Chapter 6: Nightmares and Comfort

Three months had passed since they had arrived in Alola, and Ash had quickly settled into his school life. None of the assignments were hard, in fact they were fun. It helped that he had plenty of experience from taking care of Pikachu.

He made quick friends with his classmates, too. Plenty of his days after school were spent at one of their houses, whether it be enjoying a snack made by Mallow (who could easily match Burnett's cooking), or helping Kiawe with his farmwork, or just enjoying a relaxing fishing trip with Lana. It felt good to have human friends again.

And Lillie was making good progress with her fear. While she couldn't touch any other Pokemon yet, she no longer recoiled in fear when she was near one. When they went to school the day after Ash's first trip to her house, their classmates were shocked that she could be near any of their Pokemon, though they were pleased with her progress.

But what shocked Ash the most was how The Professors treated him. Most of the Foster families he had stayed with had ignored him at best or treated him like a liability at worst. Sure, they had all kept him fed and gave him a place to sleep at night, but by the time they kicked him out it wasn't a surprise.

But not the Professors. They never treated him like anything less than a human being, and always made him feel welcome. Whether it be taking him to a Battle Royale match live, or Burnett helping him with the less savory parts of homework, or even small little handwritten notes Burnett would sneak into his lunch, they truly wanted to make him feel at home. And they did. In fact, if he didn't know better, he might even think they were treating him like…like…

Family.

It's raining, pouring even, but Ash doesn't care. He could catch pneumonia for all he cared, but right now Pichu's life was in danger, and he needed to get him to a Pokemon Center and fast.

"Just a little bit farther, Ash!"

"Don't worry, Pichu. Nurse Joy will fix you right up!"

"Chu."

Ash knows what's coming. He's played this night over and over again in his head, but this time will be different.

Soon, they came to the crosswalk, the same crosswalk that it always is. Delila, in her haste, almost runs right across, but Ash stops her.

"Mommy, the sign says don't cross!"

Delila looks, and sees her son is right.

"Good eye, Ash! If you hadn't spotted that, it wouldn't be good."

Ash smiled. Maybe this time they would all make it out alright…

Suddenly, the screech of tires filled the air, and the same car came round the corner much too fast. Ash prays that they'll be safe, but the car begins to flip, heading right toward them.

"Ash, look out!"

Before he could react, Ash is shoved away, rolling along the ground as he clutches Pikachu to him. When he looks back up, his mother is nowhere to be seen. Just the smoldering remains of the car.

"MOM!"

"NO!"

Ash wakes up with a start, sweat running down his face as he tried to calm his racing heart. Pikachu is awake at once, pouncing on Ash and nuzzling his face.

Ash, Ash, it's okay! We're safe, everything's fine!

Ash sighed, embracing his best friend.

"Thanks, buddy."

You had the dream again, didn't you?

Ash nodded.

"Every time…every time I think I can save her, I fail…"

Ash, you can't change the past. You know you can't.

"I know. But I thought in my dream…"

Just then, the downstairs hall light came on, and he heard footsteps coming up the ladder. A minute later, Kukui popped his head into the room.

"Ash? Is everything alright?"

"I…I had a bad dream."

Kukui took one look at Ash, and knew it was more than just a bad dream. The kid was still shaking, and tears were starting to fall down his face.

"Come on, how about I get you some warm milk, and we can talk about it?"

"It's alright, I just need to get back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you up."

But Kukui was already dragging him out of bed and downstairs.

"Come on, you'll feel better."

Despite his protests, Ash was soon sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of warm milk. Burnett had joined them, with Kukui getting her up to speed.

"Now, why don't you tell us what happened in your dream?"

Ash sighed, knowing they wouldn't let up.

"It was the night my mom died. We're running to the Pokemon Center to get Pichu help, and we're at that crosswalk. It's always that crosswalk, no matter how much I try to change it, its always that same one."

"Always? You mean this is a recurring dream?"

Ash nodded.

"I don't have it every night, but often enough that I know it when I see it. Professor Oak thought it might be some sort of repressed guilt, but I didn't understand any of what he said after that."

Kukui nodded.

"What happened next?"

"I stopped her from crossing, and for a minute I thought I had succeeded. But then that car comes around the corner and flips over. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground just as it hits her…"

Ash sniffed, trying to will away his tears.

"Even in my dreams, I can't save her."

"Ash…you know what happened wasn't your fault."

"I know, but…I was hoping maybe if I could stop it in my dream, somehow that would make everything okay…but I guess not."

His foster parents walked over to him, and gave him a big hug. He was startled, but didn't reject it.

"I'm sorry I woke you up for something so trivial."

"Sweetie…we know it isn't fair that this happened to you. No one should have to deal with this, but you should know you don't have to hide your feelings."

"Burnett's right. We can't make the pain go away, but if you need to talk about it, we're here for you. Okay?"

Ash smiled, the last of his tears finally disappearing.

"Okay."

"Good, now let's get back to sleep."

"Would you like it if Rockruff slept with you?"

Ash smiled.

"Please? I think I would feel better with some extra protection."

"Sure. Just go get settled in, and I'll bring him up."

Ash nodded, downing the last of his milk before climbing back up to his bedroom. Pikachu was there, waiting for him at the foot of his bed.

Well?

"I think I'll be alright, but they said to feel free to talk to them."

Pikachu nodded, and curled up into his arms as he crawled under the covers. A minute later, Burnett came up with Rockruff, the little puppy practically leaping from her arms onto Ash's bed.

Don't worry Ash, I'll chase away those nightmares!

Ash chuckled, and rested his head against the pillow as Rockruff curled up at the foot of his bed. Burnett smiled, before turning off the light.

"Goodnight, Ash."

"Goodnight…mom."

The last word was said so quietly that the woman didn't even hear it. Heck, Ash didn't even realize he had said it, or if he did he was too tired to process it. But one occupant of the room did.

Pikachu smiled, and relaxed into Ash's embrace as he embraced him. Whether Ash knew it or not, he was beginning to see The Professors as family. And he had a feeling that they felt the same way. Maybe, just maybe, he could keep his promise to Ash after all.