After we disembark, Giovanni hurries into his waiting limo. He gives me a despising glance before he slams the car door and the limo pulls away. But I'm not afraid of him. I'm not afraid of him anymore because I know he can't take Ash away from me now.

We join the other passengers in the ship's terminal and prepare to head back to our lives without our loved ones. One of the Slate children, a boy of about six, comes up to me and hands me a flower he has just picked from the nearby window box.

"Here. You look sad," the little boy says as he offers me the bright red geranium. "Don't be sad."

I look down at the dark-haired boy with the eager smile, and I'm reminded of Ash once more.

"Thank you," I reply as I kneel down and give him a hug, trying to stifle my tears.

"Why are you crying?" the boy asks as he returns my hug.

"Because you remind me of my little boy," I answer.

"Where is he?" the child asks as he looks around the room.

"He…he's in heaven," I say as I try hard not to break down. I don't want to upset the child.

"My mommy's in heaven, too," says the boy as his smile fades. "You kind of look like her. I miss her."

"We all miss her, Tommy," says the boy's father as he comes up behind his son. "And Brock."

"Don't worry, Daddy," says the oldest Slate daughter, a girl of about eleven, as she takes her father's hand. "I'll take care of all of us now, just like Mommy and Brock used to."

The screeching of tires and the roar of an engine causes us to look outside as Officer Jenny comes racing up on her motorcycle. "Thank goodness I caught you all before you left!" she says breathlessly as she screeches to a stop in front of the terminal.

"Giovanni already left," Samuel informs her.

"I'll contact him later," Officer Jenny says as she climbs off of her motorcycle.

"What's going on?" asks one of the Waterflower sisters.

"Everyone, I have some amazing news," Officer Jenny says as she holds up a piece of paper. "The people that were thought to be trapped aboard the St. Anne have been found alive. Your loved ones are safe."

The Waterflower sisters and the Slate siblings shriek in excitement.

My legs start to shake. I'm numb with shock and disbelief. Ash is alive?

Samuel grips my hand tightly.

"How do you know for sure they're okay?" asks Brock's father, who, like the rest of us, is stunned by Officer Jenny's news.

"See for yourself," Officer Jenny grins as she picks up the receiver of the nearby videophone and starts pressing the numerical buttons on the console. A moment later, a red-haired girl appears on the screen.

"Misty!" the Waterflower sisters shriek as they crowd around the console.

"Daisy, Violet, Lily…what's going on?" the confused girl asks.

"Oh, Misty…we thought you were, like, dead," Violet informs her in a voice choked with emotion.

"Yeah, we thought we would, like, never see you again," Lily says as tears start to roll down her cheeks.

"Are you okay, little sister?" asks Daisy, who's also overcome with emotion.

"I'm fine," says Misty. "We're all…" Suddenly, a tanned teenage boy with spiky dark hair appears next to the girl.

"What's going on, Misty?" the boy asks her.

"Brock!!!" squeal the Slate siblings as they push aside the Waterflower sisters and start talking all at once.

"Oh Brock, you're okay!"

"Were you scared down in the ocean?"

"Was it dark?"

"Did you see any sharks?"

"Did you use your Pokémon to get out of the ship?"

"Brock, we missed you!"

"Have you caught any new Pokémon yet?"

"Did you see the flowers we threw in the water for you?"

"Daddy said you were in Heaven with Mommy – how'd you get back so fast?"

Brock's father pushes to the front of the crowd. "Are you all right, son?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm fine. How's everybody else doing?"

"We're all just fine now that we know that you're okay," Flint smiles as he reaches up and grabs his youngest daughter, a two-year old toddler, who's climbing atop the console to get to her brother.

"Hey, looks like a party's going on there!" says a familiar voice.

It's my baby!

I give an involuntary cry as my child's face appears on the screen.

My baby's alive! My baby's okay!

"Ash!"

I race to the console and push aside everyone. I want to see my baby. I want to make sure he's okay – that this isn't a dream or some kind of cruel prank.

"Hi, Mom. What's going on?" Ash asks in his usual nonchalant tone.

Yes, it's really Ash.

His smile quickly disappears when he sees the tears of joy in my eyes. "Are you okay, Mom?"

"Ash, we've all been worried sick about you," I reply once I swallow the lump in my throat. "You and your friends."

"Gosh, we didn't mean to worry anyone. We didn't realize that you guys knew about the ship sinking," Ash answers with concern. "But don't worry, Mom. We're all okay. Thanks to our Pokémon."

"Pika-pi!" agrees Pikachu as he hops on Ash's shoulder.

"Looks like Pikachu's doing well," Samuel says as he comes up behind me. "Are both you and Pikachu all right?"

"Hi, Professor Oak. Yeah, we're fine," replies Ash with a smile as he tickles Pikachu's chin.

"Ash, hurry up!" says Misty offscreen.

"I've gotta go now, Mom. If we don't catch the ferry to the mainland, there won't be another one until tomorrow," Ash explains as he gathers up his backpack.

Part of me wants to tell Ash to stay put where he is, and I'll come and get him. I don't want to let my baby out of my sight ever again.

But I know that's not being realistic. All his life, Ash has wanted to become a Pokémon trainer. And I know that I have to let him go follow his dream.

"Ash, be sure to give us a call when you get to the next city, all right?" Samuel says. He knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"I will, Professor," Ash nods.

"Ash, come on!" yells Brock. "The ferry's getting ready to leave!"

"Gotta go! Bye, everyone!" The screen goes black.

I continue to stare at the screen as the Waterflower sisters hug each other tightly.

"I'll never ever be mean to Misty again!" says Lily.

"And I won't call her 'Squirtle' anymore!" resolves Violet.

"Let's go back to Cerulean City and have a big celebration!" Daisy smiles.

"And we'd better be getting back to Pewter City," Flint smiles as he places his toddler daughter atop his shoulders. "It's about time for your nap, Katie."

"And I think we should head back to Pallet Town, don't you?" Samuel smiles as he reaches for my hand.

"Let's go home."

---

"I don't know what I'm going to do with all this food and all these flowers," I wonder as soon as I open the back door and see the dishes of food completely covering my kitchen table. "There's more here than I'll ever be able to eat." I reach for the apron hanging on the back of one of the chairs and put it on. "Here." I hand Samuel several containers of food. "You take some of this home. You and your assistants can eat this. That way it won't go to waste. I hate throwing out food."

"Thanks, Delia," Samuel says as he tries to juggle the stack of plastic containers and casserole dishes in his arms. "That's very generous of you."

"And I'll take these flowers to the hospital so all the sick people can enjoy them." I start gathering up the bouquets.

"Delia, do you need any help with those?" Samuel asks.

"No. I can manage," I reassure him. "I'll be okay now."

And then I realize that there's one more thing that I haven't done.

"Samuel, I want to thank you for being here for me the last couple of days. I don't think I would've made it through everything that's happened if it hadn't been for you."

"I'll always be here for you, Delia. No matter what."

I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks for being my friend."

As he leaves, I grab a broom and start sweeping. Despite everything that's happened the last couple of days, life must go on.

THE END

Author's note: In Meredith T. Tasaki's story, "For Those In Peril On The Sea" (which deals with Officer Jenny's POV on the sinking of the St. Anne), the author mentions that she would like to see a story on Delia's POV for the same event. "Lost" was thus written as a response to that irresistible challenge. And yes, there will soon be a story based on Samuel's POV.