"What she wants."
(Also known as "Ash's unusual evening." [Yes, that IS a reference to all those "Unusual Morning" stories people have made. If you got the joke there, you have been warned.])

Part 1 of the 5 part mini-series "There for you."

Part 2 of 20 of the ongoing saga "Love is such bitter sorrow."

She worried about him. What her son was doing, while noble, bordered on obsession. She had tried to explain to her son many times that Misty would be better off in the hands of a professional carer, but Ash would have nothing of it. He had made it his own responsibility to care for her, to dress her, carry her, feed her and bathe her, and he wasn't willing to give up those responsibilities.

Ms. Ketchum looked out the window into the black night sky, and at the moon shining brightly up above.
"What am I supposed to do?"
But she already knew the answer. There was nothing she could do for him. Not until he wanted to be helped. And so she went back to washing up. There was nothing else she could do.

He worried about them. He hadn't seen Ash or Misty for months, not since the funeral. He'd called a few times, but they hadn't talked to him, though Ms. Ketchum had told him about what was happening. But he refused to accept that. They had all gone through rough times while they still travelled together, and not once had any of them given in to despair. But then again, they had never had one of their closest friends die before. He'd taken it better than Ash or Misty had, mainly because it had happened to him before, when his Mother died, where he'd had to take care of his little brothers and sisters and be like a surrogate parent to them. It was sort of like that now he supposed. Ash and Misty were like a little brother and sister to him, and he'd been a big brother to them all the time while they were travelling. Misty had no parents, and a family that you could hardly call a family, and while Ash had a mother, he had never known his father. He'd been like a surrogate parent for them, and he couldn't help but be concerned for them.

Brock looked out the window into the black night sky, and at the moon shining brightly up above.
"What am I supposed to do?"
But he already knew the answer. There was nothing he could do.
"Waaaaaaah! My dress!"
Well, nothing he could do for Ash and Misty anyway. But his little brothers and sisters,...
"Now you know I'm no good at sewing. Ask Brock to help you."
...and father, certainly be kept him busy.
"Alright. I'll fix it up right after I've finished washing the dishes."
And so he went back to washing up. There was nothing else he could do.

He worried about them. Pika-pi and Pikachaa weren't the same. Not since what happened a few months back. Not since Pipipi died. Pika-pi never had time for him anymore. He never played with him, made food for him, or even used him in a battle. He hadn't battled anyone full stop. He, who had once been so set on becoming a Pokémon Master. Now, he couldn't care less for Pokémon. He spent every day watching over and caring for Pikachaa. Pikachaa. She refused to let go of her grief and continue to live a life quickly passing her by. Pikachu hoped that Pika-pi wouldn't be like that if he died. He'd want him to live his life and be happy, not to be like this. Not like Pikachaa.

A tear rolled down his cheek as Pikachu looked out the window into the black night sky, and at the moon shining brightly above.
"Pika Pika Pi Cha Pikachu Chu Pi Pikacha?"
But he already knew the answer. There was nothing he could do for them. Not until they wanted to be helped. And so he went back to sleep. There was nothing else he could do.

He worried about her. She just hasn't been the same. Not since what happened a few months back. Not since Togepi died. Misty seemed incapable now of relating to anyone. She passed her days just lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling with unblinking eyes, and cried herself to sleep every night. She had to be physically carried downstairs at mealtime's and forcefed. She never resisted, but it was if her body had gone limp. As if she had lost the will to live. There was nothing he could do for her. Until Misty herself wanted to be helped, no one would be able to help her.

Ash took one final look outside before he closed the curtains and got into bed.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Closing his eyes, he settled down to get some well deserved sleep.

Ash didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he was woke up to the sound of a door opening. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. As he opened sleepy eyes, he saw light. Artificial light, not the soft light of dawn, was streaming in from the hallway, through the open door to his room. Against this backdrop of light was a silhouette of a person, who entered the room and closed the door behind them, plunging the room into darkness once more. Ash froze in place, trying to not show he was awake. Who was this? A thief, creeping in, in the dead of the night? He could feel the quilt being lifted up on the other side of the bed, before there was a thump sound beside him, and the quilt settled back into place. He could feel someone up against him, a face buried into his back. And.......tears?
"Misty?"
He rolled over to be confronted by the image of Misty, a goddess on earth. Her red hair was unbound and cascading down her slender shoulders. Her face was the image of perfection. Her small nose, cute and dainty. Her lips, warm, red and inviting. Her blue eyes.... red and puffy, large and full of tears. Tears that were streaming down her cheeks and onto his sheets and pillow. No words escaped her mouth. Only sobs. She looked up into his eyes, then threw herself onto his shoulder. Almost by instinct, almost by reflex, Ash wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him, stroking her hair and whispering consoling words. Minutes passed, and still the sobbing continued. It was the last thing either of them heard before they went to sleep, there in each others arms.

She worried about them. She'd woken up the day before and not found either Ash or Misty downstairs. Usually, they'd already be down there, with Ash feeding her. Sometimes they might be finished before she came down, but there wasn't anyone in the bathroom. Ash couldn't be sleeping in. He used to, but that was long ago, long before what happened. These days, he'd be up with the break of dawn, eating breakfast and getting ready for when Misty woke up. She went up to his room, and opened his door. She wasn't prepared for the sight she saw. Ash and Misty were lying there, sleeping in each others arms. Misty, for the first time in months, with what appeared to be a smile on her face. How could he take advantage of her like this? Then she saw. He hadn't. They were both still in their bedclothes and there were none of the telltale smells present. They hadn't done anything but sleep together. Quietly, she left the room, not wanting to disturb them. Let them have a moment of peace she thought to herself. They deserve that at least.

This turn of events continued as almost a nightly ritual for the next few months. Every night, Misty would leave her bed, and make the short walk down the corridor to Ash's room, where she would get in bed with him, bury her face in his shoulder and cry while Ash held her in his arms. Every morning, for the first month at least, Ms. Ketchum would check up on them, to make sure that they hadn't done anything that they shouldn't be. After then, she stopped checking up on them, satisfied that they wouldn't be doing anything of the sort anytime soon. She shouldn't have been so trusting, for such is the nature of both the young, and people in such great pain that they will seek refuge from their sorrows in the arms of another, and such did Misty do.

He worried about her. She just hasn't been the same. Not since what happened late last year. Not since Togepi died. Misty seemed almost incapable of relating to anyone. There hadn't been much progress with her. They'd gone to a doctor a few months ago, at his mothers instance. The doctor had wanted to put her on Prozac, but after they refused he instead put her on a course of something called Fluoxetine. Whatever that was, Ash certainly didn't know. Some anti-depressant he supposed. Personally, Ash thought the guy was a quack. If what he had gave Misty was helping, it didn't show. She still passed her days just lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling with unblinking eyes, and crying herself to sleep every night. She still had to be physically carried downstairs at mealtime's and fed by someone. She either couldn't or more probably wouldn't chew or swallow for herself, and it took a long time to feed her the most basic of meals. She still doesn't actively resist, more like passively resist, as her body went totally limp. It had been as if she had lost the will to live. But now he wasn't so sure. She'd shown that she was still able to walk, and that was an achievement, and an amazement, for she hadn't moved under her own power for many months. She'd done no exercise and eaten only a bare minimum of food, food that had to be forced into her by Ash because of her refusal to eat for herself. He hated having to do it. While he knew Misty needed to eat, he also knew that it was hurting Misty, both because she didn't want to eat it, because she didn't want to live, and because her throat lay largely unused due to her self imposed silence. And while she still didn't talk...... it was as if she had finally made a choice. But what choice? Who was he kidding, there was nothing he could do for her. Until Misty herself wanted to be helped, no one would be able to help her. But maybe........

Ash took one final look outside before he closed the curtains, got into bed and closed his eyes. Misty would be coming in only a few minutes.
"What am I supposed to do?"
He already knew the answer. He would do exactly what he'd been doing every night for the past few months. There was nothing else he could do.

He heard the door open and close and he knew that Misty had come to join him again. With his eyes still shut, he felt the quilt being lifted up, a thump sound beside him, and the quilt settling back into place. The familiar form of Misty snuggled up against him, as she buried her face into the crook of his arm. Wait a sec...... Snuggled? He opened his eyes in time to see her arm go around him. She'd never done this before! He looked down, to find her already looking up at him. He couldn't see her clearly in the dim light, but what he saw shocked him. Her eyes weren't red and puffy, but that wasn't what shocked him. She wasn't crying, but that wasn't what shocked him either. It was the thin, sad smile on her lips. Her mouth moved, but if she said anything, Ash couldn't hear it. The arm she had layed over him now gripped his left shoulder, and she pulled herself up towards Ash's face. Slowly, softly, sweetly, their faces came together in a kiss.

Ash didn't know what to do. He'd often dreamt of this moment. Not exactly like this of course, but still, he had dreamt of it. Those dreams didn't give him any idea of what to do next. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was taking advantage of Misty, that he shouldn't be doing this. But she had started it, hadn't she? Didn't that make it alright? Their kiss broke and both their heads moved slightly back from each other. Ash made his decision. This time, they kissed each other, instead of her kissing him. He didn't resist as Misty's hands started to roam, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and removing his clothing. Neither did she resist when he did the same. They broke off their kiss again, and Ash saw that Misty's smile had grown more noticeable. Lovingly and sweetly, they drew together for another kiss.

They continued like this for several hours, their hands roaming over each others bodies, their kisses sweet and tender against each others lips. For Ash, it was like a drug. He lost all sense of time and place. Everything coalesced into the pleasure of the moment, and that was all he could concentrate on. That, and the kisses he shared with Misty. A slight pain brought him back to some measure of reality, and he found Misty now astride him, and he within her. It was the look in Misty's eyes that acted to sober Ash. Her eyes were empty. It was as if she had lost her soul and her body was now an empty husk, going through the motions. With that any pleasure he may have had from what they had just done was completely and utterly lost. As Misty settled to lay against his chest and fall asleep, with Ash still within her, Ash couldn't help but be horrified at his own actions. He had taken advantage of Misty. He vowed that he would never let something happen like that again, though he realised that his promise meant little. As far as he was concerned, the damage was already done. The fact that it had been her who had initiated their act never came into his mind, as he drifted off into a restless sleep, filled with nightmares fuelled by his own self-loathing.

The next day, Ash continued to go through the motions of what he had done for almost a year, getting Misty dressed, feeding her and bathing her. Not once did he even consider telling his mother what happened. Indeed, he went to great lengths to prevent her from finding out, washing his sheets and quilt and airing out his room before his Mother had even woken up. He knew she wouldn't suspect anything from these actions, used as she was now to his new industrious nature as he cared for Misty. He also knew what would happen if his mother found out, and found that he couldn't even conceive of not being able to be with Misty, as would likely happen if his mother did discover what had happened. And so, when finally day turned into night, Ash knew what he had to do.

He heard the door open and close and he knew that Misty had come to join him again. His eyes were open this time, and he sat up and watched as Misty walked towards the bed. As she stood beside it, she unfastened the buttons on her flimsy nightie and let them drop, standing naked before Ash. She them lifted the quilt, only to have her hand caught by Ash.
"No Misty. We can't do this. It's not right."
She looked at him, with the same vacant look as the night before, and then settled down in the bed beside Ash, starting to caress his chest with her free hand, which was swiftly caught by Ash.
"MISTY. WE CAN'T DO THIS."
She stared straight into his eyes, but the look in hers didn't change. Nevertheless, she wasn't struggling as she had been a moment ago, and Ash released her wrists. Moments later, she reached up to Ash's face and started to stroke it, before moving her face closer. Ash took hold of the hand stroking him and moved back from her.
"MISTY, don't you understand? I can't do this. We shouldn't be doing this. It's not right....... I love you too much to hurt you again Misty."

His response seemed to strike a chord in Misty, as the expression in her eyes immediately softened and lost a measure of the emptiness within it. A smile of contentment slowly crept onto her face, and she settled down to lay against Ash's chest and closed her eyes. A look of happiness was evident on her face, something that Ash had not seen in a long time. And with that look on her face, Misty drifted off into a restful sleep.

Ash meanwhile stayed awake. He thoughts were on what had just happened. What had happened to effect this change in Misty? What had he done? He played the nights events over and over in his mind before he finally realised exactly what he had done. Three small words had made the difference. "I love you". When Misty had Togepi, Togepi had given her a kind of unconditional and total love. When he died, Misty must have felt as if there was no one who loved her anymore. But she was wrong. He loved her. He had finally admitted to her what he had felt for a long time. What he couldn't understand was why Misty had chosen him. If it had been Brock who had been taking care of her, would something like this have happened? Would this have happened if Togepi was still here today? Was he taking advantage of her, or was this something that was meant to happen?
Ash....."
He looked down at her, to saw that she was talking in her sleep. He smiled. She was talking, for the first time in almost a year, she was talking. He settled down next to her and held her like he had used to, and then he too drifted off into sleep.

He still worried about them. But nowhere near as much as before. Pika-pi and Pikachaa weren't the same, and they could never be the same again. But Pikachu could accept that, and he was glad that his friends were getting on with their lives, and learning again what it was like to be happy. Pika-pi had time for him again. He might not play with him as much as he once used to, but then, he still spent much of each day watching over and caring for Pikachaa. Pikachaa. She had not let go of her grief, but it was no longer her sole reason for existence. The warm hugs she and Pika-pi shared when they thought no one was watching were evidence enough of that.

A tear of happiness rolled down his cheek and a smile crept onto Pikachu's face as he looked up into the bright noonday sky, with the sun shining brightly above.
"Pikachu Pika Cha Pi Pikacha Cha Pikachu Pika."
"Bulbasaur Bulba? Saur Suar Bulbasuar."
"Psy........duck."
Pikachu turned to the others and saw that they had started a game of tag.
"Pika!"
And with that, he raced over to play with the others.