May approached the bathroom door, a sinking feeling her daughter was hiding inside. She tiptoed up to the door, taking care to step softly. The wood was cool against her ear as she leaned against it to listen. Her suspicions turned out to be correct when she heard Ally's voice, muffled on the other side.

"Stupid…just friggin stupid…"

She sounded upset, almost on the verge of crying. Being her mother, May's heart immediately began to ache and yearned to fix whatever problem may have arisen.

"Ally," she called gently, knocking twice with her knuckles. "Are you ok?"

She heard a sniffle, and footsteps approach the door. Quickly May took a step back, and the door swung open to reveal her daughter, cheeks still glowing a bright pink and her eyes tinted the faintest shade of red. There were no tear streaks down her face, which meant she had held in her emotions.

"What happened?" May asked concerned. "Did you and Kaiden get into a fight?"

The thought of herself preferring a fight to the embarrassment she had caused herself, made Ally chuckle once out loud, "No…"

May gave her daughter a reassuring smile, and entered the bathroom, silently closing the door behind her. The walls were painted white, with the same colored tile and decor. The mirror above the sink was trimmed with a decorative gold plate, that had droplets of water carved into it. "So what happened?"

She leaned against the sink top, putting her palms on the surface. Ally looked at her mother for a second, debating about how much she should reveal, and then gave a hefty sigh. Falling to sit on the side of the tub, she explained, "I shoved pudding in Kaiden's face…"

May blinked, "Pudding?…wait, the banana pudding?!" Ally nodded, looking to the floor. May's eye twitched, and the corner of her mouth quivered upward, "You're telling me you wasted the last of that delicious heaven by smashing it on Kaiden's face?!"

"Priorities mom," Ally exclaimed, looking back up and locking eyes with her mother. Her green eyes were filled with such worry, and fear, that May decided to let the waste of her all time favorite desert slide away. For now…

Ally continued, "I shoved pudding on his face, after I….I…I tried to kiss him…"

Say what now? May frowned, unsure if she'd just heard that right, so she clarified, "You…tried to kiss-"

"Yes!" Ally stressed, slapping her palms to her face and leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. Her brown hair fell around her, tickling the sides of her legs. "I don't know what came over me!"

Suddenly May's expression cracked into a wide grin, and she laughed, "Is this all you're worried about?"

Ally nodded into her hands, making May laugh more. This caused her daughter to clench her fists and snap her head up, "It's not funny mom! I can never be around him again! Who does that kind of thing?! Who tries to kiss someone and then substitutes it with pudding?! He's going to hate me!"

May was fighting hard not to be doubled over in laughter by this point, with one of her palms now pressing into her abdomen to help steady herself.

"Mom!"

"I'm sorry," May giggled out, slapping her other palm to her mouth and taking a long breath through her nose, closing her eyes for a moment. When she had regained her composure, she reopened her eyes and looked to her daughter with a smile, "Tell me exactly how it happened, I promise I won't laugh."

Ally glared at her mother, waiting for her to immediately break her word, but May held it in. Despite wanting to burst into another fit of giggles from her daughter's stare. When she was sure her mother wasn't going to laugh, she began to explain, "I don't know how it started. One second I was hoping to make him feel better, and then the next my brain wasn't working right. Everything got warm, and he just looked so…intoxicating! His eyes were sparkling, his lips were slightly open-"

She blushed as she said this, and giggled to herself as she mentally saw the image, but she continued, "And then the next second I was moving forward…or was he moving? See! I don't understand my brain!"

"Just continue on," May urged gently, still fighting hard to suppress her laugh.

"Well," Ally began to play with the ends of her hair, twirling it in her finger as she looked to the floor embarrassed. "I suddenly realized what was happening, and I guess I just panicked. I tried to back up, but I slipped, and….my hands tried to grab onto him for support, and I…"

"Shoved the pudding in his face?" May finished, letting slip a single giggle.

"Shut up," Ally whispered, turning from pink to red and hiding her face in her palms once again. May couldn't hold it in any longer, she exploded. Giggling uncontrollably and doubling over. The young brunette pressed her palms tighter against her face, folding her torso completely down onto her legs.

It took a little longer than May thought, not that she tried very hard, but she roped in her laughter and leaned back up to full height. Wiping away the tears that fell freely with her palms, she sniffed once and leaned her head back for a moment. When she was fully back in control, she peered down at her daughter, and joined her on the tub. Sitting close beside her so that their legs were brushing together. She wrapped an arm around the teenager, slowly pulling her upright. Ally let it happen, falling into her mothers shoulder and resting the side of her head there.

"I'm going to tell you something," May began very mother like, but also gentle. "Kaiden isn't going to hate you, and I'd bet money he will still want to travel by your side."

"How do you know?" Her daughter leaned off her shoulder, turning her head to face May.

"Because there's one of two things you can do, one," May held up a finger. "He's a Ketchum, so you can buy him a double cheeseburger and talk about Pokemon, and he'll forget all about the incident."

Ally deadpanned, but May continued, "Or two, you can talk to him about it. I bet he'd have a better response to the situation than you think. Believe me when I say, he's just like his father, and needs a strong woman in his life."

"What do you mean?" Ally blinked, knitting her brow.

May smiled, her eyes twinkling with long distant memories, "Misty traveled with Ash, so did I. Dawn, Iris, and Serena too."

Ally frowned, "So…you're saying Kaiden will travel with lots of girls?"

May laughed, "Possibly, but you were the first. So you hold some weight where no one else will, or ever can. He'll listen to you, and think back to you. He'll take your advice, even if it seems like he's not. I promise you Ally, you've got him wrapped around your finger. Neither of you just know it yet."

"That's," Ally started, a condescending tone in her voice, but her expression quickly shifted to one of deep thought. "Actually really helpful."

"See?!" May scoffed. "Your mother knows stuff!"

"Could dad have told me this?"

"Please," May rolled her eyes, making Ally giggle. "Your father is simple minded like the Ketchum boys. Give him food and talk about Pokemon, and he's head over heels."

"No wonder him and Ash get along so well," Ally smiled.

"So what are you going to do?"

The young brunette thought for a moment while May patiently waited, then Ally said, "I guess I'll talk to Kaiden…that seems like the thing I need to do."

"That's my girl," May squeezed her shoulder, and then hopped up. "Now come on, let's get back out there. We're missing all the fun!"

"Hey Mom," Ally began, rubbing her hands together nervously. "Could we not tell Aunt Dawn about any of this?"

May let out a short laugh, "It will be our little secret."

"How does she do that?" Dawn cried, tossing her cards onto the table. "Misty has won every single game!"

"I think she's cheating," Ash poked fun at his wife, literally poking her in the side. She squirmed from the sensation and shifted on the couch to smack her husband upside the head.

"I am not!" She defended.

"Are too!" He shot back, rubbing his head.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am-"

"Alright, cut it out," Brock interjected, grabbing the deck of cards and shuffling them. "Let's not start that up."

"You two act younger than your own children," Max pointed out, and received a thump on top of his head from Misty, making Bonnie giggle.

"Speaking of the kids," Misty wondered aloud, casting a sweeping glance around the room as Max rubbed his head. "Where are they?"

"I'm sure they're just off talking about things they don't want us to hear," Ash tossed her way. "Nothing to worry about."

May and Ally entered the room, looking perfectly chipper, and made their way over to the coffee table with the others. Cilan scooted over on the sofa closer to Iris, making room for them to sit.

"I suppose you're right," Misty sighed. "The older they get, the less it seems they want to be around."

"Want to tell that to Simon?" May jumped in the conversation. "I can't get him to leave the house."

"I heard that," he hollered from the other side of the room.

"You guys want in?" Brock motioned to the four in the couch, holding out a card towards Iris.

"I think I've got it understood enough," she nodded. "I'll give it a shot."

"Count me in," Cilan leaned forward, putting his wine glass onto the table. "Let's see what you've got."

"Me too," May raised her hand.

"Ally?" Brock asked as he passed out the cards.

"No thanks," she politely declined. "I'll just watch."

When Brock went to give Misty her first card, she tossed it back, saying, "I'm going to take a break. I need a drink."

"Wanna grab me one toooooo?" Ash sang, twirling his empty eggnog glass in his hand as she stood up.

"Ohhhh, what are you going to do for me?" She mused thoughtfully, smirking down at him.

"Whatever you want! A days free pass with my full attention!" He offered, holding up the glass.

Dawn whistled, "You better take that kind of deal Misty."

"I suppose I should," she giggled. "Oh, alright."

She took his glass and headed for the kitchen. Ash called after her, "You're the best!"

"I know," she called back with a wink. As Ash turned his attention to the four cards that now lay in front of him, something peculiar caught his eye. Logan was crouched behind the Christmas tree, looking for something. He was just about to call to his son, but something else caught his attention once more. A hand! Attached to a...metal snake? Coming from the air vent on the ceiling?

Oh wait...giving it a better look over, he recognized it to be Clemont's Clemontic gear. It was indeed lowering itself out of the air vent, holding between its fingers...was that a mistletoe? Squinting his eyes, Ash decided, yes it was. Now he was puzzled, and was about to point it out, but the hand hovered above everyone, just out of sight for the people too busy looking at their cards.

The mechanical hand stopped just above the lemon blonde girl sitting cross legged on the floor, who was oblivious to the mistletoe now hanging above her head as she plucked a card and played it. It shifted ever so slightly to the right, now hovering equal distance between Bonnie and Max. Its pinky finger pointed out to Ash, and then down to Bonnie a few times. Getting the message, Ash blankly said, "Uh, Bonnie. I think you should look up?"

She looked up to him, as did every other pair of eyes around the table, and when they saw Ash was looking above Max and Bonnie's heads, they all turned to see why. You could count the seconds it took for Bonnie's brain, which paralyzed itself at the sight, to react.

"Well, well, well," Dawn started immediately with a wide smirk. "Look who's under the mistletoe!"

From top to bottom, the lemon blonde girl turned an incredible shade of red, almost emitting a wave of heat off her scalp.

"Oh no, we-" was all she got out when Max's lips pressed against her cheek. Her reactions were comical. At first her embarrassed expression went blank, then her face was plastered in a wide toothy grin, then it morphed back to embarrassment, and finally anger. "Clemont!"

Apparently settling on getting herself a quick moment to process her own mind, she settled on yelling for her brother, and rocketed to her feet. Like a bullet she was gone and sprinting through the house, intent on finding Clemont and ripping him a new one. The mechanical hand reeled back towards the air vent, catching on the corner and snapping from the metal arm. It hung limp from the vent near the Christmas tree, swaying in place with the mistletoe still between its fingers.

The group around the coffee table laughed, and Ally gave her Uncle a high five, which Max returned victoriously. The commotion caught the attention of Gary, Serena, Cameron, and Simon, who immediately joined in the laughter once they were told what happened. Somewhere deep inside the Ketchum home, Clemont's voice echoed through in a high pitched scream, followed by Bonnie shouting, "You know you can't outrun me!"

Misty entered the kitchen and paused, her eyes noticing a mess of cookie crumbs that were scattered across her floor and countertop. A dozen cupcakes were sitting upside down on the pearlescent layer, their frosting squished out in all directions. She spotted her son slumped against the counter, wearing a blank expression with dried pudding on his face. She scowled, "Really Kaiden? Did you eat too many sweets again?."

His only reply was, "I don't know."

She set her and Ash's glasses on the table, heading for the drawer by the sink that held the dishrags, "And did you have to be so damn messy? I swear you eat just like your father used too."

Fishing out a small brown towel, she wet it under the sink and tossed it to her son. He didn't move to catch it, or even acknowledge that it was coming his way. Smacking him right in the face with a wet slap, and wrapping around the sides of his head. He jerked back wildly, and thumped his head against the cabinet with a dull thud.

"OW!" He shouted, rubbing the back of his scalp as the rag fell into his lap. He blinked a few times and looked up to his mother standing over him, frowning down at him with her hands on her hips. "What? What happened?"

"Like you said," she started, chastising him deeply. "I don't know. Now pick up your mess and slow down on the sweets."

He blinked again as he picked the towel off his lap and she returned to the table for the glasses, "Pick up…my…" His confusion reached a new height as he saw the state of the kitchen, and when he spotted Ally's abandoned plate of pudding on the floor by the cookies he had dropped, his gut lurched forward. "Mess…" he finished. "Oh crap."

"Oh crap is right," Misty scolded him, pulling open the fridge and bending down to peer inside for the eggnog. "You don't have to worry about it tonight as long you clean up the mess, but if you destroy my kitchen again, there will be He-…where is the eggnog?"

Her fingers gripped the handle on the fridge deathly tight, turning her knuckles white as she cocked her head back to glare terrifyingly at her son. Her face was hidden in shadow from her bangs, and eyes seemed to glow red, making Kaiden instantly sweat.

"What? I don't know! I swear!" He pleaded for her to believe him, throwing his hands up in surrender and accidentally slapping himself with the wet towel. "Del said she wanted to try it this year!"

KAIDEN! Why did you just tell your mother that?!

"She, said, what?" Misty's tone was dangerously low as she stood back up, slowly shutting the fridge in an intimidating way only the fiery red head could.

"Um-"

"Where is your sister now?" Misty asked, putting both glasses onto the countertop one at a time, clinking the bottom against the hard top. Which sounded way more threatening than it should have.

"I..I'm not sure?" He replied shakily, half wishing he could hide behind the wet towel, or sink into the floor.

"Clean your mess," she told him, her tone flat and hard to read. Then she casually walked out of the kitchen, leaving a haunting presence behind her. Kaiden swallowed, feeling the relief wash over him, but it was back almost as fast as it came. He was dead no matter what…Del would kill him now.

"Fuck…" he muttered

"Why did you bring it with us?!" Del exclaimed in a panic, running a hand through her raven hair, practically undoing her ponytail. "We're dead, we are SO dead!

"I didn't know what to do!" Brent defended himself, brandishing the eggnog out like it was a bomb. "We couldn't let the kids see it, so I just took it!"

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod," Darcy rambled, her arms wrapped around her torso as she stared at the carton.

The three of them stood outside on the back porch, shivering in the cold night air as they had left their heavy coats inside on the coat rack in the living room. Del's icy breath billowed before her, a perfect example of the dread in her gut.

"What are we going to do?!" Brent asked, looking between Del and his sister continuously. "We have to do something!"

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod-"

"Alright," Del said loudly, throwing up her hands, closing her eyes, and inhaling slowly through her nose. "Let's just take a breath and relax. All we have to do is put it back before anyone notices its gone, right?"

"Can we pull that off?" the pink haired boy questioned. "I mean your dad inhales the stuff like a vacuum. He could've already went into the kitchen to get more!"

"Or he could be doing that any moment," Del countered, folding her arms and putting her hands under her armpits for more warmth. "So we need to get it back in there ASAP!"

"And if they already know?" Darcy stopped her muttering to ask, her teeth chattering.

"Then kiss your ass goodbye," was Del's answer. She hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh, but between the cold and her panic, that was basically an impossible feat. "Let's do this."

She spun and gripped the door handle, pulling open the screen door so she could open the main door. Brent and Darcy moved close behind her, better to block the wind, and to rush inside and get their task done. Del pushed open the door, and her blood froze in her veins, color draining from her face. Coming down the hall, with a look of pure fury and aquamarine eyes filled with fire, was Misty.

"Delia Violet Ketchum!" She called like a courthouse judge about to sentence someone to death.

"AAAAHHHHHH" The teenager in question screamed and slammed the door shut, turning to her two friends. "RUN!"

They had barely taken a step off the rear porch when the screen door slammed open, and Misty burst from the house like an inferno. In her fear, Del could swear her mother sounded like a raging Tyranitar, bearing down on its prey with fangs dripping blood.

The teens slipped in the snow as they ran around the side of the house towards the front, no destination in mind, no long term plan, simply running to keep themselves alive just a little longer. A flash of light erupted behind them, and cutting them off ten feet ahead, a mighty Gyarados materialized in their path. Landing beside the various vehicles parked in the driveway. It roared deafeningly, but Misty's voice could be heard above the sound, "Block them!"

The behemoth water dragon roared and slammed its tail in a circle around the teens, making them slide to a stop and smack into the large scals of the Pokemon. Del spun to go the other way, and came face to face with her mother, who was practically breathing fire. She squeaked and tried to step back, slipping in the snow and falling against Gyarados' scales again. Brent and Darcy cowered to the side, shivering from the cold and from the rage of Misty. Their initial fear of Gyarados now replaced by the fury radiating from the orange haired woman, who took a step closer to her daughter.

"I have half a mind to tear your ass into next year," she started into Del, a finger raising and poking the teen in the chest. "Drinking alcohol, stealing from me and your father, hiding the fact and running!"

By this point, the front door had swung open, and the occupants of the house came rushing out to investigate the commotion. Ash was first, jumping down from the porch and nearly slipping to his rump in the snow, but he maintained his composure and ran to Misty. Gary stood off the porch in the snow, and Serena was halted halfway down the steps. Dawn stopped at the top, a hand gripping the railing worriedly. Kaiden was beside her, still holding the wet towel, and Ally stepped up beside him, a fist clenched at her chest. Brock, Max, May, Cameron, Iris, Cilan, Bonnie, and Clemont, who was holding his back pack from using it to prank his sister, stood behind the two teens. Simon leaned against the railing, ready to vault over and assist if need be. Missing, were the three youngest who had yet to appear outside.

"What the Hell is going on?" Ash shouted as he skidded to a stop by his wife. His eyes quickly examined the scene, seeing the teenagers cowering against Gyarados from Misty, shivering from the cold and their own horror. In Brent's hands was the eggnog carton, and Ash blinked when he saw it.

"Tell him," Misty demanded to her daughter with a glare, and then turned to the twins. "You two too, tell your father."

Brock gently pushed his way through the small crowd and stepped off the porch, passing Serena and Gary.

"Tell me what?" He asked concerned as he walked up beside Ash.

The teens looked back and forth, between the three adults one after another. Each face was different, where as Misty's was one of rage, Ash's was confusion, and Brock's was calculating. For a moment the entire group waited with anxious breath for the revelation of what had happened.

"We-" Brent stammered.

"We-" Darcy did too.

"We stole you're eggnog Dad!" Del cried, her brown eyes wide with fear and despair, on the verge of crying. "We stole it, and we drank it, and we're..we're..." A tear fell free from her eye, trailing down her cheek as she sniffed loudly, "We're sorry!"

She dropped to her knees in the snow, burying her face in her hands and letting her now completely loose black hair fall around her. Hiding her from view.

"Us too!" The twins cried, looking down away from their father.

"You...stole...the eggnog?" Ash questioned slowly, knitting his brow as he processed each word in his own head as he said them. Then, he laughed, a loud booming laugh that caught everyone completely off guard.

"I fail to see how this is funny!" Misty shouted at him, throwing her arms into the air. "Your child consumed alcohol, without our permission! And she stole it to do so, you-"

Ash cut her off by raising a finger and pointing to himself, still grinning wildly, "When she's in trouble, she's suddenly only mine? I bet you did the exact same thing she just did when you were her age."

Misty's cheeks flushed, "That's not the point!"

"No, it's not," Ash laughed again. "But it's funny. Anyway, the eggnog-"

CRASH! Something large and heavy collapsed inside the house, glass shattering and piercing the night air outside. Those closest to the door jumped the harshest, with Serena slipping on the snow covered steps and falling backwards. Gary leapt forward and caught her, stopping her from hitting the wooden steps. Ash's smiling face vanished and he bolted for the house, covering the yard in record time. He rocketed up the steps, jumping over Serena as Gary helped her up, and shoved through the backs of everyone else. Dawn hurried after him, followed by Kaiden and then Ally.

Misty suddenly noticed Logan, Sam, and Lily were not outside, and something inside her broke in a frenzied panic. She took off for the house, forgetting about her daughter, the twins, and Gyarados. Having been so far away, she was one of the last ones back inside, coming in behind Gary, with Del, Darcy, and Brent running inside behind her and letting the door slam shut.

The Christmas tree was crumpled on top of the coffee table, smashing it flat to the floor. Ornaments of glass and plastic lay shattered in pieces all over the room, and the star from atop the tree sat on the middle of the couch. Drinks were now spilled and soaking into the carpet, and pine needles lay everywhere. Logan was crawling though the branches of the tree, grunting and groaning as he chased something small and fast. Sam and Lily came racing into the living room, oblivious the the crowd of people in the doorway.

"Hold on Logan!" Sam shouted, diving headfirst into the top of the tree and cutting of the small creatures escape. It squeaked and shot out of the side, scattering even more pine needles across the carpet. A Nidoran smacked headfirst into Ash's feet, squeaking and turning the other way, only to be blocked off by Lily, who dove to grab it. The Pokémon ran to the right, avoiding the girl who slammed into Ash much like the Nidoran had.

She squeaked at the sudden impact, and peered up at his towering figure, he blinked down at her, "Wha-"

"Incoming!" Logan bellowed, bursting from the tree and hurtling over the back of the couch after the Nidoran. The Pokémon saw him attempting to head it off and changed course, circling back and sprinting towards the hall. Logan crashed to the carpet, getting the breath knocked out of him.

Sam exploded out of the downed tree, in perfect rang and angle to snatch the Pokémon as it ran by. Another two inches and he'd of had it, but something strong gripped the back of his shirt and halted his progress just as a hand entered his field of view and snatched the Nidoran up. Sam was hauled to his feet and planted before his father, who scowled down at him with an angry eye.

"What in the Hell?" Were the growling words that left Gary's throat, who still had his fingers gripped into the back of his sons shirt. Sam gulped and looked away to his mother for any kind of support, but Serena was wearing the same angered expression as Gary, with her arms crossed.

"Oh my God!" Misty shrieked as her eyes looked over the ruined living room. "LOGAN!"

He popped up from behind the couch. Frowning at first, but then the color drained from him as he saw everyone's eyes on him, and the state of the room.

"I can explain-" was all he was able to say, before his mother was across the room and baring down on him like an angry Charizard.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!" She roared, face flushed with anger. Her fingers gripped her hair, pulling it and stressing the roots. "I-YOU-WHAT-...AAAGGHHHHH!"

She threw her hands out in a 'What the Hell' gesture, "Explain why you were chasing a Nidoran in my living room?!"

"You just said not to explain," the young boy pointed out timidly.

"I SAID EXPLAIN!"

The ferocity of her shout practically shook the very foundation of the home. Ash took a step forward, hoping to call the rage of his wife, "Misty, it's-"

A loud bang made all of them jump as the door was flung open, and a tall man stumbled in. He had spiky red hair, piercing dark eyes, and his dark clothing was tattered and frayed. A cloak hung loosely off his back in the same condition. Patches of dried blood covered his torso, and he nearly collapsed as he stumbled inside.

"Lance?!" Dawn was the first to respond, rushing forward to catch the man before he could fall.

"DAD?!" Lily was next, getting up and shoving past Ash to help.

"What the Hell happened?" Cameron asked next, moving to assist. Dawn pulled one of Lance's arms around her shoulders, while Cameron did the same to the other. Lily scrambled about in front of them, looking up worriedly into her fathers tired face.

"Barely...got...away..." the man breathed out with a pained face. "But I won..."

"Get him into the bedroom," Ash told them. "Brock can take a look at him. May, call an ambulance."

"Right," she nodded and bolted across the room for the telephone. Brock cleared the way of any debris while Dawn and Cameron hauled Lance across the living room with Lily right behind them. Cilan said something about helping Brock with his own medical expertise, and raced to assist. Both Sam and Logan took a step to follow their friend, but Serena and Misty gripped their respective child's shoulder to stop them.

Max frowned and sniffed the air, "Hey..."

Ash, who was about to follow Lance, stopped and faced him.

"Do you guys smell smoke?" he asked, blinking perplexed behind his glasses.

As if on cue, a loud, earsplitting ring from the smoke detectors pierced the household as a wave of black smoke wafted out of the kitchen. Unable to form any words by this point, Ash shouted an unintelligible phrase and bolted across the room. Shards of glass and unbroken ornaments shattered beneath his feet, but he didn't slow down. Stopping only by physically sliding into the doorframe, he threw his hands up as flames danced through the kitchen. Something wooden cracked somewhere inside the inferno, and he reached for a PokeBall.

"Totodile! Put out the fire!" He shouted, releasing his trusty water Pokemon, already sweating from the heat. Sensing the danger, it didn't do its normal dance routine, opting to unleash a powerful water gun the minute the little gator fully materialized.

Misty was by his side now, heart racing at the site of the ceiling high flames, and she tossed her own PokeBall, "Help me out Starmie!"

The purple starfish emerged with a proud salute, and combined its water with Totodile's. The smoke began to waft its way through the rest of the home, and Ash faintly heard May shout into the phone, "AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!"

One by one, the rest of the group began to release their Pokémon. Kaiden released a Pidgeotto, instructing it to keep the flames low with a controlled gust. Ally released her Azurill, having it focus on the edges of the fire. Bonnie and Max released Froakie and Marshtomp, combining their water power with Ash and Misty. Gary passed the Nidoran off to Serena and told her to keep the kids back, while he released his Umbreon and told it to try and manipulate the flames with Psychic. Del, Darcy, and Brent released a Seal, Corsola, and Geodude, instructing them to keep the fire from spreading. May quickly hung up the phone and released Glaceon, assisting Ally with the base of the fire. Not having any Pokémon to really help the situation, Iris hung back with Serena, putting her hand on Logan's shoulder and making sure he wouldn't rush forward. Clemont ran up with a PokeBall in hand, only to stop short as the pack he was still carrying beeped loudly, and a polite female voice said, "Fire detected. Activating Clemontic super fire suppression mode."

"What? Wait! No-" he shouted, but it was too late. Four hoses shot out through the top of the bag, pointing towards the fire. For a fraction of a second, time stood still as every pair of eyes turned. Then...

"Activated."

The hoses let forth a powerful stream of foam, correctly doing their job for the first few seconds. But without anything to hold them in place, they began to whip wildly, spraying the white paste everywhere. They flailed like strings in a powerful wind storm, and the bag trembled violently under their power, causing it to slip from Clemont's fingers. Shortly the sounds of a raging fire subsided, replaced with the spewing of foamy water, and then it was over. The hoses ran out of foam, and collapsed into a pile on top of the bag.

All was quiet, the silence only broken by the steady drip drip of the foam falling from the ceiling. Ash wiped his face, flicking the paste from his hand. His brown eyes glanced around the room, seeing the aftermath of the chaos. His living room and kitchen were covered, completely covered, in the foam. The furniture and fallen tree looked like mounds of fast melting snow as the foam subsided. The other occupants of the house wiped away the stuff from their eyes, blinking as the insane sight greeted them. Misty's mouth fell open, and closed, gaping like a Magikarp out of water. The fire was out, meaning everyone's adrenaline was beginning to come down, and their expression's resembled the orange haired woman.

Footsteps raced down the hall, and Cameron appeared on high alert, and PokeBall in hand. He paused at the sight, utterly bewildered, and said, "What...the Hell...happened?"

Everything was settled down, for the most part. The majority of everyone was outside shivering from the cold and still wiping foam from themselves, with the exception of Lance, Dawn, and Lily. Heartbeats were fairly normal, adrenaline was in check, and the kids had been lined up and scolded. Stories certainly needed explaining, answers were far past due, and Misty was going to make damn sure she had answers.

Before she could however, the entire emergency response team arrived on the scene. A dozen police cruisers, a couple of fire trucks, and the ambulance May had originally dialed for. After a quick assessment of the situation, paramedics rushed in to check on Lance, and firemen examined the home to be sure it was safe. Officer Jenny drilled everyone with questions, intent on discovering if there had been foul play. Only when the firemen returned and confirmed that the stove simply caught fire, did she back down.

The paramedics declared Lance was indeed injured, but nothing too terribly serious, and he elected to stay in the home and not travel to the hospital. Shortly after, the firemen returned with news that the damage was mainly cosmetic with minimal structure damage. They seemed the home safe to be in, which greatly relieved Ash and Misty. With the fire out, and Lance's decision made on his own health, the emergency personnel took their leave, giving Ash and Misty information about getting started on kitchen repairs tomorrow. As soon as the last police cruiser pulled out of their drive, Misty rounded on the kids. The time had come for answers.

She decided to start at the beginning, and went down the line. Starting with Del, Brent, and Darcy, which she mainly scolded for stealing alcohol. A lightbulb went off in Ash's head, and he interrupted his wife's shouting, "Oh! I was saying earlier that I didn't spike the eggnog this year."

Misty rounded on her husband to yell at him for interrupting, "You-" Misty's anger blanked, and her face fell flat, "What?"

He shrugged, "I didn't spike it this year. Didn't get around to it. It's bad they stole it sure, because their intentions were bad, but there wasn't technically any harm."

Del, Darcy, and Brent shifted their weight to look at each other blankly.

"Regardless," Misty's anger came back as she turned away from Ash and back to the teens. "Don't you ever do anything like that again! Understand?!"

"Yes," the three of them chanted sullenly.

"I am very disappointed in you two," Brock added with a solemn tone. "But I suppose you've learned your lesson?"

The twins nodded, and Del joined in, flinging foam from the back of their heads. Brock nodded once to show he was satisfied with the outcome of their situation, and took a step back so Misty could tear into Logan. Gary and Serena stood in front of Sam, Serena's arms were folded while Gary held the now calmed down Nidoran. Both of them wore 'I demand an explanation' glares, and had foam trailing down their coats.

"Explain why there was a Nidoran in my house," Misty demanded, crossing her own arms as she stared down at her son. His eyes were hidden under his orange bangs, but she continued, "And how did you destroy my coffee table along with the Christmas tree?"

"The Nidoran was at my lab," Gary explained when it took Logan a while to find his words. "It was sick and the boys were helping me take care of it."

"We hid it in one of the gift bags," Sam added with a mutter, making Gary raise a brow.

"I..." Logan looked up to his mother teary eyed. "I wanted to show it to Lily."

"So we brought it," Sam finished.

"That doesn't explain the tree," Serena noted, tapping her foot in the snow. The boys took turns telling them the story. About seeing the Nidoran rush by Ally after it had woken up, how they searched for it, and how it ran through the kitchen and stumbled across the stove.

"That must be how the oven caught fire," Gary deduced. "Nidoran must've accidentally turned it on."

Logan continued to tell his story, about how after everyone ran outside to investigate Gyarados' roar, he found Nidoran back under the tree. It panicked when it saw him and tried to climb up the small branches. He jumped up to grab it without thinking and the sudden extra weight caused the tree to fall. Misty, Gary, and Serena accepted the story, but they agreed there would be severe consequences after the holidays. And they would be telling Dawn of Lily's part in their mishap. With that settled, Misty moved on to Kaiden, who still had a small trail of pudding on his face that the foam didn't clean off of him.

"I suppose you no longer can clean your mess in the kitchen," she said with a short tone and a sigh. "So you'll be cleaning the entire house once repairs are done."

He blinked once, "My mess? Wait! That was Nido-"

"Ahp ahp ahp," she held up her finger. "No more excuses from any of you tonight. My brain can't handle it anymore."

"But, I-" he attempted one last time, except his mother had stormed away, rubbing her temple as she went. Ash shot his son a half smile.

"Sorry buddy," he said, and went after his wife because she was surely going need a small bit of comfort after all the excitement.

Kaiden's shoulders slumped and he looked utterly devastated, "But I didn't actually do anything..."

A warm presence leaned close to him, canceling out the chilly night air. Ally's breath tickled his neck as she whispered, "I'll help you clean. In payment for smashing pudding on your face."

She leaned away and smiled at him, and he smiled back, making her heart flutter.

"Thanks," he said.

Leaning against the porch railing by her husband, May elbowed him and whispered in his ear, "Notice that our kids were the behaved ones?"

"Don't gloat about it too loudly," Cameron whispered back with a wink, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to pull her close.

"I still think you should've went to the damn hospital," Dawn growled as she dabbed at the last still bleeding wound on Lance's chest. He looked to have been mauled by an Ursaring. Which according to him, he had.

"They couldn't have done anything that can't be done here," he countered, wincing as the alcohol on her gauze burned his bleeding flesh. He was lying on Ash and Misty's bed with his shirt raised, while Dawn sat on the edge and cleaned him up. Lily stood at the foot, wringing her hands from the tension sparking between her parents.

The bluenette fumed, "Why can't you ever just cooperate with someone else?"

"For the same reason you have to jump down my throat about everything," he shot back with a glare.

"I do not-"

"Just stop it!" The outburst came from Lily, along with a loud smack as she slapped her palms against the bedpost. Both adults started, turning to see their daughter's head pointed down and her face hidden behind her fire like hair. Her shoulders jerked once, and she inhaled shakily before running from the room.

Dawn's heart shattered as her daughter's footsteps faded down the hall, and her eyes began to burn. Lance's face was as hard as stone, gaze fixed upon the door and not moving or blinking. They sat there in silence, shame penetrating deep for their behavior in front of Lily. The bluenette shifted uncomfortably, peaking at Lance from the corner of her eye. He was still motionless, and his jaw was clenched tight.

"What happened?" she asked in a whisper.

Now he moved, jerking his head to face her. His expression was still one of stone, but his eyes grew softer, "What?"

"To you," she motioned to the cuts and bruises that littered his torso. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if that was what she had meant by the question, and judging by the way Lance's eyes shifted, he wasn't either.

He gave her an answer however, "We got a report that Crimson was inside Victory Cave. For whatever reason, it couldn't be good. So I went in-"

"Alone?" She interrupted, clearly not pleased with that bit of news.

"Yes, alone," he confirmed sharply. "I was not about to send in a team that I'd already said could head home for the Holiday's. If I found Crimson to be up to something I couldn't handle, then I would call them back in."

Dawn twisted her gauze, but didn't say anything, unable to find an argument for his logic other than it was dumb. Which wouldn't work with his stubbornness anyway.

"Anyway," he continued. "I found them, attempting to capture an Ursaring. I stopped them, but the Pokemon was in a panic, and well-" he motioned to himself. "You know the rest."

"How did you get here?" She asked, and then frowned. "And why did you come here? Wouldn't the Plateau have been closer?"

Lance's stone expression faltered, and he let slip a half smile, "That actually wasn't intentional. Naturally I would have gone back to the League, but as I was getting away from Ursaring, I ran directly into a Kadabra. I was in a tangled up mess with it, and couldn't get away. It saw Ursaring charging us, and teleported away. I landed in the snow with Kadabra just up the hill, and recognized Misty's Gyarados when I heard it roar. So I realized I must be in Pallet."

Dawn blinked a few times, was he serious? "That…that's the most ridiculous adventure you've ever told me yet."

"It's the truth," he told her with a light chuckle, that he ceased immediately as it hurt his ribs.

"What happened to Kadabra?"

"It fled into the wild," he shrugged. "Honestly I don't know. Once I knew where I was, I knew I needed help so I headed this way in a pretty big hurry."

His eyes told her he was being truthful, and her heart felt heavy. Her first instinct was to not believe him, thinking he was trying to keep some sort of secret from her. She sighed, closing her eyes and lowering her head. There had not been a peaceful moment between them since the day they split, and the tension was becoming almost unbearable.

"We need to get along, just for tonight," she half whispered.

"I was thinking the same thing," his voice replied, making her look back up. "For Lily."

Dawn nodded, "She deserves better from us. A real Christmas with all of her family in one place." Lance's brow furrowed, indicating he didn't understand, so she elaborated, "Everyone in this house tonight is family, Lance. That includes you."

His stone face softened immensely as she said those words, and he looked away, "I haven't always acted like family…."

"I can't argue that," she agreed, but gave his side a shove with her elbow. A sign of playful behavior, but it didn't have the desired effect. Lance winced harshly and inhaled sharply through his teeth. Dawn realized her error, and squeaked, "Oh! I'm so sorry! I forgot!"

"Yea, I'd say so," he grunted out, but forced a smile no less. His eyes locked on hers, and she couldn't help but smile back. The weight in her heart began to subside, not all of it, no where near that amount, but enough that just for tonight…things could be normal between them.

Misty pulled her hair, kicked her foot through the snow, and collapsed against the side of her home. Hidden around the corner in shadow, she fought off the tears that threatened to fall. Tonight had been a disaster, and it had happened so suddenly without warning. How had she lost control of the situation so fast? She growled and punched the wooden frame, sending a jolt of pain into her knuckles and down her arm, but she didn't feel it. Footsteps crunched snow behind her, and had she not recognized the walking pattern, she would have exploded in a fit of rage to be left alone. Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her back into the chest of a warm body. A chin rested on her shoulder, and a tuft of black hair came into view at the corner of her eye.

Ash's voice spoke softly in her ear, "Everything turned out ok. You don't have to beat yourself up so bad."

"Who says I am?" She asked, trying to sound annoyed, but it didn't work. She folded her arms to try and add to the effect.

"Because I know you," he said, his hot breath tickling her ear. "Yea, things almost got really bad, but they didn't. We have an amazing support system of friends, and they all jumped in to help. Things might have gotten a bit crazy, but we handled it fairly well I think."

"Our kitchen is a burnt crisp, and our home is covered in foam," she shot out, her voice trembling. "And our kids somehow thought it would be alright to steal and lie."

His arms pulled back, stopping when his hands were on her shoulders. With a little force, he turned her around so he could see her face. She glared up at him, jutting her jaw out in annoyance. He smiled at her, and lifted his hand to brush a strand of orange hair behind her ear, completely disarming her of hostility. Her expression fell, and she dropped her forehead to his chest. His arms wrapped back around her, and he gently rubbed her back as she cuddled into his torso.

"They messed up, yea," he began, his chest vibrating against her cheek as he spoke. "But they're kids. They don't think past the length of their arms. Didn't I used to do the same thing? As you so kindly remind me almost daily."

"And you still don't," she said muffled into him.

He chuckled once, "True. But my point is, they're great kids, the kitchen can be rebuilt, and the house can be cleaned. What tonight proved to me, is that even if something crazy happens, we can count on everyone to help. We've been through worse than a fire and a bit of Holiday madness. You know next year we'll be gathered around the dinner table, laughing about how insane this year turned out to be. Look at it like that, that tonight will be a hilarious memory for our many more Christmas' to come."

She put her palms against his chest and gently pushed back just enough to look up into his brown eyes. He smiled down at her, using that crooked smile of his to warm her heart.

"Oh, alright," she conceded. "I survived you when we were kids, I suppose I can survive tonight."

"Hey!"

She giggled, "Take the compliment, Ketchum."

"Only if you kiss me, and promise to not let tonight bother you too much," he offered, smirking.

She let out an overdramatic sigh, and rolled her eyes like she didn't necessarily want to do as he proposed. "Oh, I guess. If I must."

Then she smiled and leaned up, pressing her lips to his and falling into their warmth.

Things were back to normal, for the most part. After Ash and Misty returned to the front of the house, they were greeted by Kaiden, Del, and Logan first. With the rest of the group standing behind them, including Dawn and Lance, with Lily standing between them happily. Everyone seemed to be waiting and eager, and two power cords lay at Del's feet in the snow, making Misty raise a brow.

"What's going on?" She asked, turning to Ash, who stared blankly. He shrugged when he noticed she was asking him.

"We didn't get to finish putting up all the decorations earlier today," Del explained to her mother, putting her hands together in front of her at her waist.

"With the snowball fight and all," Kaiden added unnecessarily.

"So we all pitched in and finished them," Logan finished with a fist pump. "Wanna see?"

"Wait, you put up the rest of the decorations?" Misty asked bewildered. "Just now?"

"It was easy with everyone else helping," Del told her mother, giving a glance back to the group. Gary crossed his arms like it had been an annoying task, while Sam and Serena smiled and made a victory pose. Brock folded his arms much like Gary, but he was smiling while Brent and Darcy shoved each other with their elbows playfully. May and Cameron fist bumped the side of their fists, while Ally and Simon simply smiled at Misty. Bonnie jumped up excitedly, bumping into Max, who adjusted his glasses and nodded. Clemont reeled in his Clemontic Gear, which was apparently hanging up one last thing. Iris and Cilan both gave a thumbs up, smirking wildly. Lance pointed low profile towards Dawn and Lily, who both threw up two fingers in a V with a wink.

Ash grinned wide, a toothy grin that was reminiscent from when he was ten. Misty felt herself tearing up again, but for a completely different reason this time. She quickly wiped her eye, and smiled.

"Turn em on! Turn em on!" Bonnie exclaimed happily, dancing in place. "I'm ready to see!"

A collective agreement murmured through the group, and the three Ketchum kids exchanged happy looks.

"Alright, here we go!" Del shouted in excitement, and bent down to pick up the power cords at her feet. She plugged them together, and the yard exploded in a rainbow of colors. Up the driveway, and the path to the porch, different inflatable Pokemon lamps perched like statues. Shining, and changing colors, giving them a lifelike appearance. The trees and bushes flickered like the stars above, having lights strung through them that faded in and out to give the illusion of Mankey in the trees, and Chikorita in the bushes.

Different decorative lights had been placed randomly in the yard. A Charmander, with a Santa hat on it's head, shined with a brilliant orange color. A Delibird, handing out a present that was animated to seem as if it were tossing it to someone, changed between red and green. Dozens of smaller Pokemon were scattered across the yard. A Golem dressed up like Santa, a Mankey jumping into the air, and even an amazing display of the three Legendary Birds flying in circles around each other. Their elements trailing behind them in a beautiful show.

The house lit up brilliantly, displaying the string of multicolored lights shaped like Pokemon Ash had hung up earlier that day. Water Pokemon like Squirtle and Goldeen glowed a bright blue, while fire Pokemon like Cyndaquil and Ponyta flickered a shining red. But what caught his attention was the light show on the roof. A sleigh, being pulled by a lone Stantler, with a Santa dressed Pikachu in the ride. It was animated so that the Pikachu was laughing and smiling, tossing presents out of the side while the Stantler ran in place.

His heart swelled at the sight, and his throat began to burn. A feminine hand slipped into his, and squeezed. He turned to Misty, seeing her looking back with the most God awful crying face he had ever seen. But it was beautiful. Her face was lit up, and her aquamarine eyes sparkled from the light show.

"You were right," she said. "Everything did turn out ok."

"It sure did," he said, squeezing her hand back, and pulling her closer to his side. Del, Kaiden, and Logan moved to stand by their parents, smiling at their work on the decorations. Misty let go of Ash's hand and swooped in to crush her children in a breathtaking hug.

Cleanup had gone off smoothly. Everyone worked together to clear out the foam, and make the living room presentable once again. They swept up glass, scrubbed the carpet, and stood the tree back upright. It was much less decorated than before, since only a third of the ornaments hadn't shattered, but it looked perfect to the eyes of everyone there.

Gary had left to retrieve some more drinks and sweets to snack on, seeing as no one was allowed in the kitchen for the rest of the night, and everyone now sat around the living room. The three youngest kids sat where the coffee table used to be, since it was in splinters and had been hauled outback until it could be thrown away, and they played happily with the Nidoran. Which was enjoying the attention now that it wasn't in a panic.

Kaiden stood off by the tree, smiling at the sight of his friends and family having a good time again. No longer fazed by the earlier events. People were laughing, playing games, or swapping stories. Their regular Christmas program had gotten back to normal, but that night would certainly be talked about for many years to come.

Ally sidled up beside the middle Ketchum child, her hands behind her back and her eyes watching the room just like Kaiden. He felt her presence, but didn't say anything, opting to enjoy the moment of standing with her as they watched Logan tickle the Nidoran. And she didn't say anything either, however she did cast a glance his way. Watching him smile at his little brother, and getting a wide grin herself.

Finally though, she said, "Crazy night, huh?"

"You can say that again," he nodded.

"Crazy night, huh?"

"I didn't literally mean-" he turned to face her, laughing at first, but stopped all speaking when he locked eyes with her. His brain fumbled at the sight. Her bright green eyes twinkled softly, and her smile was warm. Brown hair cascaded down, laying across her right shoulder and enhancing the beauty Kaiden suddenly found himself staring at like an idiot. Seriously, how had he never noticed how pretty she was?

Someone cleared their throat, and both teens broke their stares to look for the source. Dawn and May sat on the couch, watching the two with raised brows and knowing smirks. May took a sip from her wine glass as the bluenette cleared her throat again and pointed up, motioning for the teens to look. They did, straight above their heads, and Kaiden's heart skipped a beat. Directly above them, hanging from the air vent, was Clemont's Clemontic Gear hand. Still gripping the mistletoe between its fingers.

"Oh…" he heard Ally whisper, and his eyes shot back to her. She was still looking up, but slowly her green eyes traveled down and landed on his anxious aquamarine ones. He couldn't read her expression, it was blank, but he could see thousands of thoughts behind her eyes. None of which he had any idea they were.

"Um-" he started to say, hoping his brain would come up with a quick way to get him of his situation, but Ally beat him to the punch. She swooped forward, and tilted her head, landing her lips on his cheek. Kaiden felt the fire erupt in his chest, and his face felt like it was about to melt. She pulled away, appearing much the same way he felt, and she giggled at his expression. Then she ran away, jumping into the middle of the room with Logan, Sam, and Lily. Distracting herself by playing with them and the Nidoran.

This had been a Christmas to remember. It had taught everyone a few lessons, and even a few them had discovered something about themselves they might not have otherwise. The middle Ketchum blinked a few times, and then broke into another smile. He was never going to wash his cheek again.

Well I hope everyone enjoyed it! I certainly did! For those of you haven't read my other stories, and you liked this one, be sure you check them out. Like I said, they all follow inside the same continuity since they are part of one overarching story.

Regardless, be sure you let me know what you thought of this Christmas special!

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!