A/N: Onto Chapter 2! Thanks again for the reviews so far!

Chapter Two: A time bomb waiting to explode

Pallet Town – Ketchum Residence

"Mom! I'm home! Mom are you back yet? Helllllloooo!" Ash yelled out after opening the front door to his childhood home.

"Mime mime mime!" Mr. Mime appeared from the living room with a broom in hand. The psychic pokemon smiled at first until his eyes tracked down to Ash's feet.

Following Mr. Mime's eyes, Ash looked down and realized he was in trouble. Despite being a fairly responsible business man, he still took the short cuts home. Short cuts that were not paved…and normally had mud and leaves along the path and if there was one thing that Mr. Mime hated it was dirt in his clean house.

"MIME!" Mr. Mime raised his broom in a fighting stance his eyes focused in on the mud caked trainers that Ash had changed into for the run home.

Raising his hands up in an attempt to calm the OCD pokemon down, Ash slowly started to back out the door. Unknowingly leaving mud all over the entry way. "Now Mr. Mime…calm down…I promise I am going to take my shoes off. I would never walk into the house with muddy shoes."

Mr. Mime and Ash both knew it was a complete lie. To this day the number of times he had tracked mud throughout the house numbered well into the thousands. "See…See…" Ash made a big show of taking off his shoes.

Of course being in such a hurry to appease the OCD pokemon, Ash managed to accidently spray the wet mud all across the entry way and onto the wall. Mr. Mime's eyes widened in rage at the spray of mud that coated the entry way.

Ash's eyes also widened as he realized what just happened. He knew if there was one thing Mr. Mime considered a flagrant act of disrespect it was actively dirtying the house whether on purpose or not. "Now hold on Mr. Mime it was just an accident!"

"Mime Mime Mime Mr. Mime!" After a brief pause the oddly humanoid pokemon started to chase Ash with his broom trying to drive the bane of his existence from the house.

For his part, Ash despite not traveling for a number of years managed to dodge out of the way. Mr. Mime continued to rain blows down on the young man and Ash managed to avoid or outrun most.

This was the scene that Ms. Ketchum walking in on ten minutes or so later. The older auburn woman let out a small laugh and shook her head. Her son must have done something to set off poor Mimey again. "Mimey! Ash! I'm home!"

The two suddenly skidded to a stop and ceased their antics. Mr. Mime had the decency to look slightly ashamed that his master caught him chasing Ash around the house. Ash on the other hand just laughed aloud at being caught by his mother in such a childish game of cat and mouse.

"Welcome home Mom."

Shaking her head in amusement, Delia held up the giant packed basket that she had been carrying to eye level so both Ash and Mimey could see. "Not to interrupt the fun but I brought home dinner from Pallet House. I'm sorry I was late getting home but Mina called out sick so I stayed to cover."

"Don't worry mom, I just got home. I had a last minute call from Gary. Here let me take that for you." Resisting the urge to grumble over the issue before moving to the entry way to accept the giant basket, Ash started to head for the kitchen to lay out the spread.

Delia though caught up with her son before he got too far into unpacking the boxed dinner from Pallet House. "Don't worry about setting up the table dear, why don't you get out of your suit before dinner and change into something more comfortable."

"Alright…well if you are sure mom I know you had a long day…" Ash waited tentatively at entry way to the hallway to make sure he got the go ahead. Despite the fact his mother's cancer was in remission he still treated her like she was made of glass. It was the one area he and Mimey agreed on.

Making a shooing motion to her son, Delia made sure to shoot a reassuring smile to her son. Once Ash disappeared up the stairs, Delia went about setting up the table for dinner with Mimey's help. "My Ash is so thoughtful isn't he Mimey?"

Mr. Mime for his part seemed less than thrilled to agree with Delia on anything concerning Ash and the word thoughtful, helpful, or caring in it. "Mime." Voicing his displeasure over the issue, Mr. Mime went back to helping Delia set the table.

The pair just finished when Ash skidded into the kitchen now dressed in a simple pair of jeans, trainers, and a black tee. The customary hat he used to wear was no longer a part of his casual ensemble and instead he had taken to wearing a black bandana to keep his hair tamed. It was just something he had started doing to keep a connection with May. Over the years he had attempted to get in touch with her but as she was a TV personality her number was not public information. Even before that she just never accepted his calls or sent him straight to videomail and never returned anything.

After the three had sat down for dinner, Delia decided to ask a question she had been wondering about since running into Gary earlier tonight on the way home. "So sweetie, I ran into Gary this evening."

"Oh yeah? Was he grabbing dinner for Professor Oak at Pallet House again?" Ash attempted to steer the conversation away from any potential mention of the upcoming tournament.

"Actually I ran into him on the way home. He mentioned you were planning on taking some time off together. Is that true?" Delia could tell her son was nervous about something. In the last five years the poor boy had only taken a short vacation during Christmas and her birthday. He rarely even saw his friends anymore and she was starting to worry about him becoming a shut in.

Groaning internally, Ash set his fork down before mumbling a response that sounded vaguely like a threat on Gary Oak's life.

"Speak up dear." Delia commented absently as she added another helping of potatoes to her plate.

'Damn Gary Oak why does he have to make my life miserable at every turn.' Ash internally bemoaned the situation that Gary had left him in. Originally he was just going to inform his mother last minute as he always did before taking off on a trip. Now though Gary had unknowingly…or more likely knowingly boxed Ash into a corner. If there was one word to describe Delia it was persistent.

"Well er yeah…Gary…kindly…well ya know." In fact Ash really was trying to his best not to bring up the tournament just yet. He wanted to have this discussion after dinner when his attention was not split between food and conversation. Ash had a hard enough time of it during business meetings.

Clapping her hands together in delight Delia pushed on with her line of questioning. "Sounds exciting dear, I guess I should have figured it out by now but don't judge your mother too harshly. A couple's vacation together will be just the thing to recharge your batteries."

'Couples vacation what in the world is she talking about.' Deciding to just let it be, Ash continued to hoover down dinner and nodded along at all the right places.

"Of course I always thought you would end up with one of the girls that you traveled with. Especially that May girl." Delia laughed a little wondering how she had missed it all these years. "I just thought you were a little dense when it came to girls like your father had been." Sharing a secretive smile with her son who at this point was staring at his mother in mild curiosity over where the conversation was going, Delia continued on her train of thought. "I had to tell your father right to his face that I liked him. The big good asked me what I meant by that and I had to kiss him just to show him what I meant. I was worried you were going to turn out the same way."

"You never told me that one Mom." Ash commented absently as he tried to figure out what the hell his mother was on about.

Smiling at her son, Delia nodded happily. "You know your father would be proud of you, whoever you end up dating and marrying no matter what right?"

Ash tentatively nodded and almost wished that he had Pikachu with him. Usually the little electric rodent seemed to pick up on things faster than he tended to. "Of course mom, I know you both love me and I love you as well."

"I know dear and you know even though I always dreamed of having grandchildren…well adoption is just as good. I know Gary will make a great father. He really has grown up over the years and I know you will to."

"Thanks Mom…umm why do you care about Gary being a father?" Ash was really drawing a blank here. He knew that his mother wanted grandchildren. In fact she was constantly on him to settle down and find a girl. Even worse she almost constantly asked after May who she believed was a perfect match. Little did his mom know that they had tried it out and had been dating up until he just up and left her without a word when he received the news that his mother was ill. When he attempted to call her and explain she never picked up. In fact according to Max anytime he attempted to bring up anything to do with Ash, May would just terminate the call. It was as if Ash was dead to her.

Sometimes she did wonder about her child. He was a genius in so many areas but when it came to social situations he fell flat on his face if it was anything other than pokemon or business. It was a wonder how Ash had managed to make his feelings known to Gary. "Honey...if you and Gary decide to adopt it will be a big step in your relationship. A child is a lot of work and both parents have to be all in if you want to give the child a real chance at succeeding in line."

"Mom…that is great…but why would Gary and I adopt a child together?"

Sighing a bit in disappointment over her son's answer, Delia noted her son appeared to be confused. Perhaps Gary and Ash had not gotten to that point. No need to push the two…well not too much. "Well I am not getting any younger sweetie and your mother would love to be a grandmother. Still when you and Gary settle down together it would be nice for you two to give Professor Oak and your mother some great grandchildren and grandchildren. I am sure Professor Oak would appreciate it."

Finally…finally the whole revolving point around his mother's conversation clicked in Ash's brain. His face said it all. The food he had been eating just dropped out of his mouth and he started to choke on the hunk of bread he had just stuffed down his throat.

"I am not dating Gary mom! I like girls!" Crossing his arms in a petulant manner, Ash felt himself sink into his seat acting more like a 5 year old child than the twenty some year old he was.

Delia laughed aloud at her mistake. "Sorry sweetie…it's just that you never bring any girls home and you never seem to speak with that nice May girl you traveled with in Hoenn or Dawn from Sinnoh. Unless you are dating Iris or Misty?" Delia asked hopefully. It wasn't that she did not like the two girls from Kanto and Unova respectively but she would prefer someone a little less violent for her boy.

"I am not dating anyone and I am certainly not dating Gary." Ash attempted to remain angry at his mother but really he knew it would only last another minute or two at most.

"Well dear where are you and Gary going then? I'm assuming not a couple's resort?" Sending a conspiratorial wink to her son over her little faux pas, Delia started to clean up the remaining food left on the table.

Once again turning a bright red, Ash grumbled a little. "No! Erg…well I um…Gary kinda signed us all up for a new tournament in Kanto. It starts in a few months so I guess I need to start training…but I won't be leaving Pallet other than for business trips! I swear!"

When Ash finally told her about the tournament, she had expected to see a glint of excitement enter Ash's eyes. Instead there was just a dull resignation over the whole thing. A frown marred Ms. Ketchum's normally pretty face. "You don't seem too excited about it dear…I remember when the prospect of a new journey or a tournament had you so hyper you would be out the door the moment you heard about it."

"Honestly mom I am fine. I just don't want to leave you alone here in Pallet Town again while I go gallivanting around the country. I left training because I could see it was killing you and I had to grow up. The whole dream of becoming a pokemon master was kinda silly anyway." Ash continued on not taking note of his mother's rising temper. In fact Delia rarely got angry but her son's cavalier attitude about giving up on his dream was pushing her to the edge. "I mean it is a great dream for a kid but all I was doing was causing you to be lonely while I was away. Now that I am older I have grown up and I realized it is something for kids to do but you have to grow up sometime and face facts."

"ENOUGH!" Delia slammed her hands down on the kitchen counter with such force that it shook the floor. Turning away from her task of putting away the left overs she turned to face her son. "That is enough! What happened to my little Ashy…when did you…become…become...so old and boring!"

"Mom!" Ash attempted to protest. "I grew up!"

"You listen here young man! I love you and appreciate that you came back when I got sick…and everything you have done but don't you dare for a second try and pretend you are happy!" Delia pointed her finger at Ash. "Everything you have built has been an attempt to keep me happy without once thinking about your life and your happiness!"

At this point Ash knew his mother was beyond reason. In fact he had never seen his mother so angry. Adopting a calm face, Ash decided to approach this like a business meeting…bad call. "Mom I didn't give up my pokemon career because of you. I realized I could not travel forever and I know it was hurting you. I made the choice to come back and I made the choice to take over Pallet House!"

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare take that business tone Mr. Know it all tone with your mother Mister!" At this point Delia was advancing on her son in a rapid manner. "I let it be when you came home when I was sick and I admit I have been complacent in letting you live this lie for the past four years." At this point Delia was poking her pointer finger into her son's chest. "Well no longer will I stand by and let my son live in a delusional world where he has to ignore his pokemon to pretend he is happy with his life! When was the last time you truly smiled Hm? When was the last time you saw Pikachu, Ash?

Backing up under his mother's verbal barrage, Ash started to back away a little. Most people would be cowed under his mother's rage but instead it had activated something that he had thought he locked away. Ash's anger started to surface and he was pissed that his mother was trying to tell him what he wanted in life. "I don't want to be a pokemon master any more Mother! I am happy! I am happy in Pallet Town and I am happy staying here with you. I don't want to travel any more! I am tired of battling and I am tired of pokemon alright! I have a business to run and I do not have time to go play in a tournament I have no interest in!"

If Ash was going to proceed any further with his words, he did not have a chance. Delia did something that she had never done in her entire life up until this point. Her hand almost guided as if by some unseen force came up and across her son's face. The two stared at each other in silence for a moment before Delia completely broke down.

The proud mother crumbled before her son and if Ash had not been paying attention, Delia would have fallen to the floor. "Mom…I"

Crying in her son's shoulder, Delia managed to make a muffled apology into Ash's shirt. "I'm sorry sweetie…I just can't take it anymore. There is no more spark in your eyes anymore. Even though you are here with me physically you seem more distant than ever. Nothing excites you anymore and it is hard to tell if you even care about anything other than the next expansion."

Ash held his mother awkwardly not quite sure what to say. Instead he just gently patted his mother on the back and held her in a tight embrace. "Mom I'm happy…I really am I promise."

"Swear to me then Ash…you swear to me on my life that you are happy and you haven't been deluding yourself for the past five years and putting my happiness before yours and I will drop everything right now." Delia's voice was almost a whisper. Truthfully she was afraid that Ash was truly happy and if he did swear upon it, she knew she would break down completely because her little boy would truly be all grown up. If he truly no longer wanted to become a pokemon master it really meant he had changed.

"Mom…" Trailing off Ash was not sure what to say. It wasn't that he was unhappy or anything…in fact he loved being back with his mom and seeing Gary as well, well sometimes reluctantly. During his travels he had really missed Pallet Town so it was nice to be home. "I…well…I am happy…I mean I love you and seeing you every day."

Smiling a little into Ash's shoulder she was elated at Ash's answer. Even when he wanted to say he wasn't happy, he would find a way to make sure no one's feelings were hurt. Well at least when it came to her. Drawing herself back from her son she kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you for being honest sweetie."

"Uhm…but…I really."

"You're fired honey…I want you to see you happy again and you won't find that happiness here in Pallet Town. Now go over to see Gary, go apologize profusely to your pokemon and go back to being my little boy who's only goal it to become a pokemon master." Delia stood up again and composed herself while her son just sat there completely shell shocked.

"But Mom! What about the expansion! And how can you fire me?" Ash mumbled as he tried to find a coherent thought to grab onto.

Smirking a little at her son, Delia decided to let her son in on her little secret. "I'm still the owner sweetie and technically even though you are CEO I do have majority shares of the stocks. Remember when you went public? Well I made sure to buy 51% of all available stock. Now as your majority stockholder I find myself dissatisfied with your performance and relieve you of your duties."

Patting her stunned son on the shoulder, Delia made her way back to the kitchen counter and continued to pack the left overs. Without turning around, Delia made one final comment. "Get moving young man…and if I don't see you in the finals I will ground you. Don't think I won't do it Mister because I will come find you and drag you back to Pallet Town."

"Yes'um…" Ash numbly stood up and stumbled towards the stairs to pack up for his journey to the Tournament. Honestly he didn't even know where the tournament was taking place but he rather leave now than risk being berated by his mother for failure to follow her orders.

A/N: Alright next chapter will be training and journeying to the Tournament location. I will probably bring in Brock and Misty next chapter along with Gary for the training. Once we get to the tournament we will finally start some Ash/May interactions. Hope you like please read and review. Thank you for the reviews so far and I hope this answers how I am going to get Ash excited and involved in training again!