A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! It's absolutely wonderful to hear from you :D I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, too!

To cake0108: Glad you're enjoying it, thank you!

To Guest: Thanks a lot for reviewing! And yup, Ash and Misty are handling the pregnancy a whole lot better than May and Drew.

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

Days

The day with a surprise visitor

Dawn

Thursday, January 2nd

"There! Nice and clean again," Dawn said, running the brush one more time over Pachirisu's tail. It fizzled with static energy, as did the rest of Pachirisu's fur.

"Risu!" the Pokémon happily said, jumping away from her.

"Now don't annoy Piplup again and then I won't have to fish you out of the mud and clean you again," Dawn scolded Pachirisu lightly, but the mischievous Pokémon hardly seemed to listen, nodding quickly and then hurrying away as quickly as possible.

Dawn sighed and took off her rubber gloves, which she always used when grooming Pachirisu. The first time she had done it without them, and her own hair had stood straight in the air and the rest of the day she had received little shocks whenever she had touched something.

Already she could hear the sounds of her Pokémon arguing downstairs and she quickly followed after Pachirisu.

"Guys, play nice or I'll put you all back in your Poké Ball!" she called in their general direction. Sounds of protest met her, before quietening in grumbling when she took a few steps down the stairs. Dawn nodded decisively and then went back upstairs.

When she went back into the bathroom she got a good look of the mess Pachirisu had made and she groaned. It was a good thing her mother was out visiting her grandmother, or else Dawn herself would be getting a good scolding too, for not keeping her Pokémon under control.

With a sigh Dawn started cleaning off the splatters of mud and gathering up Pachirisu's static balls of fur.

It was especially Pachirisu who was getting more hyperactive, though the others were getting restless as well. And she couldn't blame them. They were used to a full training program or travelling, and now they were out of their 'Balls almost constantly without anything to really occupy them.

While it had been Dawn's intention to train during the holiday break, her, erm, situation had made that more complicated. She had difficulty concentrating and until yesterday she had felt nauseous at least half of the day.

Fortunately it had been going better these last few days, and this morning she had spent training with Togekiss. This afternoon she had intended to train Pachirisu, but that plan had fallen through because of the Pokémon's misbehavior.

Dawn sighed as she mopped up the last of the water. On the road it was easy to let the Pokémon burn up their energy, so that would be the easiest solution, but she was still uncertain how exactly she was going to return to said road.

But she certainly was going to get back on the road. No nausea was going to stop her from participating in the Wayland Tournament and getting a high position.

Just after finding out about her situation, she'd had her doubts about her plans, but these last days she had pushed those away. It was her mother's Tournament and she was going to give it her all. Winning would be awesome, of course, but she would be incredibly happy with a place in the top four. There would be strong opponents, after all.

And besides, the price of a place in the Grand Festival didn't appeal much to her, because she'd already gotten the mandatory five Ribbons. And while the other option of battling the Sinnoh Elite Four would be a great experience, Dawn wasn't that confident in her competitive battle skills.

She finished the cleaning and she leaned against the bathtub, her thoughts running free now that she had nothing to distract herself with.

So, travel and participate she would, but the question that had occupied her thoughts these last days remained: with Paul, or without him? It would be utterly strange to be travelling with him knowing what she knew, and she was relatively sure that she could get that Gym Badge on her own. Plus Paul would probably prefer to be left alone, too.

Although, on the other hand, he was very set on the Wayland Tournament and he seemed to appreciate her help… He had even called her, awkward as it had been. And she had to admit that his presence had grown on her, too.

The ringing of the doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts. Dawn pushed herself off the bathtub and hurried downstairs. It was probably one of the neighbors, having something for her mother-

It was Paul.

Dawn felt her jaw drop and her hand tightened around the doorknob, the world swaying around her. It was Paul. Oh dear Arceus, he was actually here. Why was he here?! What was he doing here?! It was Paul!

"Hi," he said.

The ridiculous notion of slamming the door in his face passed as soon as it came, and Dawn quickly closed her mouth again.

"Hi," she managed, trying to piece together an answer to the question of why the hell was he here?

He was dressed in his travelling clothes and wore a backpack. His posture was stiff and he looked decidedly uncomfortable. So that meant-

"Happy New Year," he offered, though it almost sounded like a question.

"Happy New Year," she repeated on automatic pilot. Dawn blinked quickly, trying to regain control of her functions. "Uh… Sorry, you surprised me…"

Out of habit, she stepped aside to let him enter, and he did so. He shrugged off his backpack and then silence ensued.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn blurted without thinking, her mind still buzzing with that same question.

Paul's confusion was only shown by the slight raise of one eyebrow. "We had decided to meet up today."

Oh.

She nodded slowly, trying to recall their recent phone conversation. She had dropped the phone in the beginning and she had been so panicked and overwhelmed by the call that she could barely remember how she had made it through, let alone what they had talked about. She was pretty certain they had talked about Appeals…

"Today?"

"After the holidays," Paul clarified. "Today."

Aha. It came back to her now, and what had she said exactly? Just come by after the holidays? It would be typical Paul to take her answer literally…

"Uh, right, okay! Why don't you come sit?" She gestured in the direction of the living area and Paul took off his coat before following her. "Do you want something to drink? Tea, coffee, something else?"

Her voice was too high and she walked into the kitchen area, and Paul took a seat at the table. Her Pokémon, which had been watching from a distance, now came in closer. Quilava greeted Paul enthusiastically, and Pachirisu took Paul's arrival as a good excuse to start bouncing on the couch again.

"Coffee, please," he said, patting Quilava's shoulder while avoiding the flames.

Her hands went through the motions automatically as she made the coffee. The cacophony of her Pokémon was not making it any easier to think.

"Guys." She turned to them, hands on her hips, when they didn't react, she repeated it louder, "Guys!"

The Pokémon quieted somewhat and Dawn quickly took her chance. "That's enough, yes, thank you, we're all happy Paul is here. Now c'mon, go outside, please, c'mon."

Although they were obviously reluctant, they did obey, and Dawn walked them to the door. "Thank you," she said, and then closed the door behind the last one.

"Sorry about that, I don't know what's gotten into them," she said, babbling in her nervousness as she walked back. "Well, I mean, I do know, they've been quite restless lately, I suppose they want to train more and stuff. I've been a bit lazy haha, uh, oh, here's your coffee-"

She grabbed the cup from the machine and then handed it to Paul, who had remained at the kitchen table and was watching her with a bemused expression.

"Ah, sorry, I'm blabbering, it's just, uh," Dawn wrestled with what she wanted to say. Something along the lines of I recently found out I'm pregnant with your child and now you're suddenly standing on my doorstep so don't mind me acting a bit unhinged was probably a bit too close to the truth. "I kind of forgot that we'd decided to meet up. Today, I mean. And here."

Well, close enough. Dawn relaxed somewhat and took a glass of water for herself, sitting down on the chair opposite of Paul.

"Ah." He frowned slightly, paused a beat and then asked, "Do you still want to train together?"

"Er, oh, sure!" Dawn answered without much thinking. Well, it looked like she had just made her decision when it came to getting back on the road. Good to know that she was still thinking things through – not. Instead of hitting her forehead like she wanted to, she instead said, "I mean, if you still want to?"

He had come to her door, what clearer sign did she want, really?

Paul nodded, and slowly said, "Yes, that would be… good. You still need your Badge, and I… appreciate your help."

Dawn blinked and then smiled. That hadn't been easy to admit for Paul, she was sure. "Ah, thanks, that's good to hear. You really want to win, don't you?"

She had meant that as a hypothetical question, but Paul nodded seriously. "I do."

She had known that, of course, but now it suddenly struck her that it was maybe a bit odd. Participating in Contests just wasn't something that was right up his alley, in fact, one could say that it wasn't even in Paul's neighborhood.

"If you win, you get a free pass to the battle rounds of the Grand Festival or a free pass to battle the Sinnoh Elite Four, right? Do you want to participate in the Grand Festival?" she asked, just to be sure. "Because I'd think you have a good chance to win the Lily of the Valley Conference, if you want to battle the Elite Four."

There was a tension in Paul's shoulders and his hands were tight around his coffee cup, which was still full.

"Thank you," he finally said. "And those are the prizes, yes. But I have no interest in the Contest scene, and battling the Elite Four is a great prize…"

She was sensing a 'but' there and leaned in. "Yes?"

"The reason I'm participating is a personal one," he finally said, and Dawn sank back in her chair. Well, she supposed she couldn't get an answer to everything, though she was still incredibly curious. At least this conversation topic had calmed her nerves somewhat.

"Well, if you ever want to share, just know that I'm always willing to listen," she offered easily. "And I promise I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

She had not expected him to seriously consider her offer, but he was silent and stared at the coffee with a thoughtful frown. Sensing that this was a moment to keep quiet, Dawn slowly drank from her water, even as the silence stretched on and on.

Paul looked up again and Dawn smiled encouragingly but not too much, not wanting to seem too curious.

He seemed to hesitate once more, but then said, "This Tournament is held in honor of my mother."

It took Dawn a moment to fit the pieces together, and she felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop. "Your mother is Rebecca Wayland?"

So many times her own mother had mentioned that name, had told her about her, and damn, she had said that she did have two sons, that they lived in Veilstone-

Paul drew back, the surprise clear on his face before it was hidden by his emotionless mask. "Yes," he said. "You… Did you know her?" There was an edge of suspicion in his voice, but also something else.

Dawn couldn't help but smile and jumped up from her chair.

"She was my mother's best friend," she said enthusiastically, walking over to the fireplace. It held many pictures of her and her mother, their Pokémon, and their friends, and she easily picked the one she wanted.

"Here," she said, walking back and putting the picture on the table in front of Paul. "That's her, right?"

Paul took the picture carefully, and Dawn watched him and the picture with open curiosity. She knew the picture, featuring her mother standing arm in arm with another young woman. Her friend, who had specialized in competitive battling, who had died at a much too young age- Paul's mother.

She did have purple hair, though more curly than either Reggie's or Paul's, Dawn realized, now looking at the familiar picture with different eyes. His mother had had light eyes and a pale skin, and maybe the smile was similar to Paul's, but she couldn't be sure since he didn't smile that much. Now, too, he wasn't smiling either, just staring at the picture in wonder.

"Johanna Natochenny is your mother," he said in realization. "Berlitz… Your parents are divorced," he concluded, and Dawn nodded.

"Yes, and Wayland was your mother's maiden name, so I never realized, either…" she said slowly. "Mom has spoken a lot about her lately, especially with this Tournament. She set this up to remember her friend, and as a way to bring Trainers and Coordinators closer together, to be friends just like they were… I mean, you obviously know that, Mom said that she had spoken to her sons, but I just never thought…"

Paul shook his head. "I only spoke to her once. It was mostly Reggie who talked to her about the specifics of the Tournament."

With a sudden movement, Paul put the frame back on the table.

"Why are you participating?" he asked. "You already have five Ribbons, and you'll easily make it through the Performance round. Do you want to battle the Elite Four?"

Dawn was thrown by his sudden question and the serious look in his eyes. It was almost the same question as she had just asked him and she wondered why. Obviously her answer would be the same… but perhaps that was just what he wanted to have confirmed.

She laughed a bit uncertainly. "Well, thanks for the confidence in my Contest abilities. But you're right, I don't want to battle the Elite Four." She paused, trying to gather her thoughts, and then answered, "Uh, I suppose I wanted to try something new, and this Tournament is really something new. And of course because Mom helped set it up, I mean, that's pretty amazing, right?"

Paul seemed to relax, though his face was still serious when he nodded. "You have the same reason as I have, so you understand why."

Although it hadn't exactly sounded like a question, something in Paul's expression made her nod. In the back of her mind something whispered that this was another thing to connect her to Paul, and she was not sure how she felt about that.

He broke eye contact for a moment before looking back at her.

"I want to win," he stated with utmost conviction. Something vulnerable flitted across his face and then he asked, "Will you help me?"

Dawn didn't even have to consider her answer, instead nodding solemnly. "I will." She smiled. "But if we come face to face on the battlefield, don't think I'll let you win."

Surprisingly, Paul smiled, and the similarities to the woman in the picture suddenly became a lot clearer to Dawn. "Thank you."

Dawn nodded again, then realized what she had just agreed to and what she would have to do for that. "Oh, uh, I suppose that means you want to leave today, right? Yes, I'll go get my stuff- You just finish your coffee and I'll start packing."

She started to walk to the stairs, before pausing when she realized something. "Ah, well, we can't leave right away, we'd still have to wait until my mother gets back. And she'd love to meet you, too. If you don't mind…?"

"I would be happy to meet her," he said, still somewhat smiling and Dawn beamed at him.

"Great, I'll be back in a bit, then." Still smiling, she hurried up the stairs, and the feeling of bouncing Butterfree in her stomach pushed all her worries and second thoughts away.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I had fun writing this chapter, so I hope you guys liked it, too! In one of the very first chapters the reason for the Tournament was mentioned, but I'm not sure if anyone remembers that, it's been a long time haha. So here we have some backstory and progress with Paul and Dawn. And congrats to anjumstar, who correctly guessed that Paul would indeed just turn up at Dawn's door on January 2nd haha.

Anyway, thank you and please review!

Recommendation:

Naruto: Icha Icha Fantasy by DigiFruit. FFN. So, this is a pretty long one-shot that starts out pretty funny but it turns out to have a serious plot and at the end I was almost crying. It's a really great story, and for who's interested in pairings, it's mainly NarutoxSakura.

Recommendations are welcome!