A/N: Thank you all for the continuing support! I hope you like this chapter!

To Guest: Thanks a lot for the review! I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how it develops!

To Ghost: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is a slow write indeed and I hope that I will be able to show change in the characters, and maybe I'll be able to convince you, too ;) Thank you for reviewing!

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

Days

The first day of Christmas

Misty

Wednesday, December 25th

"No, be careful with-"

A loud clatter made Misty cringe, her warning coming too late.

Leah's brown eyes started to water as she stared at the broken plate at her feet, and Misty quickly crouched down next to her two-year-old niece.

"It's okay, Leah, no need to cry, it was just an accident," Misty said soothingly, as she subtly took the remaining plates from the girl's hands.

Leah hiccupped and Misty carefully handed her one plate. "Now, why don't you take this one with you to the living room? Then I'll clean up here. Hold it with both hands and just take them one by one, alright?" When Leah nodded, Misty patted her head, minding the two blond buns that Daisy had had so much work with.

"Good girl, you're such a help," Misty said, watching as Leah very carefully walked towards the Ketchum's living room. Misty picked up the biggest pieces from the floor and was thankful that it hadn't gotten too messy.

She was about to grab the vacuum cleaner to make sure there were no pieces left behind (always dangerous, but especially so with small children and Pokémon) when Delia said, "Oh, don't bother, Misty, Mimey will do it."

Indeed, the Pokémon had already hurried off and was back within seconds with the vacuum cleaner.

"Thank you, Mimey," Misty said, though the Pokémon only gave her a glare as if to tell her not to do his work.

Delia chuckled at his reaction. "Don't take offense, he's just stressed out because there are so many people in the house now."

"Can't say I blame him," Misty said, looking at the many pans Delia was somehow all paying attention to at the same time. "You really are too kind to invite everyone here."

Delia laughed and waved away Misty's compliment. "Nonsense. I love having guests and no one should be alone with Christmas."

Misty smiled gratefully at her mother-in-law. "Well, still, thank you." She was sure Lily had thanked Delia, too, for it was mostly for her sake that all of the Waterflower sisters had been invited.

"It is really no trouble at all- oh dear-" Something fizzled rather loudly in one of the pans and Delia quickly returned her attention to the cooking.

"I'll continue with laying the table," Misty said, deciding that she better not distract Delia more. It was a good thing that Ash had talked her out of cooking Christmas dinner, that would not have ended well. The two chocolate cakes she had made for dessert had already been difficult enough.

Leah was now carrying away the last plate, and Misty took the cutlery to bring to the living room. It was a loud and crowded mess, and even though Delia had done her best to create as much space as possible, it was still a tight fit.

Of course there were Professor Oak and Gary, but it was decidedly strange to see Leaf, the strict Champion and her boss, chuckling at whatever Ash and Gary were discussing. Tracey was also a familiar face in the Ketchum household, though it was slightly more odd to see Daisy here with their children.

But Delia's hospitality had not only extended to the Waterflower sisters who were somewhat related to her, but also Violet and Lily. Surprisingly, it had been Daisy's idea to invite them (or maybe unsurprisingly, no one else would be bold enough to ask their host to extend the invitation to other members of their family). Misty had understood at once why she had done it, and was immensely grateful that Delia had accepted. She wouldn't have known what else she could have done to solve the situation.

Because, originally, Daisy and her family and Ash and Misty were going to spend Christmas at the Ketchum's, while Violet would spend the holiday with her husband and daughter. And Lily would have been on her own.

But this was a wonderful solution, and Misty grinned when she saw Lily and Pikachu chasing after Aaron, Daisy and Tracey's eldest. Yes, it was chaotic, but it worked. And admittedly it helped that Pikachu and Mimey were the only Pokémon in attendance, at Delia's request.

"Here, Misty, give me some, too, I'll do this side of the table," Tracey said, and Misty handed him a handful cutlery while she attempted to move around everyone already sitting at the lined-up tables.

When the cutlery was set out, Misty retreated back in the kitchen to get the glasses. Delia was still busying herself with the many pans and pots, Mimey flashing around the kitchen as he helped her.

"Where's Ash? Isn't he helping?" Delia asked, quickly glancing at Misty when she entered.

As if on cue, Ash walked into the kitchen, the frown on his face telling Misty that he had lost whatever argument he and Gary had been having. That frown quickly disappeared when the smells of the kitchen hit him and he grinned widely.

"Smells good, Mom," he said, attempting to look over her shoulder before she swatted him away.

"Shoo, you, the sooner the table is ready, the sooner you'll get your food," Delia scolded him with a smile on her face.

Ash pouted, before grinning again. "Alright, alright. Wait, Misty, I'll get some of those glasses, too…"

"Thanks, Ash." She chuckled as he took the glasses she had put on the counter. She bit her tongue when she saw how he took four glasses at once, but he made it to living room without incident. She followed him, though only holding two glasses.

He grinned proudly at her when he placed the glasses on the table, and Misty smiled back. When he passed her to go back to the kitchen, she quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Things had been very agreeable between them, and they were going to stay that way if she could help it. Especially with it being the time of peace and joy and all.

Misty carefully arranged her glasses on the table, and only just managed to save one of them when a chubby hand pulled at the tablecloth.

"Oh, Bella, watch out," Violet scolded, just as Leaf pulled the blue-haired toddler away from the fragile tableware.

"No harm done," Misty said soothingly, putting the glass back in place, but Violet was still frowning.

"Yeah, but still… Zack, you're sitting next to her, like, you were supposed to keep an eye her," Violet told her husband, her brown eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

Before the blond man could respond defensively, Leaf cut in, "It was my fault, I was playing with her and got distracted. Sorry."

Violet opened her mouth as if to argue, but then smiled and shook her head slightly. "Yeah, it's no biggie, and it's Christmas. We shouldn't be arguing, nothing happened." She smiled sweetly at her husband and daughter, before returning her attention back to her conversation with Daisy.

Misty almost sweat-dropped at her sister's mood swings. She sure hoped she wouldn't be that bad when she was six months pregnant.

Zack was apologizing quietly to Leaf for his wife's behavior, but Leaf shook her head with a smile while at the same time entertaining Bella by tickling her.

"Don't worry, there are worse things," Leaf said, her solemn tone out of place in this situation. She caught Misty's eye and gave her a wry smile, and Misty knew what the Champion was thinking. Her research on recent deaths in the region was not only depressing, but it was also scary to see how many people had died a supposedly natural death, yet had no record of sickness. Surely not all of those could be due to strokes.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Bella made another attempt for the glass, this time earning a proper telling-off by her father.

"She's… quite the mischief-maker," Leaf remarked diplomatically as she handed Bella back to Zack.

He grimaced apologetically. "She's usually well-behaved, really."

Misty pulled a face at that embellishment of the truth. Leaf caught her eye and chuckled, before frowning when Bella tried to wrench herself free from her father and found leverage in Leaf's long hair.

Leaf pulled herself free, scooting as far away from Bella as possible (which was not very far, considering how crowded the room was).

Misty couldn't help but laugh, and Leaf mock-glared at her. "Just you wait, before long you'll have your own, miss just-married."

Misty faltered for a moment, before recovering. "Yeah, I'm sure that any baby of mine will be a special nuisance just for you." After shooting Leaf a quick grin, she hurried back into the kitchen to gather the last of the glasses.

After the table was finally set and everyone had found their seat (Pikachu and Mimey at their own, smaller table with Pokémon food) Ash, Misty and Delia started to bring in the pans and bowls with food. The glasses were filled for a toast, and Misty was glad she had always declined wine (she preferred beer), since now no one seemed to notice she was taking the juice.

"Well, Delia, this looks simply delicious, thank you ever so much," Professor Oak took the lead, and there were murmured agreements from the rest of the group. The woman beamed at him.

Professor Oak cleared his throat and raised his glass. "Allow me to propose a toast. To a Merry Christmas, and that next year will be just as great as this one!"

"Exactly!"

"Merry Christmas!"

"Cheers!"

The others echoed their wishes as they raised their glasses, and then all took sips.

Misty caught Ash's eye and grinned at him, and he smiled back. Yes, next year would be even better, she was sure of it.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this one, it was fun to write. Please leave me a review on your way out! :)

Recommendation:

Star Wars: For Family by Nanuk888. FFN. This is a completed multi-chaptered story about an AU in which Darth Vader goes about a different way to get in touch with his son. A very good story for anyone who enjoys a Vader redemption story.

If you have a story you want me to recommend, please let me know!