Ash pushed the door open to his room wildly, causing it to swing back furiously on its hinges back at Misty and Brock. Brock blocked the collision with his hand, allowing Misty to go in before him. On normal occasions, they would have yelled at Ash, but today was different.

Ash tossed his backpack into the corner of the room, having swung it around recklessly a couple times beforehand. Misty and Brock carefully placed their belongings off to the side, an action that felt too good to be true.

Ash grinned from ear to ear, bouncing around on his fidgety feet. "I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this!" he uttered in astonishment, breathing in heavily.

"Yeah, that was quite a surprise," Misty added, flashing her amazed expression as well. "Who woulda thought?"

Ash jumped in place, seeming to ignore Misty’s comment. "My dad is home! This is sooo great!" He calmed himself for a moment, then continued. "I’ve been dreaming of this for so long."

Misty and Brock smiled.

"Wow, this must be really something for you," Brock said. "I mean, I can remember when my dad came back. Man, that was a shock. But this must be different for you. At least you wanted him back."

Ash shook with thrill. "Oh God, it is! And he’s right downstairs!" He said this in a sort of whispered, mystical tone, as if the impossible had just occurred.

Misty sighed, placing her tired Togepi on Ash’s bed. "Well, your mom told us to get settled." She smiled at Brock. "All I know is, I haven’t sat down in hours and my legs are killing me!"

Brock returned the smile affectionately. "Sitting down sounds good to me!" he concluded. "Besides, dinner might not be done for a while."

Ash’s heart pounded. "Well, I don’t care what you guys do! I’m goin’ down to see my dad."

"But wait a second, Ash!" Brock said suddenly, interrupting Ash’s intentions of going downstairs. Brock shrugged momentarily and looked confusingly at Misty and Ash, who looked just as confused back at him.

Ash waited for Brock to answer, so Brock hesitated none in continuing.

"What about your mom?" he asked, causing Misty’s eyebrows to raise, and she looked at Ash. "Didn’t we come here because she was crying, or what?"

Ash looked at the floor. All of sudden, the recollection came back to him, and he found himself asked the same question. Then there was also the situation at the door, when Delia hadn’t hugged him quite as strongly as she usually did, but Ash had just assumed it was because it was such an unexpected surprise. But the whole situation with his dad had completely deleted his memory and worry of his mom’s depression.

Ash shrugged, frowning slightly. "I dunno. But everything must be all right now. My dad’s home!"

Misty tensed at this. She was about to say something, but stalled herself, smiling and shrugging wordlessly anyway.

Wild excitement raged in Ash’s body, and being in his room suddenly made him feel claustrophobic. The thought of his dad being right downstairs stimulated his nerves, and he felt just like a person who had his hands tied while having a million dollars waved teasingly in front of his face. He took off immediately out of his room, Pikachu tagging right behind.

Misty just sighed again and collapsed in one of Ash’s chairs. She brought her hands up to her face and rubbed her throbbing temples. She’d had a headache practically all day, and the current excitement had helplessly added to it. Brock groaned as he settled beside her on the floor.

"Well?" he asked curiously. "What do you think about this?"

Misty found herself at a loss for words. She felt happy for Ash, but Brock’s sudden reminder of why they were really here disturbed her. Since she and Brock had been on the sidelines for most of that dramatic moment, she had found her eyes darting back and forth from Ash to his dad to Ash to his mom. Weirdly enough, Delia didn’t seem as excited as she assumed she would be. She looked kind of . . . reluctant.

"Misty?" Brock finally asked, waving his hand in front of her face. She looked at him and he grinned. "You still with me?"

"Yeah," Misty chuckled, rubbing her eyes. "Just getting tired, I guess. What did you ask?"

"What you thought about this whole thing," Brock replied.

Misty shrugged. "I’m happy for Ash, I guess. Personally, I’m in shock right now. Heh, I think I’m in more shock than he is!"

"Well, Ash is just excited," said Brock, kicking his shoes off with his feet. The freeing of his poor, aching feet made a wave of pleasure rush through his legs. "The shock will hit him later, I think."

Misty smiled agreeably. "I like his dad."

"Me too," Brock agreed. Suddenly he yawned. "God, I’m tired."

"Well, there’s no better place to sleep than in Pallet," Misty commented, starting to kick off her shoes as well. "I’m ready to sleep right now."

Brock patted her shoulder in a friendly manner. "Well, gotta have dinner, first. Come on, let’s go down. They’re probably wondering where we are."

"You’re right," Misty said, getting up from the chair, a struggle in itself. Her legs pained dully as she lifted herself to her feet again, and she limped slightly as she and Brock made their way out of Ash’s room and headed downstairs.

"So, Ash, you still have that Charizard of yours?" Jay asked later that night, as the five of them were seated around the table, devouring Delia’s delicious chicken stir-fry eagerly.

Ash swallowed his food, looking up at him a little disappointedly. "I left him behind in Johto."

Jay’s eyes widened, and he looked at Misty and Brock, who confirmed it with a nod. "You did? Why? Don’t tell me because of what he did to you at the Pokémon League!"

Ash smiled weakly. "Nah, it wasn’t that. He wanted to be with his own kind. I’ll go back for him . . . some day. I just needed to start thinking about what he wanted."

Jay nodded, looking admiringly at Ash as he helped himself to more food. More than half of the conversations that had gone on during dinner had been between Ash and his dad. Misty and Brock sat and listened in on Ash’s retelling of all their adventures, both in the Indigo and Orange, as well as Johto, of course.

Ash was having the time of his life talking with his dad. He loved the way his dad listened attentively to his every word, his eyes glistening and widening more at Ash’s accounts of his battles, his training, and his recent captures. Laughter came up again and again, the mix of the good meal and happy memories bringing the five together.

It was only in the middle of the dinner that Jay recognized Brock as the Pewter City gymleader, which Brock smiled modestly to. Before he got all of the attention, Ash told Jay of Misty’s position as well. Jay was pleasantly surprised, telling her that he had heard of the Sensational Sisters, but had never met one. Misty just grinned and introduced herself jokingly, setting the whole table off in laughter. All but one.

Ash felt a twinge of worry as he looked at his mom, who had just smiled dully at the jokes and funny stories that had been brought up during the dinner. She had been silent but attentive the whole dinner, listening to Ash’s stories with a small smile on her face. Ash could feel uneasiness radiating out of her now, and the feeling of disturbance returned to him.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Ash asked worriedly.

Delia looked up at him immediately and smiled. "Yeah, sure I am. Why you ask?"

"Well, you’re so quiet," Ash told her softly, his eyes melting into her.

Misty and Brock sat quietly, looking up and down at them and their dinner, trying not to look like they were paying much attention.

Ash didn’t care anymore. He arched his back and looked into her face. "Are you still upset about last night?"

Delia sighed. "Ash, I wasn’t upset last night. I told you that."

"Well, you haven’t said ‘boo’ all night!" Ash replied nervously. "Are you sick, or something? I want to know, I’m worried!"

Ash stared at his mother and she stared back, her eyes flipping up nervously to Jay. Misty and Brock’s eyes followed hers to Jay’s, who just took a deep breath and started to mess around with his food with his fork. This made Misty and Brock’s gazes immediately turn to each other, and they exchanged a confused look between them.

Silence had dominated the table all of a sudden, but Ash still stared at Delia, waiting for her reply. He was tensing every second that she wasn’t saying anything. Finally, she looked at him with a comforting smile, which did nothing for Ash, but it was a legitimate try.

"Thanks for worrying about me, sweetie," she said, stroking his hair affectionately. "But you don’t have to, though. Nothing’s wrong. I’m tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night."

Ash relaxed for a moment as his mom stroked him more.

"I’m very tense lately. I -- I’ve had to work a lot this week. It’s Friday tomorrow, so I’ll be good and awake on Saturday, you’ll see."

Ash still didn’t say anything, but relief was sweeping through Delia’s body as she could feel him slowly reclining. Once again, she looked up at Jay, who shrugged casually with his eyes. As much as she hated keeping it from Ash, she couldn’t bear to hurt him now. Not like this, not after seeing the sheer ecstasy he had elapsed into since the moment he entered the house. She couldn’t even believe he was home, and she felt like kicking herself figuring it was her emotions that probably had played a major part in it. Why did he have to call her then? Why then? She shut her thoughts up, knowing that Ash’s call was for good intentions and none other, the simple desire to wish her a happy birthday.

Delia pulled her hand away from Ash, and stood up. She began to collect the dishes of the meal, but Ash jumped up suddenly and insisted that he do it. With a pleasant smile, she allowed him to. Misty and Brock immediately got up to help, but Jay told them to sit and relax, saying they were guests. Misty and Brock didn’t protest, and slowly lowered themselves back into their seats with polite smiles.

Ash and Jay had the table cleared in a moment, just as the clock in the living room chimed a prolonged nine chimes. The sound seemed to seal the evening’s end, and sleepiness struck the kids in an instant. They hadn’t realized how late it had become, no one had in fact, and it was evident that the time to turn in had come upon them.

Placing the last plate in the dishwasher, Ash turned to Delia. She thanked him happily and pulled him into her for a hug, rocking him back and forth. Ash giggled, and she kissed him, telling him that it was time for bed.

"Believe me, Mom, I’m already in bed," Ash said with a grin. "We just traveled here from New Bark Town in one day."

Delia shook her head. "I don’t understand you sometimes. You did that for me?"

"Sure," Ash replied honestly. "I was worried about you."

"Well, that’s all settled now, right?" his mom asked, smiling warmly down at him. "Are you okay?"

Ash nodded, followed by a yawn. Delia chuckled silently, and rubbed his messy hair. "Go to bed," she said, and Ash reached up to kiss her goodnight.

"Good-night," he said as he turned with Brock and Misty towards the stairs.

"Good-night, Mrs. Ketchum," Brock and Misty told her separately, after which she returned.

As they walked into the living room, Jay stood leaning on the frame of the door as they had first seen him a few hours before. He nodded a good night to Brock and Misty as they past, then scooped Ash up in his arms, who had trailed the group.

"G’night, you," he said tenderly but crazily, raising Ash above his head again. "Sleep good, ya hear me?"

Ash laughed. "Sure, sure, Dad! Put me down!"

Jay planted Ash on the ground, and kissed the top of his head. He reached down and rubbed Pikachu’s head, as well, and the Pokémon scampered up the stairs behind his human pals. Jay watched as the kids sauntered sleepily up the stairs, and looked back at Delia, who had started the dishes.

"He’s got some nice friends, there," he said, and she nodded with a smile.

Upstairs, Ash, Misty, and Brock had taken turns changing into pajamas in the other room. Ash had actually changed in his room while Misty and Brock were taking turns, and had pulled out the new roll-away beds that Delia had bought especially for Misty and Brock since they had come around so often.

Ash offered Misty his bed when she came in, and she told him it was all right, but he insisted she take it anyway, since she had slept in it nearly every night she had spent there. Finally, Misty accepted the offer, and hesitated none in climbing into Ash’s warm flannel sheets, Togepi cuddled softly in her arms.

Brock and Ash rustled around in their beds, finding the most comfortable positions in the unslept-in beds. For Brock and Misty, it was no struggle to find sleep, it came instantly to them as their heads hit the pillows.

For Ash, it was different. His eyes were wide open, and he stared contentedly at his ceiling, Pikachu roaming around at the end of his bed to find a warm spot to crash. Although he knew physically he was tired, Ash could not seem to get the feeling of sleep in his body. He wanted to go down and talk with his dad more. It urged at him and urged at him, but he calmly refused himself, promising himself the weekend, in which his dad had announced he would spend with Ash.

After about fifteen minutes, however, Ash’s eyes began to droop sleepily, and he allowed himself to drift off into slumber. It felt utterly fantastic as a matter of fact, and the silence of the room except for the steady breathing of his friends eased his stimulated nerves.

Suddenly, Ash’s eyes shot open again. For a moment, he didn’t know what had awoken him, or even how long he had been asleep. He froze, and sure enough, very distinctly, but very muffled, he could hear the voices of his parents downstairs.

Damn, they’re being pretty loud, Ash observed to himself, lifting himself up slightly in his bed. He listened carefully to see if the talking had ceased, but he trembled softly when he heard that they had not died down, they had gotten louder. First, it was his mother’s voice, followed shortly by his father’s, then back to his mother’s again. Ash realized just then that they were talking way too loud to just be talking, and the fear settled in him unwillingly when he concluded that they were fighting.

Almost instinctively, Ash swung his legs out of bed, careful not to awake Pikachu. He swallowed hard and his heart raced as he tiptoed his way through the dark upstairs hallway. The voices of his obviously arguing parents grew louder and louder, until Ash could hear perfectly all the were saying.

"This is ridiculous, though, Delia!" his father shouted, trying his best not to raise his voice any higher.

"Oh really?" Delia demanded angrily. "Do you have a better way of handling this, huh? Do you?"

Ash inched his way slowly down the stairs, careful not to make one board creak or anything. He stopped where the stairs became visible from the living room, and knelt down. Pressing his hands against the wall to support himself, Ash braced as he listened in to his parents’ quarreling.

A short silence came about, and Jay’s voice broke it.

"We’re going to have to tell Ash sometime, Delia," he said.

Ash tensed, his heart beginning to race suddenly. His eyes widened nervously, the mentioning of his name worrying him.

"I know," Delia replied sadly, sounding like she didn’t want to accept whatever it was.

"Well, when’s it gonna be? For God’s sake, he has to know sometime!" Jay spat out. "Didn’t you ever mention anything to him about us getting divorced?"

That hit the bullseye dead on. At the sound of that word, the word Ash had tried to forget existed, his heart stopped. He quivered violently, a small sob finding its way up his throat.

No, please no, Ash begged to himself. I’m not hearing this, I’m not hearing this . . .

"Jacey, I could never," Delia replied, feeling a little choked up herself. "I didn’t want to scare Ash. He has enough stuff to worry about right now as it is, you know that!"

Slowly but surely, Ash’s eyes welled up in tears, a few flowing down his cheeks rapidly. He sniffed in, shutting his eyes tightly to stop the new tears from coming. They couldn’t be talking about this, they couldn’t be discussing what he only ever heard them discussing in his nightmares.

"Well, you’d better tell him soon," his father went on, his yelling finally fading to a mere whisper. "I can’t go on pretending that I just came for a visit . . ."

At that, Ash could take no more. As silently as he could, Ash rushed to his room and closed his door. Taking refuge in his warm sheets, Ash clenched his eyes closed tightly, hoping sleep would come faster to end what he thought had been a good day.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .