Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the song, A Twist in My Story.

Epilogue – A Twist in My Story

She was dressed in a simple, sleeveless white dress, with no jewellery besides an emerald leaf pendant hanging on a silver chain around her neck. Her hair was curled over both shoulders, with glittering silver leaves pinned throughout it.

"Leaf, you look gorgeous," Dawn breathed.

Leaf turned away from the mirror to her maid of honour. "Excuse me? I might not let you walk down the aisle the way you're looking. You're not supposed to upstage the bride." She pouted at Dawn, causing the bluenette to laugh.

Her dress was the same as Leaf's, but a forest green colour, and her hair was pinned over her shoulder, with a lone silver leaf keeping it in place. Leaf's bridesmaids, Misty and May, were dressed the same way. They all looked stunning. Leaf felt so self-conscious.

"Honestly, Leaf? Gary loves you. No need to worry. Everything will be perfect. Have I ever lied to you before?"

And she was right. Leaf thought back to the events of just under a year ago. Back then she didn't even know how she could ever live with the guilt of that terrible thing she had done. Now, in just under an hour, she was going to marry the love of her life.

"Are you ready?" Dawn asked.

Leaf took one last look in the mirror. She nodded her head, and turning away, followed Dawn out the door.

Pokémon

"Here, let's straighten up that bow of yours, and you'll be all set," May murmured, more to her herself than Tatiana, who sat obediently on a chair in front of her. Next to her sat Patrick, the shy boy from the orphanage who'd won Dawn and Paul's hearts that happy day when Leaf and Gary got engaged.

They were the flower girl and ring bearer respectively, and May had been tasked with getting them ready for the big day. Now, everything was complete. She took a moment to rest, gazing fondly at the two children. They were like a family to her, even Patrick, who she often babysat when Dawn and Paul were working during the day.

But, she supposed, they were a rather unconventional family.

"May?"

She looked at Tatiana, and saw a slight frown on the girl's face. "What's wrong, Tati?"

"Why aren't you and Drew married?"

"W-what?" May spluttered. The serious nature of Tatiana's question caught her off guard. Composing herself, she avoided the question. "Why would you ask that?"

The frown deepened on the girl's face. "Well, Leaf and Gary are getting married, aren't they? They're going to be a family."

"And Mum and Dad are married," Patrick interrupted. "And now I'm in their family."

Tatiana nodded in agreement. "But you and Uncle Drew aren't married, but you two always say we are a family. If you aren't related to me, how can we be a family?"

May opened her mouth many times, but she couldn't speak. Tears threatened to fall down her face. When she finally spoke, her voice was a whisper. "But, we are a family. We're just… different."

She didn't know what words to say that could convince the child otherwise. She didn't know what words to say that could possibly explain her and Drew's situation. Tatiana knew nothing of the events of the past year, and so had no idea, and she wouldn't be likely to believe anything May said about the topic anyway.

At that moment, the man himself poked his head through the door. Taking note of the situation quickly, he entered the room fully and wrapped an arm around May.

"How are my favourite people?" he questioned, voice showing no hint of concern or worry.

"Tatiana was just asking why we aren't married," May informed him, her voice hollow. She noticed how he tightened his grip around her waist.

Drew frowned slightly, but then forced his face into a smile. It was an innocent question, but he could understand why May was upset. They were a family, by everything except law.

"You don't have to be married to be a family," Drew told the children gently. "What's important is that you love each other, and when everyone loves each other it doesn't matter who is married or not."

"Okay," Tatiana said simply, and beside her Patrick nodded his head. It was the kind of response that children give when they didn't really agree with you, but didn't want to push the topic any further in case it turned into a lecture.

Then Drew had an idea. He had been thinking it over, but with all the wedding preparation there had never been a good time. Now was as good a one as any.

"Tell you what, Tati. I'll marry May, and then we can be a proper family."

"What?" May blurted out, eyes wide.

"I beg your pardon?" Drew scolded her. She glared at him, but held her tongue.

Tatiana's face had lit up at his statement though. "Really? She'll become Auntie May?" She turned to Patrick and they both jumped off their chairs and raced to the door.

"Wait!" Drew called. They hesitated, allowing him to speak. "You can't tell anyone. Not until Leaf and Gary get back from their honeymoon."

"Why not?" Patrick asked.

"You'll steal Leaf's thunder. Today is her day," Drew explained. "Now we need to get to the pub. We have a big couple of hours coming up."

Just as he was about to exit with the children, May grabbed his hand. "Wait," she echoed.

He paused and turned to her, a signal she should continue.

"You're going to marry me?" she asked.

"Yes. Is that not what you want?"

"Well, of course, but…" she trailed off and became focused on something on the floor.

Then he realised what was wrong.

"May?"

She looked up at him.

"Will you marry me?"

"Of course," she whispered, a smile lighting up her face.

And he pulled her to him and didn't let go for a long while.

Pokémon

Ash couldn't get over how beautiful his girlfriend was. Full stop. Period. She was the most amazing girl, inside and out.

That's why he hated what he was going to talk to her about, on this day, when everyone should be happy, he was worrying.

"Misty?"

She turned from the conversation she was having with May. "In a sec, Ash," she replied. Then she noticed the uneasy look on his face and excused herself from her conversation.

"What's wrong?"

In response he held out a letter that had been tucked into the inside pocket of his suit. It was crumpled slightly, but that didn't matter.

"Read it."

She took the letter apprehensively, and began reading. The more she read, the more excited her face looked. Ash didn't understand. That letter did not bring good news. At least, not where he was concerned.

"Ash," Misty said breathlessly, "why are you so worried about this? This is the job offer of a lifetime!"

Ash frowned at her, confused. "Mist, the job's in Jubilife City. Did you miss that part?"

Her face fell, but only for a second. Then she scanned the letter again, before looking at him again. It was true that now her eyes looked sad, but there was still a small smile on her face.

"Ash," she started softly. "We've done it once, we can do it again."

He took her hands in his, the letter falling to the ground. "They were the worst few weeks of my life. I don't want to do them again," he replied just as softly.

"It's a rehabilitation program for animals, Ash. This is your dream job. Don't let me affect your decision. This is your life."

"I wouldn't be where I am today if you hadn't been there with me for everything that counted."

"Take the job."

"Mist…"

She pursed her lips, trying to stop her voice from trembling. "Take the job, Ash. And I'll be here. Five days a week you'll be in Jubilife. The other two we can see each other. Or I can visit you in Jubilife during uni breaks. There are so many solutions. We can make this work."

"You think we can?"

She nodded her head firmly. "I know we can."

And finally he nodded his head. "Yeah, we can. It'll work. I'll ring them now."

"Ash!" she scolded.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"We are at two of our best friend's wedding right now. You are not going to call about a job offer. The latest date it says to reply back is tomorrow." She smirked slightly. "Obviously you are in such high demand that you had to weigh up all your options before getting back to them."

"But I'm not in high demand, Mist."

Misty shook her head at him, and dragged him into line for the start of the wedding.

Pokémon

The groom was waiting anxiously by the doors. That could be seen by the way his hands never ceased their smoothing of his tie. Paul looked on from the other end of the aisle.

More people had turned up that expected. It had seemed fitting to everyone that the wedding be held outside the building that had changed their lives so much. As such, many of the regulars who knew of Leaf and her story had come to celebrate the occasion. Also in attendance were many of the children of the orphanage, as they had wanted to come so much that it was made an official outing for them.

So much for the small wedding that the pair had wanted.

"Daddy!"

Little Patrick reached up his hands to his father. Paul looked up and saw that Drew and May had arrived, hand in hand, and just a few metres away, were Misty and Ash, talking enthusiastically about something.

Paul turned his attention back to his son. They looked nothing alike, but that didn't matter. All that mattered to Patrick was that he had a home; a loving, happy home.

And Patrick was the best thing that had ever happened to them. From the moment they had seen him that day in the orphanage they knew they couldn't wait for a child, and the greatest service they could give was giving a child a family. As Paul picked the boy up, he glanced across the aisle to his wife, and smiled at the thought of all they had been through.

He hadn't taken her seriously. He hadn't treated her as he should have. She was his wife. Just because they had been married for a long while didn't mean that the way he treated her should have changed. She was his equal, his other half, and that was the least she deserved.

"You need to follow Mummy and me, okay, Patrick?" he instructed his son. Patrick nodded his head enthusiastically and grinned that cheeky grin of his. Paul set him down and smoothed out his shirt, and watched on as the little boy went to talk to Tatiana. Dawn made her way over to him.

"Isn't he beautiful?" she sighed. "I want another one."

Paul glanced at her, trying to see if she was joking or not. "You… you want another one?"

She turned to him and smiled, the smile that he couldn't resist. "I do. He's spent his entire life with other children. Do you think he would be a bit lonely?"

Paul just stared at her. "He's got Tatiana," he said lamely. Paul was rarely lost for words, and Dawn began laughing.

"Paul, listen to me. You don't get a say in the matter. We're having another one." Her voice had gone from joking to stern in an instant, and now she had a worried look on her face. "Unless…" she trailed off.

"Dawn, listen, it's not that I don't want another child. It's just…" he didn't know how to finish that sentence without sounding like the bad guy. "Just not yet. Give me a little more time with Patrick."

Dawn frowned. "You have about eight months of time with him yet."

Then Paul realised what she had been trying to say. Why she was so happy. He realised his expression must have changed by the way Dawn's suddenly lit up. So she knew that he didn't think it was terrible.

"Paul, I'm pregnant."

And if he had been struggling for words before, there was no way he could speak now. Luckily he was saved by the commencement of music, and Dawn grabbing his hand so that they could walk down the aisle together.

Just as they were about to go though, little Patrick walked sheepishly up to them.

"I don't wanna go by myself."

"Just go with Tatiana, sweetie," Dawn soothed, bending down to give him a comforting hug. B

But Paul saw that the child was comforted. "I can't. People will be looking at me."

"Listen to your Mum, Pat," Paul tried. "It's easy, you just have to walk down the aisle."

"I wanna walk with you."

Dawn bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh. Paul couldn't see anything funny in the situation.

"No need to worry then." Dawn swooped down and took the cushion bearing the rings from Patrick. "You walk with your Daddy, Pat, and I'll meet you down the other end." And with that she was off.

Which left Paul awkwardly standing with his son. Sighing in resignation, he took Patrick's small hand in his left, and went to the aisle.

"Daddy, all the girls are on the left. I'm not a girl."

So what did he think Paul was, then?

Taking in another deep breath, Paul quickly switched sides with Patrick. He ignored Dawn, who was sporting a smile that was just too wide for his liking, the entire way down the aisle.

Pokémon

The wedding march began, and Gary turned his eyes to the aisle. Outwards, he was the epitome of calmness. Inside, it was a different story.

Although he hated the saying, he honestly felt like the butterflies in his stomach were threatening to escape. There were just so many things that could go wrong.

He had actually helped plan this wedding, to everyone's disbelief. He figured, today was just as much his as it was his fiancé's. And if they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, better start sharing the workload early. But it wasn't really work, not when he was going to marry the girl he loved.

What if photographer forgot to take the lens cap off his camera?

What if the caterers delivered the wrong meals to people at the reception and someone had to be taken to hospital because of an allergy?

What if Leaf didn't arrive?

Then he shook his head. She would. He had no doubt in that, had no reason to doubt that. Shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath at the time he did, he missed her arrival. Only when a collective sigh had resounded throughout the guests did he open them and see her.

She was stunning.

Her gaze caught his, and he held it all the way down the aisle. She was escorted by his grandfather, Professor Oak, who had always been a fatherly figure for her, and had flown from Kanto especially for the occasion.

When she arrived at the makeshift altar (which was little more than a bar stool) she finally broke his gaze to look at the minister, who gave her an encouraging smile. He was a little old man, grey haired with just a twinge of something darker running through it, and a regular at the bar.

It couldn't have been a better wedding, everyone agreed. The most memorable moment came at the recitation of the vows.

Leaf went first, knowing that she would never be able to say them if Gary went before her. She was so happy she was on the verge of tears, and Gary proclaiming his unwavering love for her would be just the thing to set her off.

It had been the one thing she insisted on throughout the entire wedding planning, that they write their own vows. It seemed that due to their situation, it would be more appropriate, and Gary had agreed, albeit a little reluctantly to start off with. He hadn't been too keen on the whole 'speaking from the heart' idea.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, she began, "Gary Oak. You have been my pillar of strength. Even in high school, where we were just friends, you supported me through everything. Anything that I was having trouble with, or was scared about, I knew I could do, because you were always there for me."

Her speech caught slightly, and Gary reached out and took her hands in his, lightly rubbing his thumbs against her knuckles, calming her. She smiled, as did everyone else in attendance, recognizing the significance of that motion.

"One year ago, I made a terrible mistake," she continued, resolve returning to her. "And I didn't know how you could ever forgive me for what I did. I betrayed the trust that you had in me, and I don't know if I ever would have forgiven myself for throwing away the best thing that had ever happened to me. But you did." She looked down at her hands, and then back at Gary, catching his steady gaze. He nodded slightly, just a slight tilt of the head, but it was enough encouragement for her to finish.

"You did. You forgave me. You are… You are the bravest man I have ever known, to not give up on me, like so many others would have. Gary Oak, I am eternally grateful, and you have my love, till death do us part," she concluded.

A collective sigh fell across those gathered, and they turned their attention to Gary, ready to hear what he had to say.

"Leaf… Leafy," Gary began, a smirk on his face. Leaf rolled her eyes at him, and he chuckled slightly.

"I know how much I how love you, and I know you know how much I love you. All we've been through, that is a testament to the amount we love each other. I know that one thing you love more than anything is music. So, for my vow, I have this."

Gary dropped her hands, and took note of the confused expression on her face. He knew that what he was doing was completely unconventional, but nothing about their relationship was conventional, so why not?

He stepped around the altar, and from under it pulled out a guitar. Leaf's eyes widened, glistening with unshed tears. Gary had asked her to teach him a few chords over the course of the year, and at the time she hadn't understood why, but now she did. He had had this planned for a while, it seemed.

"I want to share with everyone our story, forever to be remembered in song." His voice cracked on the last word, and he swallowed. Now he was starting to get nervous. Leaf was the musician, not him, but he knew how important this would be for her.

And so, he began.

"Slow down, the world isn't watching us break down
It's safe to say we are alone now, we're alone now
Not a whisper, the only noise is the receiver
I'm counting the seconds until you break the silence
So please just break the silence"

In the beginning, Gary could see no light guiding him home.

The love of his life had done the unthinkable thing, just days before he was going to propose to her.

He was a complete and utter mess, and all alone. He had no one who could help him; no one that wanted to help him.

So he stayed in that pit of despair, trying to think of something, anything, that could possibly make everything better. And the only solution that he had come up with… that was not even an option.

But how could anything have happened when neither of them was willing to make the first move?

Then he had met May, and suddenly there was someone. And as soon as there was someone willing to help, the spark could be lit.

The whispers turn to shouting
The shouting turns to tears
Your tears turn into laughter
And it takes away our fears

Drew had tried to cover everything up, and it hadn't done them any good, May realised. But could she really have expected anything else of him?

That had been their relationship from the start.

They would insult each other on a daily basis, but neither of them would take it to heart. They hadn't taken anything seriously.

That's why it had been so hard to fix. Neither of them was used to showing their deepest emotions, how they truly felt.

Dawn had been able to show her that it was okay to show you emotions, and put your heart on the line.

So you see, this world doesn't matter to me
I'll give up all I had just to breathe
The same air as you till the day that I die
I can't take my eyes off of you

In the end, it was Dawn that started crying first. She laughed a little as she felt the first tear slide down her face. That's what you got from not shying away from your emotions.

Not that she was worried. That was who she was, and if she wasn't confident in who she was, then who was she, really?

She sensed the audience turn its gaze towards her, as well as the rest of the bridal party. Paul simply rolled his eyes at her, and Gary allowed a small smirk to cross his face as he sang. Leaf turned to look at her, raising one eyebrow as she did so.

It took all of her resolve not to laugh again.

But she didn't have to worry about that, for Ash, taking in the scene, couldn't help but chuckle as well.

And I'm longing, for words to describe how I'm feeling
I'm feeling inspired
My world just flip turned upside down
It turns around, say what's that sound
It's my heart beat, it's getting much louder
My heart beat, is stronger than ever
I'm feeling so alive, I'm feeling so alive

Ash had never felt more alive than in moments like these: moments where happiness prevailed over all other emotions.

When he was down and out… he was down and out. That's why he worked so hard not to be. He hated that feeling. Some people were able to recognize that you had to be upset sometimes, but Ash wasn't one of those people.

Until he learned that life had a tendency to throw you curve balls.

It was one thing for you to be happy. If the people that were important to you weren't happy, then unless you were incredibly selfish, which Ash was not, you couldn't be truly happy.

My whispers turn to shouting
The shouting turns to tears
Your tears turn into laughter
And it takes away our fears

And once it was figured out how two people could become happy together, all of their problems became much easier to solve.

What was important though, Misty thought, was managing to keep a balance of all the things that made you happy.

Balance and compromise.

With those two things, everything became so much easier. Without them, everything would fall to pieces.

So you see, this world doesn't matter to me
I'll give up all I had just to breathe
The same air as you till the day that I die
I can't take my eyes off of you

Paul had learned that lesson the hard way.

But something had always been there that held him and Dawn together despite that, even if it was just by the faintest thread.

They had just been too blind to see it. Too caught up in their own plans, their own ideals…

Their own lives.

They hadn't lived as a married couple. They had lived as two separate people in the one house, which was doomed to fail.

But now he couldn't imagine their story being any other way.

I'm finally waking up, a twist in my story
It's time I open up, and let your love right through me
I'm finally waking up, a twist in my story
It's time I open up, and let your love right through me
That's what you get
When you see your life in someone else's eyes
That's what you get, that's what you get

Drew's story hadn't gone to plan. He had lost his family.

And he didn't want to follow the script. He shut everything… everyone… out. That had gotten him nowhere.

But when he learned to accept it for what it was, that was the turning point. He didn't have to follow the script, but he had to learn how to write his own.

So you see, this world doesn't matter to me
I'll give up all I had just to breathe
The same air as you till the day that I die
I can't take my eyes off of you
This world doesn't matter to me
I'll give up all I had just to breathe
The same air as you till the day that I die
I can't take my eyes off of you

And she couldn't. And neither could he.

Trust, communication, honesty, belief, attraction… they were variables in any relationship, Leaf realised. The constant that held everything together was love.

And if the love was strong enough, then the other things fall into place, no matter what happens.

Looking at Gary, and at Dawn and Paul, and Misty and Ash, and May and Drew, she knew that if the love was strong enough, and the people were strong enough, then the things that weren't going right would come well in the end.

Because those tough times, they were just the results of the mistakes they'd made.

Pokémon

I am actually so sad right now. Thank you to everyone who has alerted/favourited/reviewed this story at any point of its writing, and whether you did when it was first posted, or months later, your support means so much to me. I could never have been able to write this without all of your help, and certainly some of your reviews have inspired what I have written, so honestly, thank you so much.

Replies to Reviews

ShadowAbsol13 – That is such high praise. Thank you so much for your constant reviews. They honestly make my day, and it's why I have kept writing this. I have had that proposal planned for so long, it made me so happy to finally be able to get it out. That scene is my favourite out of the whole story. Thanks again :)

TheDivines – Haha, they are an awesome band… so underrated. All their songs are beautiful. And I am sorry about the long wait until the update! The second half of the school year was absolutely crazy, and every time I thought I had time to write I could only write a couple of sentences. I'm glad it was worth the wait though :) Thanks for your review!

LeafxGreenx3 – I am so sorry for making you wait so long! Time just went so fast, I was berating myself for not being able to update sooner. Hopefully this has been worth the wait. Fall for You was the first Secondhand Serenade song I ever heard, and it is still one of my favourites. I was dying to be able to use it! That proposal I have waited so long to publish! I have had it written forever, and every time I read it I just tweaked a little because I wanted it to be perfect, so thank you for your praise :) Your review may or may not have inspired me to write that scene with Patrick haha. It was too good an opportunity to pass up on. I never intended for Blake to be the bad guy, I just wanted him there to show how people can make assumptions etc., so I'm glad you didn't mind that I didn't have him pining after Misty. I have never liked Contestshipping, but as I wrote this story I have grown to love it. Their relationship is just too cute. And it reminds me a bit of how I picture Leaf and Gary's relationship, so that certainly helped. Thank you so much for your reviews. Honestly, they mean the world to me. Thank you so so so much :)

Eeveexme – The songs are definitely the hardest part of each chapter. It is so hard to get them to fit perfectly in, especially in the beginning when I had such a large choice of songs, I had to plan when to use them all, and I hate planning… so I'm glad you think they fit well haha. I adore Tatiana. I wish she was real, and I hope this chappy clarifies the Dawn/Paul thing. I realised other people were probably thinking that, so I just added a little sentence in. Thank you for your reviews, they mean so much to me :)

PuRpLeOcEAnRoSE0208 – It has taken me 14 chapters to realise I can just copy your name over instead of trying to type it out by memory into the Word document... oops. Anyways, I hope your Christmas and New Year were absolutely fabulous! Mine were great. I am sad this has to end as well, but thank you for sticking with this story for so long :)

xX Shining Diamond Xx – I got scared when I read the first part of your review haha. Thank you so much for your support. I couldn't have Leaf say no now could I? And thank you again for taking the time to read this :)

Gyarados' rage – Thank you for all your reviews. I am so sorry about the long wait, I hope you can understand. You don't understand how much it means to me though to see people still reading this even though I've taken forever to update, so thank you :)

Ern Estine 13624 – Here is the next and final chapter! Thank you for you constant reviews, they mean the world :)

Pikachaaaa – Pretty sure I don't deserve your praise, but thank you so much. It's people like you that are the reason I write. Thank you so much :)

Ready to fky – Is that supposed to be fly? Oh well haha. I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. I had so much fun writing this story, thank you for the support with your review. It means so much to me :)

Wow, those replies may have been close to the actual length of the chapter haha.

And I think that is it from me. Thank you for the thousandth time for everything. You have all given me so much confidence and I've had a blast writing this story. I'll reply to your reviews in PM. Thank you so much and I hope your 2014 is absolutely brilliant wherever you are. Check out my other stories if you want. I have a few ideas for future stories as well, but they might have to take a back seat for a little while. But watch out for them nonetheless.

Toodles! :)