Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

A low, weak groan escaped his lips. He felt exhausted, physically numb. He was woozy and felt physically sick. Almost like his entire life force had been drained from his body.

Oh wait. It had.

Ash couldn't move at all, he had no energy left, the amount of Aura that had been expended, without his consent, should have killed him. So many questions ran through his tired mind. Why had that happened? Why didn't he have control? Why was he still alive after all that energy? Why did his Aura show him his past with Serena? How had May been there?

May.

His eyes shot open, an act that made him feel like he was going to pass out. His eyes glanced around the room, his vision was blurry, and he had to blink a few times before the image he could see became clearer.

Some of his senses started to return. He could hear the distant chatting of students. He could feel a bead of sweat rolling down his temple, and onto his cheek. He became aware of a weight on his chest. A tingling sensation ran through his fingers, and he could physically feel his Aura recharging, and his energy returning.

He looked down at the source of the wait on his chest. He could only see brunette hair.

"May?" He croaked, his voice was pathetically quiet, and it took so much energy just to force the question out. Ash got no response, not even a twitch. He forced his left arm, which was stuck behind May, around her waist, and he tried to nudge her. It took him an age to do. Now that the feeling had returned to him, his muscles and limbs felt like weights.

Still no response from May, causing Ash to frown. Concern flowed through him. He'd never experienced his Aura taking over him, let alone pulling someone into his mind.

"What in Arceus' name just happened?" Ash thought to himself, his eyes stuck on May. He couldn't wrap his head around what had just happened. He'd had to relive the worst moments of his life, literally feeling everything all over again. He wanted to cry, but he felt too emotionally drained.

A low groan snapped him out of his thoughts.

"May?" He asked again, his voice slightly stronger, but still croaky. May seemed to come to her senses much quicker than Ash, pushing herself upright and rubbing her eyes.

Their eyes met, and Ash felt a wave of energy surge through him.

It felt like an electrical surge pulsing through his body.

He could see the emotion in May's eyes, she'd felt everything that he had.

"Ash…" She said gently. He could hear the apology in her voice. Tears started to form in her blue eyes. "I'm so sorry I ever suggested she abandoned you, and I'm even more sorry about what you went through!" She threw herself forward, pulling Ash into a tight hug. The contact sent an even bigger surge through Ash's body, almost as if May had recharged him. He felt tears prickling at his eyes. He slipped his arms around her as he squeezed his eyes shut, allowing a few tears to roll down his face.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, and for the first time, Ash didn't feel guilty about the intimate action.

"Serena was a wonderful woman," May said, pulling apart so they could look at each other, "it's no wonder you couldn't let her go."

Ash smiled sadly.

"We grew up together, we went through so much on our travels," Ash reminisced, a slightly dazed tone in his demeanour. "When I found out we were having a baby together… I was so happy."

May offered him a small smile, pleased for him that he was able to open up more.

"We had our issues, as every couple does," Ash commented, focusing back on May, "but we were so close, and I…" he hesitated slightly. May squeezed his hand in support. "I felt like I was cheating on her…" May had a feeling this was coming. Her conversation with Serena's spirit had given her a slight insight into how Ash felt about the whole situation.

"You gave yourself no time to grieve," May replied, "you threw yourself into your work and into raising that wonderful little girl." Ash raised his eyebrow at this. He'd never mentioned this before, and he was certain none of his memories had shown what happened after Serena's death.

"How do you know that?" He asked, slightly sceptically. May frowned, unsure how she was going to be able to rationally explain her conversation with Serena.

"You've got to trust me on this," May replied, her voice firm, her eyes locked with Ash's in an attempt to make him believe her. May's demeanour surprised Ash, he wasn't expecting such certainty and power from her voice and the look she gave him.

"I believe you," Ash replied, almost instinctively. May smiled appreciatively.

"I… I had a conversation with Serena," May said quietly, looking away from Ash as she spoke, not wanting to see his reaction. Ash didn't think he'd heard her properly. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"You… you spoke with… Serena?" He asked slowly, his confusion heavily evident, a subtle bit of pain in there, which May sensed, causing guilt to flare up.

"I did…" May replied quietly, "she told me that you were holding a part of her inside you, when she… passed away, your Aura caught her soul, and trapped it inside you," May explained, unable to look Ash in the eyes. She crossed her fingers that he believed her, it was so painful to tell the story, knowing the emotional turmoil Ash was going through.

"She said that it affected your emotions, it made it harder for you to move on," May added timidly, extremely unsure about how to approach the subject and carefully choosing her every word, "because… she was literally with you."

May braved a glance up at Ash and was surprised by the look on his face. He looked remarkably calm, and was intently listening to every word May said.

"That makes sense…" He replied softly, again surprising May at how calm he was. "Aura is an incredible entity… Serena and I were celebrating the anniversary of when we started dating when I discovered my abilities… It must have made a connection between us, and when Serena passed…" Ash left the rest of the sentence up in the air.

"It tried to protect her spirit?" May suggested, causing Ash to nod slowly, a distant look creeping onto his face. "So you believe me?" May asked timidly, snapping Ash back to reality.

"I do," Ash said wholeheartedly, "it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after seeing those scenes with you, almost like my Aura needed to…" Ash paused at the end of the sentence, unsure about how to say what he was thinking.

"Needed to…?" May prompted gently, placing her hand on Ash's once again. An action that made Ash look down at their hands.

"Pass on the connection…" He answered, making eye contact with May, his voice barely above a whisper. They both felt a shock run through them as they gazed into each other's eyes, it was like they could see into the other's soul. May realised that she literally had looked into Ash's.

"How… do you feel?" May asked quietly, slightly thrown off by the intensity of the moment, her voice seeming distant, but grounded all at the same time.

"I'm always going to be sad," Ash answered, knowing May was directing the question to how he felt about Serena's passing, "she was a huge part of my life, and will be all the while I'm raising our daughter."

"But I don't feel the raging guilt anymore," Ash added, "it doesn't feel like I'm cheating on her anymore…"

There was another shock as they made eye contact once more.

"She said she wanted you to be happy, because you hadn't been since she passed," May told Ash, not once breaking the, once again, intense eye contact. A small smile reached Ash's face.

"That's Serena," He replied fondly, but that sense of longing, the sense that he needed Serena to get him by, had dissipated. "I… I feel like I can be happy again."

His voice was quiet, almost as if he was slightly ashamed by that comment. May smiled at him.

"That's a big step," May said, her voice almost warning Ash that he was moving too quickly, "she meant such a lot to you, and you obviously loved her so much."

"I know," Ash replied, surprised at how easy both of them seemed to be having this conversation. "But she said in the video will she left me that she wanted me and Georgia to be happy and live our lives," He added wistfully, he made eye contact with May once more.

"I finally feel like that's a possibility for me."

He said it with such intensity and certainty, it flustered May.

"She was still a huge part of your life," May replied gently, "and you never really gave yourself the opportunity to grieve… To be angry for the injustice you suffered…"

"If you ever need to do either of those things," May added, looking at Ash with a fiery determination, "I'm here for you."

Ash couldn't hide the smile that immediately formed on his face. Tears threatened him once again, but he held them off. Ash pulled May into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much…" He whispered softly into May's ear, "I needed this."

May smiled, enjoying the moment.

"I'm happy I can help," She replied softly. Once again the two stayed in each other's arms for a long time, until May realised something.

"What time are you picking Georgia up?" She asked, recalling that Ash had mentioned she was still at Delia's from the night before.

"I didn't mention a specific time when I was there," Ash replied, as the two pulled apart, "I didn't know how long I'd need to tell you everything." May was surprised.

"You came here to tell me what had happened?" She asked. Ash nodded.

"Yes," He confirmed, "I'm kinda glad that my Aura triggered those memories, it was more physically exhausting, but less emotionally draining that verbally telling you would've been."

Again, this surprised May.

"I thought reliving them would've been more draining?" May asked. Ash smiled softly.

"It was, but reliving them with you feels like an emotional weight off my shoulders," Ash explained, "yes, I felt drained afterwards, but now, I feel rejuvenated."

The two shared a bright smile.

"And I can't thank you enough," Ash added, leaning forward and kissing May on the cheek, flustering the brunette.

"I-It's my pleasure, Ash," May stuttered a reply, smiling shyly, but brightly at the Gym Leader. She remembered what they were discussing beforehand. "Can I come with you to collect Georgia?" She asked, slightly timidly. Ash's face stretched into a wide smile.

"Of course!" Ash answered enthusiastically, "I know Georgia, and my mum, would love to see you again!"

The two smiled at each other, before standing and getting ready to leave.

"Thank you for earlier," May said suddenly, causing Ash to give her a confused look, "standing up to Brendan like that, I really appreciate it." Ash smiled.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he replied, opening the door and holding open for May. "After you, ma'am," he said, bowing, a smirk on his face. May giggled.

"Is this a habit of yours?" She asked through her giggles, glancing back at Ash as she walked through the door, "you did the very same on our date!" Ash smiled as he realised he had.

"What can I say?" He replied rhetorically, "my mum was very keen on me to have good manners."

May smiled, as the two headed out of the building and started the relatively short walk to Delia's.

"Your mum is a really great woman," May complimented, causing Ash to nod in agreement.

"She did well," Ash commented, "seems like single parenting runs in the family though," he added, somewhat bitterly. May shot him a sympathetic look.

"It must've been hard…" She replied sensitively, linking arms with Ash, and resting her head slightly on his shoulder. "Not having a father figure around," she added softly, making sure it didn't seem like she was rubbing it in. Ash blushed slightly when she rested her head on his shoulder, but quickly forced it away.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy, that's for sure," He replied, a cross between a smile and a frown stretched onto his face. "But my mum was incredible… it was like having a mum and a dad in one person, if I didn't feel bad for her being… alone…" Ash hesitated slightly, "I'd choose to have my dad walk out every single time, it's worked out for the best, I feel." May felt tears prickle her eyes as Ash spoke.

"And I never really felt like I was alone," Ash added, gratitude evident in his voice, "I had so many people around me who helped me when I needed it… even if I didn't admit I needed help and was particularly stubborn," Ash said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his spare hand.

May smiled at his honesty, it made her feel warm inside that Ash was opening up to her more.

"But don't tell my mum that I said that, she'll never let me live it down!" Ash added jokingly, making May giggle slightly.

"Your secret is safe with me!" May joked back, tilting her head up slightly so she could wink at Ash, the action making the Gym Leader blush slightly.

"It better be!" Ash replied, winking back, once he'd recovered from his momentary fluster. The two shared a laugh as they reached Delia's house. Once again, Ash opened the gate and held it open for May, who smirked at him, but saying nothing.

Ash followed May down the path with a small smile on his face. He glanced up at the sky.

"I don't know why my Aura took over and showed us all those visions… but I'm grateful," he thought, "I'll always love you, Serena, but… I need to let you go…" A lone tear rolled down his face, but the smile never left it.

As he thought this, he felt a strange sensation run through his body. It felt almost as if he'd had a vice clamped to his chest, and someone had released it.

Breathing a hefty sigh, Ash rubbed away the tear, and his smile grew as he looked at the back of May's head.

"Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly, completely snapping Ash out of his moment, turning to face him. "I can't believe I forgot! Congratulations!" She stepped towards him and gave him a hug. Ash frowned in confusion.

"Thank you… but for what?" Ash asked, his confusion evident. May pulled back and smiled at him, a look of pride on her face.

"I heard the news about your battle with Agatha! You're one step away from becoming a permanent Elite Four member!" She said excitedly. Her attitude was infectious, causing a wide smile to stretch across Ash's face.

"Thank you!" Ash thanked properly, now knowing why May had said congratulations. "I'm really looking forward to it, I've got to make sure I put on a show," Ash said with determination, clenching his fist. There was an edge to his determination that surprised May somewhat. She went to reply but was interrupted by the front door swinging open, even though neither had knocked.

"Hi daddy!" Georgia greeted excitedly, running up to Ash and hugging him around the legs. Ash smiled and patted her on the head affectionately.

"Hey sweetheart," Ash greeted. Georgia smiled up at him, before detaching herself from his legs, and running over to May, and hugging her the same way.

"Hi May!" The little girl said, once again smiling up at the adult she was hugging.

"Hey Georgia!" May replied, grabbing her under the arms and lifting her up to give her a proper hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good thank you!" Georgia answered politely, "I had a sleepover at nanny's!"

Ash frowned, as guilt hit him due to his actions the previous night. He had apologised to Delia and Georgia when he'd popped in on his way to the University, but he still heavily regretted how he'd behaved.

"Did you have a fun time?" May asked, smiling as she spoke. Georgia nodded vigorously.

"We watched so many battles on the tele!" Georgia answered, "they were even showing some of daddy's matches!" Ash smiled at Georgia's words, he loved how similar his daughter was to him with how much they loved Pokémon, in fact, Georgia's first word was quite remarkably, Pikachu.

"That's awesome!" May replied, mimicking Georgia's enthusiasm, "I hope he didn't lose any of them!" she added, winking at Georgia, and smirking at Ash. The latter stuck his tongue out, the interaction causing Georgia to giggle in May's arms.

"We were just about to go to the park," Delia's voice came from the doorway, grabbing everyone's attention. She was leaning on the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest, a smile on her face. She'd been observing the scene ever since Georgia had rushed to the door, and the way that Georgia and May interacted greatly pleased her. What made her even happier was Ash and May standing together, when May had rushed out the previous night, she could've swung for Ash. May was such a lovely girl, and clearly exactly what he needed.

"Can May come with us, daddy?" Georgia asked, looking at Ash hopefully. The look on her face melted his heart. He glanced at May who was smiling brightly at his daughter.

"I'd love to, if that's okay?" May replied, her smile turning somewhat sheepish. Ash smiled brightly.

"Of course!" Ash answered, before turning to Delia, "would you like to join us?" Delia shook her head.

"I wouldn't want to be a third wheel," Delia teased, winking, causing the two adults to blush, "have fun!" She said in a sing-song tone, shutting the door.

"Let's go!" Georgia said excitedly, hopping out of May's arms and dropping to the floor. She then grabbed May's hand and dragged her over to Ash, before grabbing his hand and walking between them. This act once again flustered the two adults, but they quickly overcame it when Georgia started pulling them in the direction of the park.

"Please could you swing me?" Georgia asked politely, looking up at the adults. Ash and May smiled at each other.

"1…2…3… Go!" Ash and May counted in unison, and on the count of "go" the lifted the little girl up by her hands and swung her back and forth. Georgia laughed joyously, a sound that made both Ash and May smile brightly.

They repeated this act for the remainder of the five minute walk, with both adults smiling at Georgia's delight. When they reached the park, Georgia let go of their hands, and darted off towards the swings. Surprisingly, considering it was mid-afternoon and a rather warm day, they had the park to themselves.

"So, Ash," May grabbed his attention, "who are you planning to use in your battle with Agatha?" She asked, shooting Ash a glance as they made their way over to the swings, which Georgia had just climbed onto.

"I can't be revealing that information," Ash said matter of factly, before pausing, "mainly because I'm not sure myself." May giggled.

"Well she's mainly Ghost types, so surely a Pokémon with a Dark type attack?" Georgia suggested, having overheard the conversation, whilst she tried to give herself some momentum. May raised an eyebrow in surprise at the girl's knowledge, but after a moment, she realised it wasn't that surprising. Georgia must've grown up around Pokémon her entire life, and even at the age of five, she seemed very well informed.

"Good suggestion, Georgia," Ash complimented, smiling slightly at her attempts to get the swing going, so he moved around and started to gently push her. "What Pokémon does daddy have that can use a Dark type move?" he asked, stepping away to allow his daughter to use the momentum her gave her to independently move back and forth. Georgia looked thoughtful for moment.

"Greninja is part Dark type," Georgia answered slowly, still obviously thinking about more answers, "Glalie knows Crunch!" She added excitedly. Ash smiled, as did May.

"Good girl," Ash praised, patting her on the head on one of her back swings.

"She's very clever," May complimented quietly, as Ash moved to stand next to her, the two shared a smile.

"Yeah, the benefit of growing up with a Gym Leader slash Elite Four father," Ash replied, "she's spent her entire life surrounded by Pokémon, although I've never actually sat down and taught her, she just seemed to pick it all up naturally." May's smile grew wider.

"Like father, like daughter."

The two shared a smile at May's words.

EOC

Jeeeeeeeeeez… this chapter has been tough, I can't tell you how frustrating it's been to write and can only apologise for how long it's taken! I've been a little snowed under with work which has been limiting my writing time and strangling my creativity somewhat.

I'd like to say a huge, HUGE thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted and favourited this story... it sits at over a remarkable 2,000 views already! 37 faves and 49 alerts, and 34 reviews, and I'm so grateful for each and every one! 3

REVIEW REPLIES:

LONEWOFLF3957: I'm glad you enjoyed, I really wanted to get across the emotions that Ash was feeling during the worst part of his life. I'm pleased you also enjoy "How to change a life" it's a cracking read! Thank you, something that has become a big part of my writing is plot development, I want a clear image of what I'm going to write for each chapter before I even post the first! Wow that's high praise! However, I'm not sure about the state of the anime anymore! ;) thank you for reading my work!

STEVEXCLAX: I tried to make it as least obvious as possible but needed to bring her up to bring across Ash's emotional state. There should be some more backstory on other characters, but I'm not sure when that'll be! Thank you for pointing that out, I've gone back and fixed it, an error on my behalf! I felt hideous writing the Contestshipping of If You Could See Me Now, but it was necessary for the plot development, I tried to make it appear that Drew was "suave" and "nice" to May but vile to Ash. Thank you for your kind words!

ABOZ567: Thank you! I'm very happy I got the emotions across well, as it's the hardest thing for me to write! I tried to keep it as ambigious as possible, but obviously not as well as I could've done! ;) I really wanted to show Serena in a positive light, too many stories since her introduction in the anime (which I have not seen), have her in conflict, I wanted none of that.

AMERAINWOMAN: As said above, I really didn't want to have them conflict, even though I've not seen Serena's character in the anime, I feel like she'd be the kind of person May would get along with (assuming!). I have plans for this story, but not sure how far I'll take it, at the moment, the battle with Agatha is the big showpiece finale, but I'd be happy to continue the story in the form of oneshots, showing various moments, but that might develop into it's own thing… who knows! Thank you, they've faced some issues… but are there more to come…?

MANBEARPIG01: Thank you! I'm glad I've manage to find a unique way to use Aura, but still keep it somewhat relative to the anime!

DEFENDER31415: I appreciate that! I'm glad I went for Aura as well, it allowed me a lot more creative freedom to tell Ash's story, and put a lot more emotion behind it. Thank you for the review!

KODAKOHL: Yaaaaaass, feels achieved! =D I'd never forget you! 3 I'm glad you're enjoying! Actually, I've never watched Naruto, so it was an "original" idea for me!

BRADLEY98: Here it is! ;)

Until the next time, I've been Advanced Faith,

You've all been awesome! =D