Next chapter :D! Thank you guys soooooo much for all the support. Sorry again for the wait. The 'update story' has how it's gonna probably be since school is starting. Luv u guys! ENJOY!

Previously...

"You guys will be okay! Help has arrived!" Clemont yells down at the two who respond with a thumbs up, too weak to yell back. He then helps Officer Jenny out of the hole.

The helicopter crew gets to work. They send their medic team to retrieve the two and quickly brings them to the nearest hospital. Clemont picks up his bag and the belt of Ash's Pokemon. He is then escorted by Officer Jenny back to the Ketchum residence.

As Ash was escorted on the helicopter, he fainted from the pain. Serena stayed next to him as the helicopter flew to a nearby hospital. The worn and worried girl held onto Ash's hand praying for his safety.

Later

It is a quiet night. Not a Pokemon to be heard around the hospital as if the Pokemon also worry for the injured inside.

Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep.

The health monitors beep, tracking the heart rate of Ash and Serena. The two were placed in the same room for visiting purposes. Serena was kept at the hospital for a further examination. What they are sure of is that she has a sprained ankle and a pulled hamstring. Ash, on the other hand, had severely bruised ribs and a swollen knee. Nothing torn in the knee but probably swollen due to impact. He lies with his leg propped in a sling to provide proper elevation.

Serena is awake with her ankle wrapped. The lights are off so she stares at the dimly lit wall by the window. The looks to her right to see Ash. He doesn't look comfortable at all. Serena sits up in her hospital bed. The bed creaks louder than expected and awakens her roommate.

"Serena?" Ash whispers. "You awake?" He can't see so he relies on her reply.

Serena doesn't answer. She's afraid that she had awoken him. She quietly lays back down hopefully to let him go back to sleep.

"Oh," Ash says to himself. "I guess I was hoping you were awake. Wanted to know how you were doing." Ash continues to talk. Serena continues to listen in the darkness. She feels bad for not answering but she can't seem to bring herself to do it. Something is telling her to let him talk to himself.

"You mind if I talk about something...Of course you don't, you're asleep," he chuckles at his own question. "It's probably easier if I talked to you this way. Get something of my, well, bruised chest, I guess. Hugh. Yesterday was... weird. I don't think I even said hi to you, I just kinda was overwhelmed, I guess, about everything." Serena thinks about how she had only really seen him after he opened the closet. Ash continues.

"I am really messed up, aren't I. I don't say goodbye and I don't say hello either... Wow... What kind of friend am I? Back there, you acted like you were okay with it, but I remember your face when I left. That face alone put me to tears, I could see you in the stars." Ash's monitor starts to beep faster. "There was once a shooting star that seemed to replicate a tear on your face, and I would make a wish that you'd stop crying and that I could see you again. I care so much about you, I just didn't know for a long time, that I cared that much. I care so much about all of you. Yet I couldn't care enough to look back before I left."

Serena's heart starts to beat faster. He had said he cared so much about her. She couldn't keep her heart rate hidden though, thanks to a certain monitor. It grabs Ash's attention that her monitor is beeping faster too. Oh no, what do I do? Do I play it off? I could act like I woke up from a dream or something...he won't think I was awake, will he?

"Serena?" Ash says out loud. Serena purposefully flings herself into a sitting position.

"Huh?" Serena acts like she just woke up.

"You okay? Your heart rate was increasing."

"Oh, I just had a dream about a tripokalon," she lied.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Ash said. Serena could hear the shamefulness in his voice.

"Uh, I don't know... I was probably going to wake up anyway. So uh...what are you doing up?"

Now it was Ash's turn to lie. "Just trying to fall asleep, that's all."

"Oh," Serena picked up on his lie.

"Serena... I just want to tell you something."

Uh oh, is he going to tell me everything again?

"What's up?" She asks nervously.

"I, uh, just wanted to say hello, I don't think I every got to say that to you."

"Oh. Hey," an awkward pause follows. "...Is that all?" Serena said relieved.

Ash hesitantly responds, "Yeah, that's it... um I better try to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Oh, okay. See you then."

"Goodnight," Ash says.

"Night," Serena responds.

But the night isn't over for Ash and Serena. The two still lie awake, not being able to fall asleep until the heaviness in their eyelids force themselves closed.

Tomorrow Afternoon

Over the course of the day, Ash and Serena went through separate examinations. Serena did not have any injuries they hadn't identified already, the bruising was starting to look worse but that's with any bruise I suppose. Ash had been taken to do some knee exercises and go through what you should and shouldn't do with bruised ribs.

Delia, Grace, Clemont, and Bonnie all visit in the afternoon to be updated on what the diagnosis is. Earlier today Delia had taken Bonnie, Clemont, and Grace to see Ash's old Pokemon. Ash and Serena were photo-calling(face timing) them as they met the Pokemon. Ash could tell Bonnie was overwhelmed by all the cuteness, so much that she fell into Clemonts arms then immediately got back up to chase Ash's Oshawott around. Ash also said hi to his Pokemon because they were worried about him after they were informed what happened by Charizard.

Now the group is reunited in the hospital cafeteria. Ash was in a wheelchair to prevent any strain on his knee, and he had a wrap around his torso for some reason, he didn't understand why but assumed it had something to do with his ribs. Serena has a lot of bandages on her larger cuts and a wrapped ankle with crutches at her arms. The group sits down and they start to talk and eat.

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder. "Hey buddy, how are you and the others doing?" Ash asks.

"Pika!"

"That's good," Ash said with a scratch on the head.

After everyone was finished eating they talked for a while eventually bringing good news.

"Ash, Serena," Delia confronted. "I have good news. Clemont and Bonnie can stay as long as we allow them too, and same goes for you Serena."

"That's great!" Ash and Serena say in unison. Delia and Grace look at each other and laugh. Serena notices this and faintly blushes.

"Well we better get going, I have to go photo call Mr. Mime. He's been helping with professor Oak's Summer camp," Delia said. Then Ash and Serena look at each other and then at Bonnie who starts to talk.

"Hey. Wasn't that where you two met when you were younger?' Bonnie asked.

"Yes. Yes it is," Ash said looking back at Serena with a warm smile.

"Alright. Serena. The doctor said you could either come home or stay another night. What do you want to do?" Grace asks.

"I think I might stay another night. The doctor never told me all of the ankle exercises so I will wait for him to do so," Serena said giving a phony excuse to stay with Ash.

"Sleep is scientifically proven to help with physical healing so make sure to get lots of it!" Clemont said. Serena and Ash nodded.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Bonnie said cheerfully. Pikachu jumped on Bonnie's head and everyone said their goodbyes and left.

Midnight approached and Ash and Serena were still awake. They both still couldn't sleep even though they were tired for a good bit of the day.

Serena continues to look at the patch of light that shines through the window. There are no monitors hooked up this time so the silence is actually dreadful for Serena. Luckily for her, the silence is broken.

"Serena? Pssst. You awake?" Ash asked with no response. Serena couldn't answer, she didn't want to. She wanted to hear him talk again. She wanted to hide in the darkness and listen.

"Okay, I still have some stuff I want to get off my chest. I guess I'm more talking to myself, but it helps to know that someone's there... I uh, actually had a dream two nights ago, before this whole incident happened,"

Serena froze when she remembered what happened. Ash had wrapped around her in his sleep and he was talking in his sleep something along the lines of...

"Please forgive me," and "I love you."

"Yeah well I had this dream. It was actually really weird. I didn't understand it. You were actually in it, you were the only one in it..."

Was I the only one? So those things he said...WERE TO ME?

"I don't know what the point of it was. I guess it just dug into my conscious. I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me... when you returned. You started to leave, so I wrapped myself around you... I couldn't let you leave. Funny thing is, it actually felt like you were there in my arms..." Ash can be heard sniffling, "But I knew you weren't."Serena thinks to herself, actually, I was. Her face get's really red thinking about the moment again. "But then you left after I said... After I uh..." Serena longs for him to say the three words she had heard two nights ago. " I wanted you to forgive me, and I said..."

Silence followed. Not a word to be said. Serena can assume he fell asleep because she could hear him breathing heavily. Are you kidding me! Serena mentally scolds Ash's but what he said put her at ease. She slowly falls asleep and limpness falls upon her body.

"I love you, Serena, I said I love you." Ash sighs afterward.

Ash shifts his position of his leg to get comfortable and stares up at the ceiling wishing he could say this to her face.

Alright that's that chapter! Sorry if it seemed kinda rushed or boring, I wanted to finish and upload Saturday but I ended up editing it Sunday morning soooo yeah. If you're in school, I hope you are doing well! Favorite, follow, review, you know what to do. Thanks again for all the support after what happened. You all are amazing! ALSS Out!