A/N: Hi, guys! It's been ages, eh? Literally over four years… I'm sorry. I don't have much of an excuse, except that part of that time was well-used. Now I've got this whole story planned and the first hundred chapters roughly drafted, so I'm going to aim for weekly updates :)

As for the realism of this story… Well, four friends being pregnant at the same time isn't very realistic, but you'll have to bear with me. Some creative freedom and all XD

Anyway, I think that's it! Please enjoy (finally) this first real chapter!

To cake0108: You have disabled PMs, so I haven't been able to respond in person, but thanks a lot for the review, and don't worry, it will be finished!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Days

The day after

Dawn

Friday, November 8th

Throwing up was never the best way to start a day.

The thought was unusually clear amid the pounding headache, the haziness of sleep and the nausea, but the realization didn't help Dawn any. She hung above a not-quite-clean toilet bowl of the small bathroom of a hotel, and after a few last heaves she finally straightened up.

Her legs trembled slightly when she went over to the sink and she didn't dare to look in the mirror, already knowing that her smudged make-up wouldn't make her look any better than she felt. She cleansed her mouth and drank some more water, which made her feel marginally better.

Still, her body was not adverse to reminding her that she had consumed too much alcohol last night and Dawn rubbed her head. While she would have loved crawling back in bed, the knowledge of what was waiting on her in the hotel room made that much less appealing.

Dawn steeled herself and then with as much casualness as she could muster she walked back into the room. As she had expected, Paul was sitting wide awake in bed. She caught his eye and found herself faltering, suddenly realizing that she was still only wearing her underwear.

How does one go about these things?

They stared at each other for a moment, before Dawn quickly averted her eyes and focused her attention on gathering her remaining clothes off the floor. Paul didn't react at first, but after some moments she heard him getting up and then the closing of the bathroom door.

Dawn hurried with putting on her clothes as she heard the shower running. She relaxed some when she was all covered up and sat down on the bed. She took the small mirror from her bag and tried to fix her hair and what was left of her make-up.

She was just finished when the shower stopped running, and she pondered whether she should wait or if it would be better to make a run for it. For all her dating around, she had never ended up with a one-night stand – she had never wanted to, because she wanted a relationship, not…

Dawn glanced around the small hotel room and cringed. Not this.

But Dawn was nothing if not positive and well, at least she didn't feel that nauseous anymore.

She smiled wryly at the thought.

The wedding had been fun. A lot of fun, though the alcohol had undoubtedly done its job. She was still unsure how she had gotten from the dancefloor to this hotel room, which seemed to be Paul's.

Paul… Well, at least she hadn't ruined any chances of getting in a relationship with him. Dawn snorted, before quickly clasping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment over the sound. There was still some rummaging in the bathroom and Dawn relaxed, biting back a giggle at her own behavior. Perhaps the alcohol wasn't completely out of her system yet.

Light shone from behind the closed curtains and Dawn wondered what time it was. She pulled out her Pokétch from her bag – 10:36 – and habitually checked for messages. She cringed at Barry's string of missed calls and messages wondering why she hadn't showed up for breakfast yet and if she was going to continue ignoring him, he'd double her fine, yeah!

Dawn quickly typed a reply that she was fine and that she'd meet him soon, before opening a map of Viridian City and making the device figure out a way to get her from her current location to the Green Edge Hotel (which, in spite of its name, was in the middle of the city).

The bathroom door opened again and Dawn shot up from the bed, a stab of nausea immediately punishing her for the action. The unfairness of the world was once again reflected in the fact that Paul seemed perfectly fine and not at all affected by the situation. Not to mention that he looked good-

"What are you still doing here?"

She could have done without his character, though.

Dawn frowned and a biting remark was on the tip of her tongue, but the heaviness of her body made her reconsider and decided that there was no use in wasting more energy on this situation.

"I'll be going, then," Dawn said coolly, straightening her back and looking Paul in the eye. She took her coat from the hanger and tried not to show her uncomfortableness when putting it on. She thought she could feel Paul watching her, but she didn't want to look to confirm her suspicions.

After she had put on her coat as slowly and carefully as she could, Dawn finally turned back to face him. He seemed to be in a darker mood then before, and she felt some triumph. That'd teach him to be rude.

"Goodbye," Dawn said, confidently and conclusively, and she didn't wait for his reply.

She whipped out her Pokétch again, which now displayed the route she had to walk. The fresh November air did her good as she stepped outside, giving her a boost of energy, and with confident steps she started to make her way back to her hotel.

Her steps faltered as she wondered what other people had thought of her when they saw her leaving with Paul-

Nothing, she told herself firmly. This was perfectly okay and perfectly normal. And besides, she shouldn't care about other people's opinion anyway. But what if another guy had seen her and thought that she was not his type because he had seen her with Paul-

Dawn shook her head resolutely. Those were stupid thoughts. Like May had said, there was no sense in obsessing over a relationship (easy to say, if you had one) and she should let it go and just have fun. She was almost turning into Brock, May had admonished her, and Dawn smiled slightly as she remembered the conversation.

Just have fun and relax and enjoy a guy's company, May had advised her, and well, she had most definitely followed that advice.

The sun broke through the clouds and Dawn took that as a good sign. She momentarily closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Two of her best friends had gotten married yesterday. She was on holiday in the beautiful autumn of Kanto. She and May were going to shop this afternoon, and tonight she was going out for dinner with Barry to a restaurant he had been dying to go to. And if not Barry, then May would have saved her some breakfast.

Dawn opened her eyes, her smile widening, and nodded to herself.

Life was good.

A/N: So, wow, that was it, guys, the very first chapter :D I hope you liked it and prepare for a long, long ride XD Thank you very much for reading and please leave me a review! See you in a week, and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Oh, and this is a section I've used in some of my other stories, too. Here I'll recommend a few stories, because we writers have to stick together :) If you want me to recommend a story, whether it's your own or someone else's, Pokémon or not, let me know and I'll have a look!

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: A Contest Carol by Riikani. FFN. This is a pretty funny take on Dickens's A Christmas Carol, with this time Drew as our Scrooge. It has some fun references and it's ContestShippy, so give it a look!

Pokémon: The Worst New Years? by Illusions of Insanity. FFN. A SoulSilver story in which Silver crashes a League party, gets bored and somehow ends up in a closet with Lyra XD Mostly funny, but some romance.

Harry Potter: Crossfire by SiriusUntiltheVeryEnd. FFN. This is a Rose and Scorpius story, a pretty adventurous one, and one that doesn't take place at Hogwarts. Here, Rose is a witness that needs to be protected, and you have one guess who gets the job… Fun story!

So, if you have any recommendations, let me know!