"A little higher on the right," Dawn instructed.

From his spot on the ladder, Ash lifted the banner higher up the wall. Across from him, Brock held the other end of the banner, pinning it into place. "No, no, that's too high, Ash!" Dawn shouted. Dawn angled her hands on her hips as she stared him down. "Now it's all crooked!"

"Piplup!" her partner chirped in agreement.

"Stop yelling at me!" he shouted back.

"I wouldn't have to if you just followed my directions!"

Ash hid his face so Dawn didn't see him roll his eyes. From the other end of the banner, Ash heard Brock cough in an attempt to hold back a chuckle. At least Brock's in a good mood. Since his confrontation with Brock, Ash made sure to tread carefully around him. He no longer seemed as upset as he had been, but Ash could never be so sure.

"Just bring it a little lower," Dawn instructed once more. Slowly, Ash lowered the banner inch by inch. "A little lower...Getting closer...Lower, lower...and perfect! Right there!"

Thank goodness. Ash sighed in relief. Pulling out the tack Dawn had given him, he secured the banner to the wall before waiting a few seconds to make sure it didn't suddenly fall. Once down the ladder, he stepped back to examine their handiwork.

Welcome Home, Misty! the banner read in bright blue letters, courtesy of Tracey. Ash smiled, happy with how the banner looked but even happier about the occasion. Misty was finally coming home, and this called for a huge celebration. Daisy and Gary had gone to pick up Misty from the hospital, so that left everyone else to set up before they returned.

"Nice work," the familiar voice of Layla remarked. Turning around, he spotted her standing next to Dawn, a wary look on her face.

Since their fight, Layla had claimed that she'd forgiven him, but she hadn't been acting that way. He didn't understand how there could be any sides in an argument between him and Layla, but the glares and hushed whispers from May and Dawn said otherwise. He'd even stayed back to avoid raising any further suspicions about his relationship with Misty. It also allowed him to spend more time with Layla, but Layla preferred to spend time with May and Dawn. The time alone forced him to think about what Brock had said, but even if he'd promised himself he would tell Layla the truth, good or bad, first, he had to figure it out himself.

oOo

Misty tried to fight the unavoidable fatigue as she sat on the couch, listening to her friends chatter around her about Daisy and Tracey's upcoming wedding plans. Misty covertly rolled her eyes, trying not to display her feelings too much. Ever since she'd gotten engaged, Daisy had used every second of her free time to discuss her wedding plans, which seemed to change by the day. The couple had initially planned to have a spring wedding, but, as Daisy shared with the group, she'd recently been offered a gig on a TV show that was supposed to begin filming in the spring.

"How ya feeling, Red?" Gary asked as he directed his attention away from wedding planning.

"Oh, I'm okay, I guess," she replied. Her chest still ached a little at the site of her incision, and she was still fighting the exhaustion of the last few days. "Just a little tired."

She didn't want to fall asleep on her friends, especially after they'd worked so hard to throw her a welcome home celebration, but the combination of her exhaustion and the comforting warmth of Gary's arms wrapped around her was hard to fight. When Gary first joined her on the couch and pulled her close, Misty panicked, forgetting that their relationship was no longer a secret. But with a sigh of relief, she admitted it was nice no longer having the secret hanging over her head.

"If you're tired, why don't you go to bed?" Gary suggested, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Misty opened her mouth to rebuttal, but Gary anticipated her words long before she'd uttered them. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that I don't want you to overexert yourself. You still need to build up your strength a bit, okay?"

Crossing her arms, she pouted. "Fine."

Gary laughed as he ruffled Misty's hair, finding her stubbornness endearing. Leaning in closer to her ear, he whispered, "I can join you if you'd like." With a cocky smirk, he added, "We can have a little sleepover, and I promise all we'll do is sleep, no matter what you say."

"Gary!" she hissed as her face flushed and her heart sped up a bit. Pushing him away, she playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "Weren't you the one who was just telling me to take it easy? That's not helping."

"I'm just messing with ya, Red."

Removing his arm from around Misty's shoulder, Gary stood up and stretched. Leaning down, he scooped his arms under Misty's legs and neck, lifting her off the couch bridal style.

"Hey! Gary, stop it! Put me down!" Misty shouted in protest, flailing her legs in the air. Despite her valiant efforts to break free, her body remained too weak to fight off Gary's strong grip.

Ignoring her, Gary turned to face their group of friends. "Alright, everyone, I think it's time Red got some rest. We're going to head to bed, but we'll see everyone in the morning."

"Be careful with my baby sister, Gary!" Daisy called. Worry flashed across her face. "Should you even be holding her like that?"

"She's fine, Daisy," Tracy replied as he placed a comforting hand on Daisy's shoulder. "It's probably better she didn't exert herself too much anyway."

Misty scoffed, rolling her eyes once more. Since she'd gotten home, everyone had been hovering around her, treating her like she would break at the slightest touch. To no surprise, Daisy was the worst offender, insisting Misty didn't move a single muscle. Sure she was still recovering from major surgery, but Misty wasn't a porcelain doll; she wasn't going to fall and break. Only Gary seemed to understand that; he treated her with care, but he didn't treat her as if she was helpless.

The rest of the group wished them a good night, and they headed out of the family room and up the stairs to Misty's room. As Gary carried her out the door, Misty's eyes locked on Ash's. A steely glare aimed right at Gary.

What's his problem?

oOo

Gary gently placed Misty on her bed and, despite what he'd told her before, took a seat on the edge of the bed. He smiled down at her, but his heart was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, he was grateful to know that she was doing better-that they had been able to fix her heart before it was too late. On the other hand, he still couldn't shake the creeping doubt. The doctor has said there was a chance their repairs wouldn't hold out. Gary tried to remain confident that Misty was strong and that she would heal quickly and go on with her life as if nothing had happened. But he couldn't help thinking what if: What if her heart gave out again? Then what?

"Hey, I almost forgot. I got you a welcome home gift."

Before leaving to get Misty from the hospital, he had stored the present underneath her bed so their friends wouldn't find it. While it wasn't anything embarrassing, it was still a gift he wanted to share only between the two of them.

Misty's eyes widened in excitement. "What? Gary, you didn't have to do that," she replied, but it was evident she was just trying to be polite.

"Well, I don't have to give it to you," he teased, and Misty's lips dropped into a pout. "If that's how you feel."

Misty groaned. "You and I both know that's not really how I feel. But you really didn't have to. You've already done a lot for me."

"Yeah, well, I wanted to do a little bit more," he explained before handing over the tiny, wrapped gift.

Like a kid on Christmas, Misty ripped through the wrapping paper and lifted the box's top to reveal a picture frame. Gary watched as she narrowed her brows and squinted at the picture behind the glass. "It's a... star?"

"Number 24: Have something named after me." Misty froze, her eyes fixed on the picture frame. For just a moment, Gary thought he saw disappointment flash across Misty's face. "Everything okay?" Misty nodded but didn't say anything. Does she hate it? He couldn't help but wonder. Was she mad because it was him who had given the gift to her and not Ash? "You know, Ash isn't the only one who can help you with your bucket list."

. "I know," Misty snapped as she turned to face Gary, but her face quickly softened. "Sorry. I mean, I know that. This is sweet, Gary. Thank you."

"You sure? You don't sound very happy. " Gary asked, taking note of Misty's knitted eyebrows and far off look. "You okay?"

Misty placed the picture frame down in front of her and sighed. "I think I messed up."

Gary looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Is Ash mad at me?" she asked, and Gary's stomach plummeted. "When you were carrying me upstairs, he had this look on his face that was so not him. He hasn't come to visit me since last week, and he's been really quiet too." Misty turned her gaze on Gary. "Has he said anything to you?"

Gary tried not to laugh at the thought of Ash coming to him for advice or even to talk about his problems. Their friendship had improved over the years, but they weren't quite to that level yet, nor did Gary think they would be. "Ketchum? No, but Dawn said he and Layla were fighting, and Brock seemed pretty pissed off at him."

Gary neglected to share that he was pretty confident that Misty was the cause of the tension between Layla and Ash and why Brock was ignoring Ash. And while it wasn't the typical Ash and Misty drama, none of their friends would tell Gary what had happened.

"Oh..."

Misty looked like she wanted to say more, but she remained quiet.

"He'll be fine, Red. He probably did something stupid." He definitely did something stupid. "You know how in-tune he is with the opposite sex."

Misty snickered. "That's true."

Relieved that Misty seemed to have dropped the topic, Gary hopped off the bed, standing up to pull his shirt over his head. Misty cleared the wrapping paper from her bed and gingerly placed the picture frame on the nightstand next to her bed. Gary pulled the blankets aside, crawled into bed, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling Misty close. He took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of chlorine and coconut that still clung to her skin and hair before exhaling deeply. Misty squirmed as his breath tickled the nape of her neck.

"Gary?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for the gift." This time when she thanked him, Gary believed she really meant it. "And not that it's a competition, but you've helped me check off more on my list than Ash."

Gary snorted. Misty always knew just what to say to make him feel better.

"I missed you, Red."

"I missed you, too."

oOo

"Morning Misty," Brock greeted her as she walked into the kitchen.

The smell of freshly made pancakes had lured her out of bed and downstairs, but to her surprise, Brock was the only one in the kitchen. He turned to face her from where he was stationed at the kitchen sink, busy drying off dishes. What time is it?

"Where is everyone?"

"Out," was Brock's vague reply. "You hungry? I think we still have some leftover pancakes."

Misty raised her eyebrows. "Ash didn't eat them all?"

Brock chuckled, shaking his head. "I made sure to save some for you."

Brock placed the kitchen towel and the dish he was drying on the kitchen counter before moving over to the microwave. Pulling open the door, he pulled out a plate of pancakes that looked like they were fresh out of the oven. He placed them in front of Misty, along with a bottle of syrup and some silverware. When she'd first woken up, Misty didn't feel particularly hungry, but after one whiff of Brock's famous chocolate chip pancakes, her stomach grumbled in protest.

"So what are you going to do today?"

Misty shrugged. While there were plenty of things she wanted to do, even she knew that she had to follow her doctor's rules, even if it meant she couldn't swim or train her pokemon. Looks like it's a movie marathon. Too bad May or Dawn weren't around to join her. Maybe she could guilt Gary into watching movies with her, but then she remembered he was working on a huge research paper he needed to finish by next month. Maybe Ash? But she hadn't seen him all morning, and there seemed to be this weird tension between them.

Brock sat down in the chair across from her and watched as she cut her pancakes before taking a bite, savoring the gooey taste of the chocolate chips. Chocolate really was her biggest downfall. "I'm glad your appetite seems to have returned."

"Yeah, yeah. You can relax now. I'm eating, don't worry." Misty rolled her eyes, sticking out her tongue playfully at Brock. Thankfully, Brock was nowhere near Daisy's coddling level, but food had always been Brock's way of expressing concern. She knew he would not leave until he witnessed her eating.

"Good, because I think you and I need to talk," Brock replied.

Misty paused mid-bite, her eyes meeting Brock's. His mouth was narrowed, and his eyes felt intense, but Misty didn't get the impression that he was angry or upset with her. Serious, definitely, but he didn't look like he was going to start yelling at her.

"Okay," Misty replied, placing her fork down beside her. "What's up? If this is about how I'm feeling, I promise to take it easy. In fact, I'll probably just wa-"

Brock shook his head. "No, it's not about that. What's going on between you and Ash?"

Misty perked up, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "I wish I knew. He's been acting really weird recently. He's barely talked to me, and he went from visiting me every day to not at all. Gary said he and Layla were fighting?"

Brock sighed. "You two need to be careful," Brock replied, concern etched in his face. What? What even happened? "I saw you and him dancing the other day, and I gotta admit, it looked like something more than friendship."

Oh. "Did Layla see, too? Is that why she and Ash are fighting?" Misty asked. "I can talk to her, apologize. I didn't mean to cause anything."

"No, she didn't, but I'll tell you the same thing I told Ash. I don't know if your relationship is just about this bucket list anymore, but you two are playing with fire, and someone's going to get hurt if you're not careful."

Misty clenched her fists, heat radiating through her body. "What are you trying to say?" she seethed. She knew exactly what he was insinuating, and Brock's lack of trust in her was infuriating. "That I'm so reckless as to let an old childhood crush ruin everything?"

Misty could see in Brock's face that he was regretting ever saying anything at all. Perhaps, his discussion with Ash had gone much better, so he figured she would be just the same.

"What? No, not exactly..."

Misty stood up, slamming her palms against the table. "No, this is not fair. I'm not denying what happened, but I would have hoped that my best friend had more faith to talk to me first before jumping to crazy conclusions. I've moved on, Brock. It's time you did, too."

"Misty!" Brock called after her, but it was too late.

Misty stomped out the kitchen and up the steps. Slamming her bedroom door behind her, she flopped down on her bed and rolled over to the state at the ceiling. Her heart racing, Misty gently placed her hand over her chest and counted each beat as she took deep breaths. When her breathing finally evened out and her heartbeat dropped to a normal rate, Misty closed her eyes and let her tiredness take over as she dozed off to sleep. Maybe letting herself rest wasn't so bad.

A/N: Next chapter is almost done. I hope to have it up in the next day or two. Thank you to those who have stuck with me.