Hey guys, happy Sunday!

This is a standalone fic, but I was heavily inspired by my friend stephbethallen's amazing fic, Where The Blacktop Ends (it's on AO3!). It has given me so many Alolan family feels that it's not even funny.

Go read it if you haven't yet! Do it now!

Also, stay safe everyone!

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It's Mother's Day, and Burnet is feeling incredibly aware of the fetus lodged in her uterus.

Not that she usually isn't – no, she's eight months pregnant and she's well fucking aware of the fetus all the time – but today it's hitting her harder than ever. She's home alone – because of course Kukui had to have an emergency meeting with the island kahunas exactly today, of course. She's not angry about it, she's just… disappointed.

No, she's lonely.

She's laying in an awfully unattractive pose on the sofa; her back leaning against the sofa corner, one leg up on the seat, one leg on the table. A half-eaten plate of cut-up fruit is sitting on the table next to her foot, and the only reason Munchlax hasn't eaten those yet is because in a fit of righteous frustration Burnet had let it eat an entire blueberry cake Kukui had bought them for today's it's-unofficially-our-first-Mother's-Day-as-parents -celebration.

Burnet sighs. Idly, she scrolls through the news on her phone, not really comprehending any of the headlines. Her mind is miles away, and she closes the app and texts Kukui.

/ How's the meeting going?

She wanted to write 'I miss you', she wanted to write 'Please come back home', but she didn't. Kukui wanted to go as little as she wanted him to go, and she doesn't want him to feel any worse about being away from home.

It takes Kukui a long time to answer, and Burnet spends the time by staring at the ceiling, breathing in a controlled manner, slightly in pain and feeling vaguely ill. As usual.

Finally, finally, her phone pings as he replies.

/ So interesting, had to take a pee break bc i was about to piss myself with excitement

Burnet snorts, her fingers flying on the keyboard.

/ Oh? I hope you didn't, i washed those pants only yesterday

/ It was a close thing, but i held it in

/ I'm hiding in the mens room now

/ Missing you

Burnet smiles at the phone, her pains momentarily forgotten, hear heart fluttering.

/ I miss you too

/ When will you be back?

She can see Kukui writing, then hesitating, and the longer it takes the more anxious Burnet feels.

His eventual reply makes her heart sink.

/ Hala's being a literal tyrant today. no ending in sight. don't stay up too late for me, okay?

She looks at the message, tears suddenly prickling in the corners of her eyes – her mood swings have gotten better since the early pregnancy, but she still finds herself reacting very emotionally to very minor things. And this is one of those times.

/ But today was supposed to be our day…

She sends it before she really thinks, and regrets it a little bit. She started texting him with the strict rule of don't-be-getting-whiny-now-burnet, and she already broke it. She wants to write something else to make up for it, but Kukui is quick to reply.

/ I know baby, im so sorry

/ We can eat the cake and spend not-yet-mothers-day tomorrow maybe?

Ah, damn. Munchlax already ate that cake. Burnet spends a moment regretting her decisions made in a fit of uncontrollable emotion – and gives up right away since there's simply too many of them to count.

She wonders where Kukui might have bought the cake from. Maybe she could find and buy a similar cake, slip it into the fridge and Kukui wouldn't notice a thing? Or, maybe she could bake an even better cake?

Eh, who is she kidding.

She can't bake cakes for shit, and the shops won't be open until tomorrow anyway. She needs to suck it up and be an adult about this.

She's taking so long to answer that Kukui sends:

/ I think they sent Nanu out to look for me. should I pull up my legs so if he looks under the stalls he won't see me?

Burnet decides to ignore him, being the adult that she is.

/ Just come home as soon as you can, please?

/ I love you so much

His reply is instant.

/ I will! I love you too! and the little one!

She sets her phone on the table, leans against the sofa back and folds her arms over her stomach.

"I love you", she whispers at the fetus, and she can feel a kick against her palm. The baby is getting stronger every day, and it's exhilarating. "Soon you'll be out, and I can hold you in my arms for real."

She smiles softly.

"I can't wait."

Her back is cramping, her legs are cramping, and she pushes herself into a better position against the pillows and closes her eyes. She's been exhausted lately. She hasn't been sleeping that good and has been struggling with the size and the weight of her belly, and the stress and all the million other things that come with being pregnant.

She wants it to be over already, but at the same time, she's scared out of her mind.

She's going to be a mother.

A real, actual mother of her own child.

What if she messes it up?

For a long time, she just lays there, letting herself be overwhelmed with emotions.

Love, fear, joy, doubt, excitement.

She dozes off, and dreams about Kukui, and the little family she's going to have with him.

.

.

Eventually, she has to get up to use the bathroom. When she returns, there is an incoming call blinking on the tv screen. The caller id locates it to Pallet town, Kanto, and Burnet's heart skips a beat.

She hurriedly sits down on the edge of the sofa and answers the call.

"Alola, Professor Burnet!"

It's Ash, of course, and Burnet feels her whole face – her whole body – lighting up from seeing his smiling face.

"Alola, Ash", she replies with a big smile of her own. "How are you? It's been a while!"

She leans a bit closer to the screen, observing every detail of him. He's slightly paler than he had been when leaving Alola, and a bit rougher around the edges. Pikachu – nor any other pokemon – are nowhere near him, and he's only wearing a wrinkled white-and-red t-shirt and no hat.

"Oh, I'm just fine", he says – he lies. Burnet can see it then; the strained, almost pained edges that are keeping his smile from being as radiant as she's used to seeing it. "How're you? And Professor Kukui?"

"What's wrong?" Burnet blurts out, worry taking over the joy. "Ash, has something happened?"

Ash's eyes widen, and his smile drops all too easily. He shakes his head forcefully.

"…Nothing's wrong", he lies again. He tries to smile, but his eyes fill up with tears and Burnet wants nothing more than to reach trough the screen and hug him.

"Ash, honey, talk to me."

He bites his lip, tears flowing down his face, and mumbles: "…'Was just missing you."

Burnet's vision is swimming now, and she hugs her belly and leans even closer.

"I miss you too, Ash", she chokes out, and she's so close to crying too that it's almost painful. "Kukui can't be here right now, but he also misses you. So much. You won't believe how tough it has been for us after you left."

Ash nods, wiping his face. "'M sorry", he hiccups, apologizing for no apparent reason, Ash style. "I just wanted to- to talk to you for a bit." He's calming down; his eyes are still red but he's no longer crying. "Me an' Goh went home for Mother's Day and it's great, really, this gotta be the first time after I turned ten that I've spent it with my mom. But…"

He sighs, looks at Burnet carefully.

"Somehow, it feels wrong to be here… 'Cause I also wanted to be with you today."

Suddenly, like a vision, Burnet remembers last year's Mother's Day, when Ash had still been in Alola with them. He had called his mom, of course, and spent the whole rest of the day with Burnet; helping her clean the house, offering to make breakfast for her, grooming her pokemon for her…

He hadn't said anything, but Ash rarely does.

Burnet only now realizes that Ash had, secretly, celebrated Mother's Day with her, too.

"Oh, honey", she breathes out. "I wish you were here too, but don't feel bad about it! It's enough that you called, and it means so much to me. Enjoy your day with you mom – she must be overjoyed to have you there! I'll be right here whenever you need me."

Ash sniffs and nods quietly.

"When I came home today… it just reminded me", he murmurs, "how nice it was to live in Alola with you. Don't get me wrong, it's super fun to travel around with Goh, but it's… not the same. I guess I just…"

"Oh, no, I get it", says Burnet empathically. "There are good and bad things about staying in one place for a long time, right? And it takes time to get used to moving around afterwards. But I know you can make the most of it! And… just remember that you can visit us any time, okay?"

"I think we're gonna, soon", Ash replies, and Burnet can see the start of a genuine smile on his face. "Professor Cerise's been going on about regional variants recently, and we saw some in Galar but I really wanna show Goh the ones in Alola, too! He's gonna explode when he sees the Alolan exeggutor!"

He grins, and it's so wide and bright and real that Burnet feels like she's going to explode.

"That's great!" she exclaims. "You know, it's only gonna be a month and then this baby is out." She pats her stomach, and Ash's smile turns soft and adoring as he looks at the bump. Burnet goes on: "I want you two to meet already. You're going to be the best big brother in the world!"

Ash freezes, his eyes wide and startled. His mouth opens and closes once before he speaks.

"...Big brother? You mean it?"

Burnet nods, determined to not backtrack on those words, had they been intentionally said out loud or not. (They hadn't, but they had come straight from her heart.)

"Yeah, Ash. You're part of our family, I hope you know that. Even though we are thousands of kilometers away from each other most of the time, you will never stop being part of our family."

Ash nods uncertainly, still a bit wide-eyed.

"I think I get it", he says softly, brushing a hand through the hairs on the back of his head. "I guess it's like… When I leave my pokemon behind, or my mom… They're still my pokemon and she's still my mom. I… I think about them all the time. Maybe I don't see them for a year, or two years, but they never stop being important to me."

Burnet smiles widely. "It's exactly like that! You are very important to us, Ash. It won't matter if you're here with us or on the other side of the world, you'll always be important."

She will say it out loud, as many times as it takes, until she's certain that Ash understands.

The tiny, sincere smile Ash gives her feels meaningful, even more so than the big smiles he gives so easily. It feels private, meant for only her to see.

The front door opens and Kukui, followed by a group of rowdy pokemon, walks in.

"I'm back!" he calls, looks around the room and spots Burnet on the couch. He strides closer, a grin lighting up his exhausted face. "How's the baby mama? Damn, I missed you both so much…" He leans in to kiss her, and then the top of her belly, and only when he stands up again does he notice the look on Burnet's face. She inclines her head towards the tv, and Kukui turns around to stare at Ash.

Ash is staring back at him, mildly amused, mildly repulsed.

"Oh, hey, Ash, hi!" Kukui hurries to say, waving his hand. "Sorry, I didn't… How are you, buddy?"

He's jittery and loud, and Burnet knows he's had too much coffee for one day – probably to last him a week, more likely. Kukui chuckles nervously and she gives him a long-suffering look but grabs his hand anyway, squeezing tightly. She's glad he's home, and that for a moment, they can all be together again.

Ash's pokemon, who had been spending time outside, crowd around the tv excitedly and Burnet pulls Kukui down to sit next to her. Pikachu has appeared on Ash's shoulder, and he's laughing, greeting his team while Munchlax climbs onto the sofa to cuddle up to Burnet's belly, and for a blessed moment she feels overwhelmed with love.

This is her family, and it's only about to get bigger – and she can't wait.