A/N: Hey guys, enjoy my newest story! I still don't own Pokemon :/ and for all the Gary fans, I don't mean to offend you in any way, considering he's become so sweet in the newer episodes, so please don't take it personal if you see some Gary-bashing. Unintentional, by all means, for that to happen. Enjoy anyways:)

Chapter 1: Birthday Girl

Ash. It had been nearly six years since she'd seen that face, heard that warm, comforting voice. Seeing him here, on the front page of Pallet Town Times, brought back a myriad of mixed emotions, namely rejection and brokenness, with just a twinge of regret. Not to mention anger. So much anger built up, all because he seemed to have forgotten her existence completely.

Not only did he never visit, it was like they were complete strangers when he was in town. He never called, and didn't bother mentioning her at all when it came to being interviewed constantly. Was she really that unimportant in his life? Or was she just that forgettable? The article showed a picture of Kanto's youngest Champion cradling a newborn in his arms, alongside another of her old friends she'd lost contact with, May.

Apparently he'd moved on as well, Misty figured, clutching a hand to the little miracle growing inside of her. At least she wasn't the only one who'd decided to start a family. "Honey, I'm home!" Misty discreetly stuck the newspaper in with her numerous magazines and books scattered across the glass coffee table, and ran to meet Gary Oak, her fiancé for nearly three months now, in the kitchen. "Sorry I was late. Grandpa kept me a few extra hours."

"Really? That's the third night this week. I sure hope everything's okay over at the lab." Gary had taken a job as a researcher for his grandfather, Professor Oak, who was slowly succumbing to the idea of retirement because of his old age. He'd decided long ago that Gary was to take on his role as the Pokémon Professor, and entrusted him with the care of the laboratory along with the many Pokémon trainers had stored there.

Gary happily accepted, already having decided to become a researcher anyway, and had since been learning everything he could from his grandfather. Though that may have been true, Misty could see the anxiety on his face, and knew he'd been somewhere else as well. Somewhere he was completely unwilling to bring up. "Yeah, everything's fine. You know how Grandpa is. He just doesn't know when to quit. Anyways, is that cake I smell?"

"Uh, yeah," Misty replied, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. "Delia brought it by."

"Really? It smells great. What's the occasion?"

"Oh, no occasion really. I guess she just decided to make one." Misty sighed. How could he forget her birthday like this?

"What's wrong, Misty? It looks like something's bothering you," Gary asked, shedding his white lab coat and hanging it up by the door.

"Wha? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," she answered, averting her gaze as she scuffed her foot against the kitchen's checkerboard tile.

"No, wait. Gah, I forgot again, didn't I?" he wondered, wiping his head in frustration. "I'm sorry, Misty. Happy twenty-second birthday, if it isn't too late."

Gary lifted up her chin so she was forced to look him in the eyes. He gently caressed her cheek, whispering, "Love you, Misty." He kissed her lightly, not giving her time to answer him back, though she never did anyway. She'd never told him she loved him before, not even once, and certainly hadn't planned on telling him anytime soon. Not tonight, anyhow.

"Listen, I know it's your birthday and you've wanted to spend it with me this whole time, but would you mind if I got some rest instead? We can spend all of tomorrow together, since I'm off on Fridays. It'd really mean a lot to me," Gary said, looking straight into her bright green eyes as he searched for an answer.

"I guess. If it really means that much to you," Misty replied, gazing at him affectionately. He may not ever be as kind or as charming as Ash, but she really had grown to care for him, no matter what anyone else had to say about it. At least he didn't leave her, like Ash had.

"Thanks, sweetie." He kissed her again. "'Night, Misty."

"'Night," she answered, watching him walk upstairs to the master bedroom, where he'd decided to start sleeping alone after she'd gotten pregnant with their child. She slept in the guest room across the hall. He told her simply that it was for the best, but she knew better. In fact, he'd kept his distance a lot more lately, now that you could tell she was carrying a baby. Their baby. Gah, she'd been so stupid.

He'd convinced her that they were going to get married someday anyway, so why wait? And she believed him. Guess the alcohol helped to further that misconception. True, she'd had one of the best nights of her entire life, but so far, it'd cost her everything she held dear. Her sisters, disappointed in her actions, broke contact with her (though Daisy called every now and again to check up on her).

Ash's mother, once so loving and sweet toward Misty, had become slightly estranged after finding out what had happened. Ash didn't even know. And even now the fear grew inside her that Gary would be the next to walk out of her life completely. As if she needed anymore heartbreak where that came from. She walked over to the cerulean couch, once again picking up the newspaper that had consumed her thoughts just a few minutes ago.

This time, she forced herself to look at it, if only to see how much he'd grown, how much he'd matured. And to memorize every part of him she could. He still had that boyish face, with those energetic chocolate eyes that seemed to take on a life of their own, even in the picture. His raven black hair was still just as unkempt, though it was quite a bit longer than it used to be, back when they'd travelled together all of twelve years ago. He still wore a hat, in fact, it was the very same one he'd worn while travelling through Kanto and Johto, and his clothes hadn't changed very much either.

He was definitely taller, probably even taller than she was now, but he was still the same boy she'd known and loved what seemed like a lifetime ago. Pikachu was perched perfectly on his right shoulder, his best friend and favorite Pokémon in the entire known Pokémon World. She looked away, feeling tears well up in her eyes as she thought back to all the wonderful times they'd shared, all the melancholy sweetness of a distant past she'd tried so hard to forget. And here fate was, taunting her once again as she stared at the front door, with the faint hope that he would come walking through it and ask for her to take him back. Not that they were ever together to begin with. But of course, that'd never happen, as she very well knew, yet a girl could always dream, right? With one glance at the clock Misty realized how late it was getting, and she reluctantly decided to turn in for the night.

Placing the newspaper in its previous hiding spot, she hobbled up the rickety wooden stairs and made her way into the guest room. It was a bit small, with a full-size cerulean bed, two oak dressers, and a redwood nightstand taking up most of the space given. The floors were plush carpet, and water Pokémon were splattered across the walls, making the room all the more enjoyable for the worn-out girl who'd had such a passion for them in the travelling years of her life. She still did, though she'd left all but her Staryu in the watchful eyes of her sisters. She probably should've left Staryu too, but she just couldn't bear letting go of all her Pokémon like that.

So she kept it. After changing into her bright blue pajamas, she climbed into her bed, wishing quietly for sleep to take her away for the night. And finally, after tossing and turning for about the billionth time, she fell asleep, drifting ever so fitfully from the land of reality straight into the world of dreams.

She was standing in a field full of blue roses. The sweet breeze blew slightly, carrying a stray petal every now and again, and the sun was just sinking over the horizon. Beside her, down on one knee, was a man she had no trouble recognizing, extending his hand forth to reveal a rose he'd plucked just for her. "But, I thought you'd moved on already," she uttered, unwilling to look into his melted chocolate eyes.

"I told you, Mist. I could never do something like that! I just wish you'd believe me." There he went, using that same stupid nickname he came up with all those years ago. She wanted to sigh in exasperation, but instead, all she could do is gaze down at him in disbelief.

"I never said I didn't," she retorted, not daring to look him in the eyes as she grasped the frail rose he'd placed in her hand. It looked so beautiful, in a simplistic, natural way. Though she knew as well as he did what a blue rose meant.

As if hearing her thoughts aloud, he answered quietly, "We can still make this work, if you'll just listen to me—"

"No, Ash, we can't. We never could. Not then. Certainly not now. Most likely not ever." She bit her lip, wanting so badly to take all those words back, no matter how true they may have been.

"Misty…" he trailed off, not having any will left in him to fight back, to try and keep her from forcing him away again, like she always did. "Don't you realize you're not only hurting yourself, in the end, but you're also hurting the one you once said you loved," he answered somewhat bitterly, standing up to walk away.

"Ash, no!" she exclaimed, reaching for his arm like he was her last shred of hope.

"What, Misty? You were the one who said we couldn't ever be together. You were the one who never admitted your feelings that you'd built up for so many years. And even now you're the one forsaking all that love for your one chance at learned happiness. Is that what you really wanted, Misty? To wake up every morning to the one person that hates the one you loved with such a burning passion that it pains him for you to even mention me? Is it? Or is it the only choice you had left, seeing as how I'd apparently moved on as well? Things aren't always what they seem, Misty. They normally never are. But now you're forced to live with your decision, and I'm forced to live with it too, whether I deserved a choice or not."

She was speechless. Ash had never said anything like that to her in his life. How was today supposed to be any different? After finally comprehending his words, she decided to answer his questions, if only to appease the heartbreak she'd caused. "Well, it's not like you gave me much of a choice, Ash. You left me. Can't you even begin to imagine how much that hurt? You, you didn't even bother to check up on me after you left! 'Bye, Misty!' are the only two words I've heard you say in the past six years! Do you really think I'm the one who made the wrong decisions?"

He stared over at her, looking straight into her clear green eyes as if he could swim inside of them. "Yeah, they're pupils, God gave them to me! Why won't you answer? Ash?" she asks, frantically waving her hand in front of his unresponsive face. And then, everything went black, aside from Misty and the blue rose, faintly sparkling with a luminescence of its own.

She suppressed a sigh of relief as she gazed at it intently, and that's when she felt herself falling, falling into the gloomy darkness as it swallowed her whole.

Misty woke with a start, panting heavily as she collected her scattered feelings. Another dream, she thought, grasping tightly at the nonexistent blue rose in her right hand. It always ended this way. Ash would give her something, they'd fight, everything would go black, and next thing she knew, she'd be falling endlessly into the black abyss beneath her. Last time, he had given her a ring embedded with deep green jadeite, the rarest gem in the entire world.

"This love is rarer than the stone inside this ring," he went on to say, crumbling her heart even more with every word. But it was only just a dream, she reminded herself as she crawled out of bed. Still, it haunted her thoughts continually because of how real it all seemed. Even if blue roses aren't found in nature, she felt as though she were still standing in that field, face to face with the boy of her dreams. Well, I suppose that's all he'll ever be now anyways.

Misty slowly trudged down the steps, being guided solely by her sense of smell. The scent of pancakes, bacon, and eggs filled the air as she crossed through the kitchen into the dining room. As she walked inside, she saw the glass table set for two, with Gary heading over to it with their plates. When he finally realized she'd come down, he set the plates down and escorted her to her seat, giving her a good morning kiss before he took the seat across. "A beautiful birthday breakfast to an even more beautiful birthday girl. I'm sorry I couldn't do it yesterday, or I promise you I would've."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Misty replied, playing with her food aimlessly as her mind wandered elsewhere.

Noticing the worry in her eyes, Gary asked, "Another nightmare?" She nodded, unwilling to explain. Like she ever told him what they were about anyway. All he knew was that they were happening, and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't seem to stop them. "You're going to have to tell me sooner or later what they're about. You know that right?"

She shook her head violently. "No, you wouldn't understand. Nobody can ever know what they're about. It-It's just too painful. Please, don't make me do that."

Though her voice was firm, her emotions told a different story. She felt ready to cry her eyes out, to tell him every single thing that had ever happened in those dreams, but she knew it'd only hurt him more if she did that. She knew he'd be better off ignorant about her past, ignorant about those dreams, and would do anything humanly possible to keep it that way. Considering he was naturally a very indifferent person, it wasn't very complicated to keep those things secret. But lately, it seemed like every chance he got he'd ask her those questions, wondering what happened so long ago that compelled her to never mention them again.

Of course, she'd always found a way to brush it off, knowing full well the destruction her past could cause in their future together, as husband and wife, and especially as a family. He sighed, feeling once again pushed off to the side like a small child's unwanted doll. "Fine, I won't," he answered softly, almost too soft for her to hear. After finishing breakfast, Misty decided to get dressed for the day, sporting a long black t-shirt and her favorite pair of worn-out jeans. She grabbed her red gym bag, the only thing she'd kept after all this time, and made her way back downstairs.

"Ready to go, Misty?" Gary asked, wearing an outfit similar to the one he wore back in Sinnoh, where he worked as a field researcher for Professor Rowan. She nodded, crossing over to take his free hand as they walked out the door. "Well then, where would you like to go first?" She sighed, realizing her forgetfulness.

"I'm sorry, Gary, I never gave it a second thought after last night. Surprise me?"

"You got it," he replied, pulling her hurriedly along. "Come on! Don't want to be late, right?"

"Wait, where are we going?" Misty asked, sprinting alongside him as fast as a pregnant lady could go. Which wasn't very far, considering she was nearly eight months along.

"You'll see," he answered, smiling over at her. Well, if it got her mind off things for a while, she really could've cared less. So she followed along, looking forward to whatever peace the day's events could bring her. Or, the peace she hoped it could bring, anyway.