A/N: Thank you for your support! Here's the next chapter! :)

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

Days

The day Ash and Misty take a walk

Misty

Friday, January 17th

The winter air was fresh and cold and Misty took a deep breath, feeling the tension leave her shoulders. Her hand was in Ash's and they were both wearing gloves, but the cold seeped through anyway and Misty's fingers were feeling somewhat numb.

They were on their way to Pallet Town, walking along an old path. The snow that had been the result of the snowstorm yesterday was pretty much untouched here, with only a narrow track over the path and some Pokémon marks around. They had flown to Viridian City on their Pokémon, but had decided to walk the rest of the way to make the most of their free evening.

A free evening. Finally.

Misty squeezed Ash's hand and smiled at him, and he smiled back. Pikachu was on his shoulder and chu'ed in response, quietly but happily.

The three of them didn't talk as they walked. The snow swallowed the sounds around them and it felt wrong to disturb the peace. There was no traffic here, for the path was only occasionally used by travelling Trainers, and at this time they didn't come across anyone. There weren't even any streetlights, but the light of the moon and stars, amplified by the white snow, was enough for them to walk.

It was magical, Misty decided, and she basked in the moment. These last weeks had been filled with running from one thing to another, and if she was not working, then she was stressing about work.

There had been very little progress on Agatha's and Phoebe's cases – or the Ghost Murders, as they had taken to calling it. It was not for lack of trying, of course. More and more cases of possibly suspicious deaths were investigated, and while some of them had already been put away as due to natural causes, there were also some ten or twenty cases that remained without a cause of death. Those had to be investigated further, with another autopsy by another expert, pouring over police reports, questioning relatives-

Yet nothing new came from it. It only confirmed what they knew: no natural or unnatural cause of death, and all the victims owned ghost type Pokémon.

It was all very stressful and frustrating. The only ones who were possibly more stressed than she was, were the other Elite Four members, Leaf, and Morty.

Morty. Stupid, stubborn, suicidal fool, Leaf had called him as she ranted to the Four, because he insisted that he didn't want any protection, and, more creepily, that if it was his time to go then it was his time to go. Of course Leaf wasn't going to listen to him – she wasn't about to lose another League member to whatever was killing people – but it was annoying nonetheless.

So Morty had to put up with shifts of Gym Leaders or Elite Four members staying with him at all times, and Misty had to put up with a churlish Morty on a regular basis. More often than she would have as a Gym Leader, because Leaf was trying to spare them from doing shifts that would interfere overmuch with their Gym work.

It was all very reasonable – even Morty's behavior, because Misty doubted she would've been very pleasant if it been her – but it was so stressful.

So it was good that she finally had some time off. And that meant that she shouldn't be thinking about things like this right now, but rather relax and think about happy things.

Like how she was now spending time with Ash.

She looked to her side, studying him as they walked. His cheeks were red from the cold, and his brown eyes were focused on something in the distance, or perhaps not focused at all, but rather deep in thought. Pikachu had snuggled closer against him in search of warmth and occasionally Ash would reach up with his free hand to pet or readjust him.

He would've looked relaxed to most people, but Misty was not most people and she could see the small crease between his eyebrows and the slight tension in his jaw.

She had a fairly good idea what was causing it, too. She tugged at his hand to get his attention and gave him an encouraging smile. Ash smiled back, the anxiety gone until he looked back forward again, where the lights of Pallet Town were appearing in the distance.

"It'll be fine," she whispered. "You know your Mom will love the news."

Ash would be the one to tell Delia, they had decided. She was his mother, after all.

"Yeah," he said distractedly, then more convinced, "Yes, yes."

"Pika," Pikachu added his own encouragement.

They all needed some relaxation, Misty thought. Ash was working hard to keep the house and the Gym running, and then training on his own, too, and the Pokémon were stressed because her contact with them was often short and rushed. A weekend off would be nice for all of them, but they'd have to make do with tonight.

And they were going to make the best of it. Misty put a smile on her face as she thought about their visit to Delia, which was not quite as innocent as the older woman might've thought.

Delia would be the first one to know of their pregnancy. Ash had offered that they'd tell her sisters first, but Misty had insisted on Delia. The woman was just like a mother to her, much more than her own mother had ever been, and so she deserved to know it first.

Then it would be her sisters, Professor Oak, her aunt and then their friends. And then, maybe, her parents – although it was just as likely that they would find out through the media. No, Misty decided, that was exactly how they were going to find out. That was, after all, the only way she and her sisters ever found out anything about them. The travelling actors, showmen, models; everything that had to do with fame and money. They had built the Gym for Daisy, because Gym Leader was the only occupation a ten-year-old could legally hold, and so they could leave their 'parenting phase' behind and move on with their lives.

Misty scarcely remembered them. Her sisters had raised her, with her aunt occasionally helping – but she'd had her own family and career and lived on the other side of Kanto, so that contact had slowly decreased as well. The only presence her parents had had in her life was when her sisters would point them out on TV back when they were young, and in the monthly donation made to their bank account.

No, Misty was totally alright with telling Delia first. She forced her parents out of her thoughts, where they belonged.

So it would be Delia today, her sisters tomorrow, Professor Oak probably soon as well, and they'd have to plan a phone call to most of their friends – although of course they would tell Brock in person, and Gary and Tracey probably as well, and she'd have to discuss what Ash wanted with Ritchie…

And she had to tell Leaf, of course, as her boss. Hopefully the Ghost Murders would be resolved by then, because now she was already stretched thin, how would she be able to handle a baby?

And with an example like she'd had, would she even be able to be a good mother?

Sudden panic rose in her chest, and she felt her breathing quicken- No, Misty, cut it out, don't be so dramatic. Her breath left her in a whoosh and she straightened her spine. She was being ridiculous. She was nothing like her mother and would never be.

Delia was her example. She was reading pregnancy and parenting books and she and Ash would go to a pregnancy course-

"Are you okay, Misty?"

-and she had Ash.

"I am, now," she said, smiling. "I had some stupid thoughts, that's all."

Ash looked doubtful. "Oh?"

"About the baby, that it could be difficult." She shrugged.

"It could be…" Ash said, quietly.

Well, yeah. She didn't expect it to be easy. But this was their night off, so she wasn't going to worry about it now.

"Hey." Misty bumped her shoulder into his and smiled. "We'll be fine. How many times have we saved the world, now? We can handle a baby."

Ash smiled a bit at that, and nodded.

"Pikapi, Pikachupi!" Pikachu called for their attention, climbing on top of Ash's head and pointing forward. They had been slowly descending the hills and now they came around a bend, revealing Delia's house in the distance.

"Oh good, we're almost there, I was getting hungry," Ash said in a light tone, and Misty grinned.

"You're always hungry," she easily responded, but she herself could imagine the great smells coming their way when Delia would open the door.

Unconsciously, Misty picked up her pace, Ash following right behind. Then he started to walk faster, passing her, and Misty did the same until she had passed him again. This continued on until they were fairly running, still holding hands and laughing as they raced towards the Ketchums' residence.

Delia must have heard them coming, because she opened the door just when they arrived.

"Oh, good evening! Come in, come in, it's too cold to be standing outside," she said with a warm smile. They gladly entered the house, and as expected the smells of Delia's delicious cooking were there to greet them.

"You two sure are in a good mood," Delia commented on the huge smiles they both still sported from their little race.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu said in greeting, jumping from Ash's shoulder to Delia's waiting arms, and the older woman gave him a hug.

"It's nice to have a free evening, especially with this company." Misty smiled at Ash. "And the food just smells delicious," she added, and started to take off her winter gear.

"…yeah," Ash said, his smile suddenly gone and his gaze on the floor. Then he took a deep breath, looked straight at his mother and – before Misty realized what he was about to do – he blurted out, "Misty and I are expecting a baby."

Misty's smile turned into a surprised o-shape, and when Ash saw that, he started to panic, "Wait, we were going to tell her tonight, right?"

"Well, yeah," Misty said, recovering a bit. "I just thought…" That we'd wait until after dessert, or until we were having dinner, or at least until we had taken off our coats.

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Delia burst out, coming out of her daze. She pulled both of them in a hug, while Pikachu was squished between their three bodies.

"Sorry, Misty," Ash muttered from beside her, though her view was obscured by Delia's auburn hair.

"'s fine," Misty said breathlessly, the air having been knocked out of her lungs by Delia's forceful embrace.

"Oh, oh, oh, this is amazing news!" Delia released them and wiped away some tears. "Oh, sorry, Pikachu." She distractedly petted the indignant looking Pokémon and put him on the ground. "A baby! You're going to be parents! I'm going to be a grandmother! Oh-" She suddenly turned around and rushed to the kitchen. "Mimey, I'm going to be a grandmother!"

Ash and Misty remained standing in the hallway, Ash smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry, I thought- I mean, you said that I had to tell her, so I just thought- or didn't really think, actually…"

Yeah, that would teach her to leave these kind of things to Ash.

Misty shook her head with a smile. "It's fine."

Delia came back in the hall, beaming. "Come on, come on, why are you still standing here? We have to celebrate!" The older woman first hugged Misty again, and then Ash, sniffling something about 'her little boy' in his shoulder. "Oh, sorry dear, the tears just keep on coming, but they're happy tears, I promise! I'm so happy!" Delia wiped her eyes again and smiled at them. "Well, come on, take off your coats and then we can eat and talk. I want to know everything!"

She hurried back towards the kitchen and left them in the hallway again.

"She is happy," Ash said, drily, with a hesitant smile on his face.

Misty chuckled. "She is." She grabbed Ash's hand. "It's perfect."

And it was.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope the thoughts in the beginning weren't too boring, and that the Delia scene made up for it haha. I liked writing it :) Please review and don't forget to vote in my poll (it's on my profile)!

Thank you!

Recommendation:

Inheritance Cycle: Eldunari and Edoc'sil by wildskysong. FFN. While this series is sadly unfinished, it's still an amazing read. This was written before the fourth book came out and is pretty much an alternative ending for the series. It's really well-written and a great read!