A/N: Hey guys! It's me. I know it's been a while, but I have returned. Let me just say, my hiatus lasted a lot longer than I had hoped because I had lost all hope in my writing skill. My last assessment in English went terribly, and it really knocked my confidence. I also had to get my laptop fixed again, which meant I had to spend a while using nothing but my phone, and that was difficult. In fact, I had simply run out of purpose. I began to feel as if there was no point in getting out of bed in the morning. Stress, social anxiety, and the need to find myself a job just got the better of me.

But that doesn't explain why I'm here. A few months ago by now, I was looking through my old notebook, and I found a small treasure trove of my ideas from a year or so back. Probably enough ideas for me to write series upon series of fanfictions. That's only part of it. I was lying in bed one night, and suddenly, a thought came to me: What happened? I had some good story ideas, a community to read them and a laptop to write it on. And that was it. I needed a purpose. I needed something to fill the lonely nights. I needed closure. And that's why I'm here. With a new story. Well, not new, per se, but a remake of one of my favourites.

I think one of the reasons why my old writing was weak was because I set myself a goal of one chapter per week. This meant I had to push my time a little too much. By the time you are reading this, I will likely have read over and changed up the existing story, and I will be 14-15 chapters ahead of where I need to be, so I can upload those weekly, and when it comes to it, I won't worry too much about being late. I will still try, though.

So here we are. Just one last note: this is not meant to be a total reworking of the story. I will change some things completely if I find that they were bad, and if you have a recommendation, just leave it in your review and I will consider it. But until then, get ready for my new story, and I'll see you on the other side!

On a cold winter night, inside a homely chateau, we find our heroes enjoying a hearty meal by the roaring fire. The floor was made of a beautiful wood, with a glossy finish that Ash had only seen in Kanto homes, and even then, very few of them. He felt as if he was lucky to have a house that contained this ornate surface. Pikachu looked at it, with a slightly confused expression on his face. He wasn't sure what to make of this shiny, brown surface, upon which his best friend had affixed his attention.

For the most part, a blanket of silence was spread upon the teenagers. Separation was something Ash had learnt to deal with, but he still ate quietly. In a strange way, their silence was prolonging the inevitable.

After all, time seems to slow during boredom.

"So, what's everyone doing for Christmas?" Bonnie said. Of course, Bonnie was the first to say something. She was possibly the most talkative person Ash has ever met. Although even she was unable to hide the dismay in her voice.

"Good question," said Ash, adopting a comically quizzical expression that made his group laugh a little. "To be honest, I don't know. I guess I'll just hop onto the next plane to Kanto and see what happens." Then, he leant forwards, which gave the teenagers an exact idea of what he would say next. Ash always did this when he (or anyone else, for that matter) mentioned his goal. "But I'm not leaving the League behind! As soon as I get back here, it's back to training, right buddy?"

Pikachu, still slightly mesmerised by the floor surface, turned his head towards Ash, giving a confident, if slightly half-hearted, "Pika, Pika!"

Serena smiled. Wasn't he the only reason she made it as far as she did as a Performer? Why she started her journey in the first place? Heck, if Ash wasn't around, she may as well have given up, and became a Ryhorn Racer, as her mother wished so well. If it weren't for him, she probably wouldn't even get up in the morning...

Looking at his face, she suddenly had a thought. What if he slips away? Before you tell him...

"Serena? You OK?" Her thought had probably shown on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking…"

Ash reached for a fork as the next course of their meal was set in front of them. A soft chocolate sponge cake with a silky, smooth chocolate sauce. Halfway there, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket.

"Hey," said Ash, to the caller, "Who is it?"

"It's your mom, Ash," said the familiar voice, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, mom, just great. I'll be home before you know it." Delilah said something in a hushed voice so that only Ash could hear it. "Yes, I have changed my underwear…" He looked over at his travelling group. The amused smile on Serena's face, and Bonnie's barely stifled giggling, made his face turn bright red.

"Listen, Ash. Have you seen the news?" asked his mom. Her slightly graver voice shocked him a little. It had been a long time since he had heard her speak like that to him.

"No, what's up? Are you OK?" came Ash's immediate reply. The burning scarlet on his cheeks had disappeared, replaced with a slightly paler-than-usual tone.

"I'm fine, but you won't be able to come home," said Delilah in a hard voice. Ash could feel the undertones of sadness underneath.

"What? Why not?" retorted Ash.

"The runway at Kanto Airport is completely frozen over. Not a single plane could land there for 2 weeks now! You'll have to find yourself someplace to stay for the next couple of weeks." Ash's mom seemed calm when she said this, but it was possible to hear her voice shake slightly. Her son, however, was frantic. What? he thought, how can you just spring this on me like that?

After hanging up, he looked inside his wallet. 'One hundred dollars,' he muttered. Not enough. Ash finally sat back and took a breath. This was certainly a lot to take in for a single teenager. Often, he had found himself faced with difficult situations, but he usually had some degree of control over them. For example, in a Pokemon battle, despite his opponents' ever-increasing skill, he always had some trick or tactic up his sleeve. Now, he felt utterly helpless.

As he stood up, his friends looked at him. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked Clemont.

"I'm OK, Clemont" replied Ash. His tone was slightly harsher than usual, lest he give away his inner emotions through a quiver or break in his voice.

"Are you sure about that?" Ash heard Serena's voice from across the room. Unusually loud; almost… accusing. She had always been good at reading his feelings. The best at it, in fact. As if she knew him inside out.

Ash didn't even bother turning around to answer. He could barely see the corridor walls as he made his way up to his room. In fact, he could barely remember falling into his bed before he fell asleep. He thought that when a person was stressed they couldn't sleep. Maybe he was just really tired…

Ash woke up in the morning. To him, it felt like morning, anyway. He smiled. For some reason, he felt OK. Even after the calamitous events of yesterday. But he was happy. For some reason, it felt like today would be a good one. The ice over the runway would melt, he would somehow get a free ticket, and he could fly home with Serena's hand on his.

Wait… Serena?

Her name didn't usually appear in his thoughts. Was he more tired than usual?

That didn't matter. Ash noticed a wriggling object at the bottom of his bed, making its clumsy way up to his head. Tiredly, he rubbed his eyes, waiting for the object to surface next to him.

When it did, a small-ish ball of yellow fur appeared next to him, with small, dark eyes and red cheeks. Pikachu.

However, before Ash could say anything, or do anything, he leapt up in a spritely fashion, and dashed across the bed, turning into a speeding yellow blur. It didn't affect him, so he decided to leave it. Until the others came in.

When they did, he felt like he had done something wrong. The way they glared at him, and the way their mouths were shaped.

"Ash, are you alright?" Clemont opened his mouth first. His voice did not sound scornful, but more cautious, and slow.

"Just fine," Ash replied, "What bring you here?"

"Haven't you seen the time?" This time, Clemont seemed angrier. His voice was slightly raised, as were his eyebrows.

"N-no, I haven't." Ash was slightly worried by Clemont's voice.

"Well, it's-"

"HALF PAST TWELVE!" Clemont's easy voice was cut off by a high-pitched scream from Serena. Ash immediately sat up, his attention on her.

"Uh-u-uh, I'm sorry…" The honey-haired girl stared down now, and her hands met each other at her waist. "I-I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry about it Serena," replied Ash. Despite her outburst, he felt as if he couldn't get angry at her. Serena stepped out of the room, likely to the sanctuary of hers. Maybe to the shower. Why am I thinking so much about her?

"Look, Ash," said Clemont, turning on the desk lamp. His voice broke Ash's thoughts. "We were really worried about you. This isn't your regular sleeping pattern. Are you sure you're OK?"

"Clemont." Ash rubbed his eyes, trying to see through the harsh light coming from beside him. "Truth is, I've been caught up in a huge hitch. I'll explain later, can I get some breakfast first?"

As the raven-haired trainer walked into the small restaurant around the side of the chateau, he looked to his side, to see his friends calling him over. Ash looked at the table and saw a large cooked breakfast- eggs, beans, sausage, bacon, mushroom, and toast. The contrasting colours of the food painted a wonderful picture there on the table, and as he stepped over towards it, the various scents added to it.

He sat down opposite Serena, who looked at him shyly. He could tell she was about to apologise, so he needed to say something quick. Before she embarrassed herself.

"Uhh, there's something I need to tell you guys," he said sheepishly. As expected, all eyes were on him. "You see, that call from my mom last night…"

"Just tell us!" said Bonnie, as Ash trailed off into his own thoughts.

Sighing, Ash continued. "Well, the short of it is, the Kanto Airport runway is frozen over. No flights in or out." Ash noticed Serena looking at him in the same way as before. Carefully, fleetingly. "And…" He trailed off again.

"And what, Ash?" asked Clemont.

"I don't have enough money to stay anywhere for Christmas. That is, unless I get some kinda part time job over the holidays."

"Wow, Ash, I'm so sorry," said Clemont. "You know that if Lumiose City wasn't so far away, Bonnie and I'd be happy to let you stay with us, but…"

Ash continued talking to Clemont, saying how it was OK, and how he'd find a way to stay somewhere. Serena, meanwhile, simply stared. She didn't know what to say. Of course, there was nothing she could do about this, right? Unless…

Suddenly, the boys' conversation was broken by Serena's voice. "Y-you would be welcome at mine for the holidays!" It was Serena's turn to be stared at. She felt small. What have you done? she thought to herself, now he's gonna think you're some kind of obsessive girl…

"You'd really do that for me?" Ash asked. His eyes showed a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"Y-yeah, of course! We'd love it if you did!" Serena's attempts at seeming happy seemed to be working. In reality, she had no idea what her mother would say about it. Or, whether Ash would like her home. Or her hometown for that matter. "Why don't you start packing? I've gotta go talk to my mom for a sec, OK?"

"Sure, I'll be waiting for you!" replied Ash with a wide grin.

What have you done? That was such a stupid move… thought Serena. Or was it? Considering the implications, the Performer realised that this may not be such a bad move after all. Especially towards her… goals. Her and Ash in the same house, sitting together by the fireplace watching a movie. Her mom would be upstairs, she wouldn't need to know what was going on. And she and Ash would share a warm, loving kiss, under… mistletoe. Yes, thought Serena, this must be the right choice.

A/N: HEY GUYS! What an experience rewriting this has been. I know this will seem like something I should add at the end of the series, but I just wanted to tell you guys how brilliant this has been. If you're still here, reading this, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for remembering who I am. It's been about a year, and I'm already back into this.

I just want to outline a few goals for the next couple of months: I'm going to put out the rewritten chapters of this series, and I might start on a new Amourshipping oneshot soon. Afterwards, I might write something more military. Something Halo, I reckon. I've already got some ideas: I could write something completely new, or continue my 'A Noble End' series (with rewrites of the chapters first). I'm also considering Skyrim. However, I will likely wait for a little while to set in first. Until the next chapter, thank you, and if you are here reading this, put your ideas in a review- for this story, for other stories, and more! See ya soon!