By the time the train left, allowing Serena to get out from under the edge of the platform, Shauna had come back from her lunch. She called 911 before helping Serena and the unconscious man off the tracks. Within fifteen minutes, an ambulance arrived and took the unconscious man to the nearest hospital. It wasn't long after the ambulance left that Iris and Axew came and found out what happened. Eager to find out if her crush was going to be okay, Serena convinced Iris to let her have the rest of the day off so that she could go to the hospital. She wasted no time to clock out and head to the hospital as fast as she could until she was at the reception desk at the front entrance.

"Excuse me," she began. "There was a guy brought in here not long ago. He was picked up from the Thom Avenue station."

"What's his name?" The receptionist asked.

"Uh, I don't know his name," Serena admitted.

"You don't know his name?" The receptionist questioned.

Serena scratched the back of her head and said, "Well, the thing is I -"

But as she tried to explain herself, she saw the entrance to the emergency room behind the reception desk, where she could see her crush being rolled away on a stretcher by a Wigglytuff through the glass doors. Serena ran to the doors, ignoring the receptionist calling out to her, and she burst through the doors only to have a doctor step in front of her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I need you to stay behind the doors," he said.

"No, please, you don't understand," Serena pleaded. "I want to see -"

"Are you family?" The doctor questioned.

"Well, no, but -" Serena said.

"Then you can't come in. Only family is allowed," the doctor said. "Please stay in the waiting room."

"No, please wait," Serena begged before the doctor closed the door in front of her.

Serena moaned as she watched the doctor and the Wigglytuff roll her crush away until they were out of sight. She rested her forehead on the glass door, disappointed that she couldn't see him. She hoped that if she was there when he woke up and he learned that she saved him, they might get to know each other and he would fall in love with her. A beautiful story where the woman bravely rescues her man. The hopeless romantic woman sighed, thinking she lost her one chance of getting together with her true love.

"I was going to marry him," she groaned.

With her head hung low, Serena walked to the waiting room and slumped onto a chair. She felt like a fool for thinking she could come in and expect to see her crush when she didn't even know his name. She considered going back to work until she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see a nurse with pink hair smiling at her.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I can get you to see him," she said.

Serena's eyes lit up, and she jumped from her seat with a look of hope.

"Really? You can do that?" She asked.

"Absolutely," the nurse said. "I'll just go check and see when they're done running tests on him, and I'll take you right to his room."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Serena cried out before spontaneously hugging the nurse.

"My pleasure," the nurse chuckled. "I'm Joy, by the way."

"I'm Serena," Serena said.

"Pleased to meet you," Joy said. "I heard he fell off the train tracks, and somebody saved him from getting run over. Was that you?"

Serena looked away shyly, and said, "Yeah, it was."

"That is so brave," Joy said. "It sounded like you could have been run over too."

"Well, I guess it was pretty dangerous when you say it like that," Serena said. "Either way, I'm glad he's okay."

Joy's smile grew, and she said, "I'm sure he'll be fine. I'll go check on him while they're running their tests."

"Thank you so much," Serena said before Joy went into the emergency room.

**********************************************************************************

Serena waited for an hour until Joy came back and said that they were done testing her crush. The nurse took her to the ICU, where the man laid on a hospital bed in one of the rooms. Joy set up a chair next to the bed for Serena, and the honey blonde woman looked at the unconscious man with a smile while Joy stood next to her.

"Why don't you talk to him, Serena," Joy suggested. "It helps if he hears your voice?"

Serena turned to the nurse with her cheeks turning pink, unprepared with the idea of talking to her crush. Joy smiled and said, "I'll leave you two alone," before she walked out of the room. Serena felt even more nervous; however, when it hit her that it was just her alone in a room with the man of her dreams. She didn't know what to do when she never had a conversation with him before, but then she considered taking the moment as an opportunity to practice talking to him without freezing at the sight of his handsome face. Serena slowly placed her hand on top of his and smiled with her cheeks turning pink to red.

"Hi," she said. "I'm glad that you're okay."

She paused for a moment, imagining he said, "Thank you."

"I was really worried," Serena continued. "When that guy and that Weavile were trying to mug you, and you fell into the tracks, I was really scared."

Again, she paused, pretending he was saying something like, "I'm alright, honey," and "I'm sorry you were frightened." Maybe he would even say, "Did you see the way I kicked that Weavile? The little weasel didn't see it coming." Serena giggled at the thought before her face turned serious again.

"Everything's going to be okay," she said.

She imagined the man giving her a captivating smile and saying, "I know it is. I'll get better before you know it. You'll see."

Serena smiled again and started rubbing her crush's hand with her thumb. Unbeknownst to her, Joy was standing outside behind the glass wall in the room, watching Serena talking to the unconscious man, unable to hear what she's saying. She had a blissful look on her face until she heard someone say her name.

"Joy."

She turned around and saw a woman with teal hair wearing a police uniform. Joy smiled and said, "Hey, Jenny. What brings you here?"

"I'm investigating what happened at Thom Avenue station," Jenny answered before noticing Serena sitting next to the man through the glass wall. "Is that the woman who saved that man's life?"

"Yup. That's the one," Joy said. "She risked her life to keep him from getting run over."

"Wow, That's really brave," Jenny said.

"That's what I said," Joy said. "And it gets even better. She's his fiancee."

"Whoa, really?" Jenny asked.

"Really, really," Joy replied. "I overheard her saying that she's going to marry him. She was really bummed that Dr. Schmitt wouldn't let her in the emergency room because she isn't family, so I decided to bring her here after they did their tests."

"Aw, how sweet," Jenny said.

"I know, right?" Joy said. "She loves him so much that she's willing to risk her life to save him. It's so romantic."

The two women placed their hands on their cheeks with blissful smiles on their faces. Meanwhile, Serena was lost in her little world, imagining that she was together with the man. After debating with herself, she gave in to the temptation to place the man's hand on her cheek and imagined him caressing it, making the nurse and the officer simultaneously say, "Aw!" They kept watching Serena for half a moment until Jenny cleared her throat.

"Well, I hate to disturb her, but I do need to ask her some questions," she said.

Joy nodded in understanding before Jenny entered the room and cleared her throat again to catch Serena's attention. The honey blonde girl squeaked in alarm and put the man's hand down, hoping the officer didn't notice, but her action only amused Jenny more, thinking she was embarrassed to be holding her fiance's hand like that. Jenny took a moment to hide a giggle before she took off her hat.

"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I need to ask you some questions," she said.

"Oh, yes, of course," Serena replied as she got off her seat.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Jenny said.

"Well, I was sitting in the token fare booth when I saw this man and Weavile approach him," Serena said. "The man was wearing a long black coat and a hat. The Weavile was threatening him with its claws, and so he kicked it and tried to escape, only for the man to grab him and push him back. That's when he got too close to the railing and fell into the tracks."

"What were you doing inside the token fare booth?" Jenny asked.

"I work there," Serena answered.

Jenny looked at the honey blonde woman confused, wondering why the man's fiance would be inside the booth instead of with him. She mentally shrugged it off, figuring he must have dropped by to say hi to his bride-to-be before taking the train.

"Did you get a look at the man?" She asked.

"No, I didn't," Serena answered. "His hat covered too much of his face."

"That's okay," Jenny said with a smile. "We'll do everything we can to find these thugs, ma'am."

"Thank you," Serena said, smiling back.

"Where is he?!"

Serena and Jenny turned around to see five people, a Mr. Mime and a Piplup, heading their way. Leading the group was a doctor in his thirties with short brown hair. Behind him was a woman in her forties with auburn hair tied to a ponytail, looking frantic with worry. Behind her was a woman in her early twenties with long blue hair, caring the Piplup with the Mr. Mime walking next to her. At the back was a bald, hunching man in his seventies with a spikey white beard and a woman in her forties with her peach hair tied to a side ponytail.

"Where is he?! Where's my Cay-Cay?!" The auburn-haired woman cried out.

"He's right here, Mrs. Ketchum," the doctor said calmly as he led the group into the room.

The auburn-haired woman went in and gasped in shock at the sight of Serena's crush. Tears were running down her face as she rushed over to his side. The rest of the group came in with their worried looks as they huddled around the bed.

"Oh, Calem, my boy," the auburn-haired woman cried.

"Mime, Mime," the Mr. Mime said with a frown.

"Calem," Serena thought with a smile. "What a charming name."

"He looks so pale," the blunette woman said.

"Piplup," the Piplup in her arms said.

"Is he okay, Dr. Proctor?" The peach-haired woman asked.

"I'm afraid he's in a coma," Dr. Proctor answered.

The auburn-haired woman cried louder than before, wailing, "My Calem is in a coma on Christmas Eve? Oh, Mimey."

The Mr. Mime nicknamed Mimey patted the poor woman on her back and handed her a handkerchief. Serena frowned, wishing there was something she could do to comfort her while Dr. Proctor spoke again.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Ketchum. It's not that bad," he said. "His vitals are strong, and his brain waves are good. I think Calem is going to get through this. It's just a matter of when he wakes up."

Calem's mother briefly smiled through her tears before she asked, "How did this happen?"

"He was pushed off the platform at the train station," Serena said.

The room suddenly got quiet, and everyone turned to Serena. She became uneasy as Calem's family looked at her confused, having just realized that she was in the room.

"Who are you?" The peach-haired woman asked.

"She's his fiance," Jenny answered.

Serena's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. She couldn't believe that the police officer would straight out say those three words in front of everyone. Calem's family stared at the shy woman, befuddled.

"His fiance?!" The blunette woman shouted.

"Calem's engaged?" The older man asked.

"Yeah, one of the nurses told me," Jenny said.

"Wait, hang on -" Serena said.

"If he has a fiance, wouldn't he have told us?" The blunette woman asked.

"Maybe he was busy," The peach-haired woman said with a shrug.

"Too busy?! Too busy to tell his mother that he's getting married?!" Calem's mother asked hysterically.

"Mom, calm down," the blunette woman said.

"Don't tell me to be calm, Dawn!" Mrs. Ketchum barked.

"Oh, if only Ash were here," the peach-haired woman said.

"Wait, you don't understand," Serena said. "I'm not -"

"Grandpa Ramos!"

Serena looked to the blunette woman named Dawn, who had to put down her Piplup so that she could wrap her arms around the older man, who was struggling to stay up and had his hand on his heart. Everyone grew worried as Dawn gently helped her grandfather sit down on Serena's chair.

"What's wrong with him?" Dr. Proctor asked.

"He's got a heart problem," the peach-haired woman answered. "He's had three attacks today."

Grandpa Ramos glared at the woman and said, "They were not attacks, Sonia. They were episodes."

The peach-haired woman named Sonia rolled her eyes and said, "Evidently, there's nothing wrong with his hearing."

"Wait, hold on. Can you please give me a moment to -" Serena begged.

"Excuse me, Dr. Proctor."

Everyone turned around to see the doctor who stopped Serena from coming into the emergency room enter the room, looking at Serena with a disapproving look. Joy followed behind him.

"What is this woman doing here?" He asked. "She's not allowed."

"Buddy, what are you talking about? This woman saved his life," Jenny rebuked.

Once again, all eyes were on Serena, making her nervous again.

"You...you saved his life?" Calem's mother asked.

"Er, well, yeah, but the thing is -" Serena began.

"I thought he was pushed off the platform," Dawn said.

"He was, but she jumped on the tracks," Joy said.

"She jumped on the tracks?" Sonia asked.

"Yeah, she almost got run over trying to save him," Joy answered.

Calem's mother let out a soft gasp, looking at Serena as though she was an angel from heaven.

"You...you risked your life to save my Cay-Cay?" She asked.

Serena opened her mouth to take the opportunity to speak to deny that she's engaged to Calem, but she couldn't bring herself to do it when his emotional mother was looking at her with hope in her eyes.

"Yeah, I did," Serena confessed.

Calem's mother let out a cheerful, "Oh," while the rest of his family looked at Serena in awe. Dr. Proctor, Jenny, and Joy smiled while the other doctor rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, she's very brave, but she still can't be here. This is family only," he said.

Calem's mother's look of joy turned into one of determination as she turned to the doctor and said with pride, "She is family, doctor. She's my son's fiance."

"Wait, that's not true, I -" Serena said before she was interrupted a fifth time.

"What is your name, dear?" Calem's mother asked.

The honey blonde woman hesitated before she answered, "Serena."

"Serena," Calem's mother said with stars in her eyes. "What a beautiful name. Why, I can see it now. Mrs. Serena Ketchum."

Serena couldn't help but smile the name before she snapped out of it and opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could, Calem's mother placed her hands on her cheeks and looked deep into her ocean blue eyes.

"We haven't seen Calem in a long time. I hope you can forgive us for having not heard of you," she said. "I always wanted him to find a nice girl, but I had no idea that he would find someone like you."

Before Serena knew it, the auburn-haired woman pulled her into the tightest hug she ever felt. She could do nothing but awkwardly hug back while her crush's mother cried on her shoulder. The rest of Calem's family joined in the hug while Dr. Schmidt left the room, and Mimey, Piplup, Jenny, Joy, and Dr. Proctor looked at them with warm smiles, thinking they were witnessing a touching family moment. Serena, meanwhile, felt trapped. She wanted to be engaged with the man of her dreams and would love for his family to like her, but not like this. Finally, the family broke the hug and looked at the honey blonde girl with loving looks.

"So tell us, how did you meet Calem?" Sonia asked.

"Oh, yes, please tell us," Calem's mother said.

"I bet it's a nice story," Grandpa Ramos said. "Or at least better than how he met that one girl at a bar."

"Oh yeah, I remember her," Dawn said. "What was her name?"

"Miette Gulia," Sonia said with a smirk. "She was pretty high and mighty for someone with a funny last name."

"Well, now Calem has found a nice girl, so we can forget all about Miette," Calem's mother said.

"You said it, Mom," Dawn said. "So, Serena, how did you steal my brother from Miette? Tell me it was love at first sight."

Serena hesitated, not knowing how to answer their question. She thought about finally telling them the truth, but she was afraid of what would happen if she did. After thinking about it, she decided to give the most honest answer she could think of.

"W-well, I'm a token fare conductor at the train station off of Thom Avenue," she said. "I first saw Calem about two years ago, and when he smiled at me as he was putting a token in the slot while looking at me with his beautiful eyes, I knew my life would never be the same.

"Aw!" Dawn, Sonia, Joy, Jenny, and Calem's mother said simultaneously.

"That does sound like my grandson," Grandpa Ramos chuckled. "He always had a knack for grabbing a girl's attention with his eyes just like his father."

"I can vouch for that," Calem's mom said. "And I'm sure you did the same to him cause you have beautiful eyes yourself, Serena."

Serena blushed, having never been complimented for her eyes before, and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum."

"Oh, you don't have to be so formal, dear. We're family," Calem's mother chirped. "Just call me Mom."

"What? But don't you think that's a little -?" Serena protested until Calem's mother gave her a pleading look. The honey blonde woman hesitated until she accepted that the auburn-haired woman wasn't going to take no for an answer and said, "Okay...mom."

Calem's mother giggled with glee and said, "Thank you, dear. Now, I assume Calem has told you about the rest of our family, right?"

"Oh yes, I know who all of you are," Serena claimed before turning to Dawn. "You're Calem's sister, Dawn."

"Sure am," Dawn said proudly. "And over on the bed is my buddy, Piplup."

"Piplup," Piplup chirped.

"Yes, Calem has told me about Piplup and Mimey too," Serena lied.

"Mime, Mime," Mimey chirped.

"I hope my grandson didn't forget to mention me, young lady," Grandpa Ramos said.

"Oh, of course not, Grandpa Ramos," Serena replied. "You're easy to recognize from all the pictures Calem has shown me."

Grandpa Ramos chuckled and looked away bashfully. Serena began to relax, thankful that she overheard everyone's names and how they are related to her crush. But then she noticed Sonia and realized she didn't know how she was related to Calem. She guessed that she was his aunt, but she was worried about what would happen if she guessed wrong in front of the family. She paused for a moment before she got an idea of how to find out safely.

"And you're...uh, well, it's uh..." she said, pretending she was having trouble remembering.

Sonia smiled and said, "I'm Sonia, Calem's godmother."

"Yes! That's right. You're Sonia," Serena said. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe it slipped my mind like that."

"Aw, don't fret about it. It happens to the best of us," Sonia said. "Heck, sometimes I forget where I put my phone even though it's in my coat pocket. Isn't that right, Delia?"

"It sure is," Calem's mother, Delia, replied. "Sometimes, when she's visiting us, she leaves our house, forgetting that she left her phone on the dining room table."

Serena chuckled while mentally thanking heaven that they all believed her lies. The room was silent, with the family, Jenny, Joy, and Dr. Proctor, smiling at the honey blonde woman until she cleared her throat.

"Well, I need to get going," she said.

"What? Why?" Delia asked.

"I need to feed my Fennekin. She's probably starving by now," Serena answered.

"Oh, I understand," Delia said.

"You'll come back to visit Calem, though, right?" Dawn asked.

"Absolutely," Serena said without thinking.

"Wonderful. We can't wait to see you again, Serena," Delia said before pulling Serena into another tight hug.

The rest of the family joined in for another group hug, making Serena uneasy while, at the same time, enjoying the loving affection. As she was hugging Delia back, she noticed Joy and Jenny still watching with Dr. Proctor, Mimey, and Piplup and decided she needed to talk to them about the misunderstanding. She waits until the family breaks the hug and clears her throat.

"Joy, Officer Jenny, can I speak with you while I leave, please?" She asked.

The two women looked at her confused before they both said, "Sure."

"Thank you," Serena said before turning to the family. "It was great meeting all of you."

"You too, Serena," Delia said.

"Mr. Mime," Mimey said.

"Hope to see you soon," Dawn said.

"Piplup," Piplup chirped in agreement.

"Don't be a stranger," Grandpa Ramos said.

"Ramos, how can she be a stranger if she's Calem's fiancee?" Sonia rebuked.

Serena chuckled again before she finally left the room with Jenny and Joy following behind. She made sure that they were far away from Calem's room before turning to Jenny and Joy.

"Okay, what was that?" She asked. "Why did you guys say I'm his fiance?"

Jenny and Joy looked at Serena, puzzled, and the latter asked, "Because you said you are."

"What? I never said that," Serena said.

"You're not engaged to Calem?" Jenny asked.

"No, I'm not engaged to him. I've never even spoken to the man," Serena said.

"But I heard you say that you're going to marry him," Joy said.

"I was talking to myself when I said that," she said. "I've been crushing on that man for ages and was hoping that saving him would lead to me getting to officially meeting him."

"And you were imagining him showing affection for you by placing his hand on your cheek?" Jenny asked.

Serena flushed and gave the officer a nod. Jenny shook her head in disapproval while Joy sighed.

"Friendly advice, Serena; the next time you say something like that, say it more quietly so that no one can hear you or at least say that you're single at the end of the conversation," Joy said.

"Yeah, and don't pretend the guy is caressing your cheek when you're not a couple," Jenny said. "I get that he's really cute, but that's just weird."

"Ugh. I know, but I couldn't help myself," Serena whined. "What am I going to do? His mom was hugging me so tight. I just couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth."

The nurse and the officer looked at her sympathetically, and the former said, "I don't know."

"Me neither," Jenny said.

"Not to mention her telling me to call her 'mom,' saying I'm family and everyone hugging me all at once," Serena said.

"I know," Jenny said.

Serena groaned and covered her face with her hands. Jenny and Joy frowned, wishing there was something they could do to undo the situation they unknowingly created. As the three of them stood in silence, Sonia walked over to them, not noticing their downhearted demeanor.

"Excuse me, Nurse Joy, but Dr. Proctor told me to ask you to take me to your pharmacy," she said. "I was hoping to get some more medicine for Ramos."

"Oh, sure," Joy replied. "Is it for his heart problem?"

"Problem? More like problems," Sonia tittered. "It's crazy how frequently he keeps getting his so-claimed episodes."

"Okay, well, I can help you with that," Joy said.

"Thank you," Sonia said before turning to Serena. "Though if we're being honest, Serena, I think you saved Ramos's life."

Serena grew uncomfortable and said, "Please don't say that. I don't deserve that kind of credit."

"You do to me," Sonia said with a heartwarming smile. "Heck, as far as I'm concerned, you've saved everyone's life. I think we're all feeling better thanks to you."

Serena winced as Sonia patted her cheek and said, "Lord bless you," before following Joy to the elevator. When they were out of sight, Serena covered her face with her hands again and let out a muffled scream while Jenny patted her back.

************************************************************************************

As soon as Serena got home, she plopped onto her bed and screamed into her pillow. Fennekin watched with its head tilted, having no idea what Serena was saying with her pillow covering her face. Eventually, Serena put her pillow down and apologized to Fennekin before feeding her Pokemon its dinner. After they had eaten, Serena told Fennekin everything that happened at the train station and the hospital. The fox Pokemon was dumbfounded by Serena's story before it decided to lick her hand out of hope that it might cheer her up. Serena smiled appreciatively and picked up her friend to hug it before going to bed.

But while Fennekin slept on her bed without a care, Serena was unable to fall asleep. She turned back and forth and covered her head with her pillow, but she was wide awake no matter what she did. The honey blonde woman whined as it became clear that she couldn't rest while her mind was fixed on what happened between her and Calem's family. Even though she secretly liked the attention she was getting from a loving family, she worried about what would happen once her crush woke up and the secret would be out.

Desperate to do something about her situation, she decided to go back to the hospital. She changed out of her pajamas and left a note for Fennekin before leaving the apartment. After walking for twenty-five minutes, she entered the hospital, and the receptionist allowed her to visit Calem, having heard the story about Serena being his fiance. Serena fought the urge to deny it before going up the elevator to the ICU. When she entered Calem's room, she smiled at the unconscious man, admiring his handsome looks again before she reminded herself why she was there and cleared her throat.

"Hi, Calem," she said. "I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here in the middle of the night."

Serena paused for a moment to pretend Calem was saying that he was wondering why she was there.

"Uh, well, I thought I should properly introduce myself," she said. "My name is Serena. Serena Judith Yvonne. I'm the woman you always pay the fare for at the Thom Avenue train station.

"Oh, yes. I remember you," she pretended to hear him say. "What are you doing here?"

Serena cleared her throat and said, "Well, um, I think you should know that your family thinks we are engaged."

Serena imagined the beautiful man looking at her dumbfounded and asking, "Why?"

"Well, it's a little hard to explain, but there was a misunderstanding that led to a police officer and a nurse saying we are," Serena said.

"Oh, man. That is crazy," she imagined Calem saying.

"Tell me about it," Serena said with a nervous chuckle. "I've never been engaged before. This is not how I imagined it would happen."

The room became silent as Serena stared at the unconscious man. Her nervous smile turned into a frown before she sat down on a chair next to Calem's bed.

"Actually, Calem, the real reason I came here was to tell you that I didn't mean for this to happen," she said. "The truth is Jenny and Joy were the ones who said we're engaged, but it was my fault that they thought that. You see, when I was a kid, I always imagined that I would find someone special, travel with them, and maybe have a family later down the road. Don't get me wrong, I have a nice apartment, and I have a Fennekin, who is as sweet and adorable as can be, so I can't complain. It's just that I keep dreaming that I would find someone to laugh with, or have deep conversations with, or want to see the whole world with, and from the first moment I first saw you, I wanted that person to be you."

Serena felt goosebumps all over her arms and legs, and her heart skipped a beat. Even though Calem was unconscious, Serena felt embarrassed for confessing how she felt in front of him out loud, but at the same time, she felt better after getting it off her chest.

"Calem, do you believe in love at first sight?" Serena asked before shaking her head. "No. I doubt you do. You're probably too sensitive to believe in that."

The honey blonde woman started playing with her fingers while thinking about what to ask next.

"How about this: have you ever liked somebody and wished that they would get to know the real you?" She asked. "Maybe they would dump the perfect model like this Miette woman your family was talking about and realized that you were the one they wanted to be with?"

Again, Serena fell silent as though she was waiting for her crush to answer her. Her frown deepened as her situation dwelled in her mind again.

"Calem, have you ever fallen in love with somebody you haven't even talked to?"

With the last question, the honey blonde woman sighed and placed her hand on top of her crush's hand. Unknown to her, Sonia was standing on the other side of the glass wall. The peach-haired woman stared at Serena before she quietly walked away, not knowing what to do with what she overheard.