picked up a large sack as they prepared to leave before Muriel could get her hands on them.

"They stole all of the Pokémon eggs," Brock explained when he reached the other two.

"That's it!" exclaimed Misty, her fiery personality emerging. "I thought I was done with you idiots years ago!"

"Who are you calling idiots?" Jessie said, indignant.

"You never win! I don't understand why you are part of an evil organization and try to steal everyone's Pokémon when you suck at it!"

"How dare you," James said.

"Ya know," Meowth interrupted, "Yous two would be lost without me, so she has a point."

"Meowth!" James said as Jessie whacked him off the back of the head.

"Ow!" the cat Pokémon whined as he held his head.

"Enough fooling around," Jessie shouted at the other two. "Let's go!"

"Right," James said as he pulled out a small remote and pushed a button.

The ground began to rumble as their balloon popped out from the ground beyond the fence. Somehow, they had managed to build a trapdoor without anyone noticing. If they had time to do all of that, it was a wonder that they didn't come in the daycare at night instead. Though it was certainly not the smarter choice, Team Rocket had a habit of being dramatic.

They hopped into the balloon, James carrying the sack of Pokémon eggs and Jessie carrying Pikachu. Ash ran in an attempt to stop them, but they were too high for him to reach, his hand grazing the bottom of the basket. Misty would not let Team Rocket get away with this. She instinctually went for the Pokeball on the right side of her belt. She plucked it off and threw it in front of her.

"Azumarill, go!"

The Pokeball opened with a pop, light pouring out until the water Pokémon appeared. The Pokémon that was once her Azurill stood ready to battle. There was a blazing in its eyes. Misty had not used it in battle for quite some time, so it was itching for a fight. Azumarill was Misty's workhorse. It was so stubborn and never conceded in a fight. The contrast in its personality now compared to when it was an Azurill intrigued her. It was interesting that someone could change so much over the years.

"Rill!" shouted the Pokémon.

"Bubblebeam!"

The Pokémon opened its mouth, and stream of bubbles escaped. The attack hit James, knocking him off balance. He dropped the bag over the side of the balloon. Brock ran toward the rapidly falling bag of Pokémon eggs, reaching his arms out to catch it. He leapt forward, his arms stretched outwardly. He landed with the bag in his arms, safe from harm.

Azumarill's assault continued with Team Rocket ducking toward the bottom of the balloon. The bubbles flew so fast that they were starting to rip the sides of the basket. One bubble was all it took to shatter the glass container that held Pikachu. The glass blew all over the floor and over the sides. Pikachu shook his head and upon realizing his new freedom, he bounded to the edge, his cheeks sparking.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

Electricity flew out of his cheeks and into the humans who tried to kidnap him in the first place. They were paralyzed from the shock. The attack blew a hole into their balloon, causing it to start to fly away. Pikachu fled from it, falling down to the earth below. Ash sprinted over to catch his smallest friend. Pikachu landed in his arms, as Team Rocket grew smaller in the sky.

"Look like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they shouted before the ding rang out, signifying that they were gone.

"Pikapi!"

"Are you okay, Pikachu?"

"Chaaa!"

He hugged his Pokémon, feeling slightly guilty that he hadn't been paying attention. Had he been less distracted, he would have seen Team Rocket, and none of this would have happened. Yet again, he let a woman cloud his judgment. Well, Misty was not any woman. She was so much more than that to him. Did he dare to say that he might even love her? Feeling slightly remorseful, he hoped that Pikachu would understand. Pikachu was simply content to be back with Ash.

The sun was setting on the horizon, the crimson light dancing on the edge of the horizon. The Wingulls were hovering over the open ocean, waiting for the fish to break. Ash, Misty, and Brock stood in front of the daycare's entrance with Muriel. They were done for the day and were in the middle of their good-byes. Brock was reluctant to leave, and for once it was not for a beautiful young woman. He had learned a lot in that one afternoon, and was a bit disappointed that he could not learn more. Ash and Misty had more than enough in one day, however.

"Thank you for all of your help," Muriel said.

"It was our pleasure," Brock said.

"Speak for yourself," Ash muttered under his breath.

"Here," Muriel said, handing them a Pokémon egg. It was pink with brown spots.

"Why are you giving us this?" asked Ash, taking the egg from her.

"Sometimes trainers do not want the eggs that their Pokémon produce. We keep them and raise them on our own. I like to give them away to trainers who help us out sometimes, depending on if they do good work," she explained.

"You have it," Ash said, offering it to Misty.

"What? Why me?"

"You're the one who saved the day," Ash said. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even have this egg to raise. Pikachu would have been gone. You deserve to have it."

"You're only saying this because you don't want the responsibility."

"No, Misty, I mean it. I want you to have it."

"Well, all right then," she replied, taking the egg and clutching it close to her chest. It had been sometime since she held something so small and fragile. It reminded her a bit of when she had Togepi. A sense of warmth washed over her like a steaming-hot bath.

As they said good-bye to Muriel and headed on their way, Ash could not take his gaze off of Misty. She was cheerful the rest of the way back, chatting away with Brock about his day. She hugged the egg close, and it made Ash delighted. Watching her with her new Pokémon, although not yet hatched, gave him an idea. He thought of a plan to make her happy once more and perhaps, capture her heart.