Ash dropped Serena in the nearest Hospital and went out again as he told her that he had some "business to handle".

We join Ash in front of a certain someone's house. The house was small and looked quite old. Not something that should belong to a former Champion... but it was quite well known that the former Champion gambled a lot and ended up losing a lot of money.

With Ash

Ash knocked the door and waited. Moments later, it opened to reveal a boy, about the same age as Ash. He had Charcoal-black hair and dull grey eyes. The stench of alcohol was looming around the individual.

"Calem Xavier..." said Ash in a cold voice.

Calem was taken aback by Ash's tone. It sent shivers down his spine.

It was relatively dark so Calem couldn't see who it was.

"Who are you?" asked Calem.

Ash didn't reply. Instead, he took a step towards Calem so the lights from inside the house illuminated his face. The moment Calem saw Ash's face, he felt unprecedented amount of fear that paralysed him instantly.

"A-Ash Ketchum..." was all Calem could squeak out.

Ash's eyes were cold and merciless. They showed nothing but the will to have revenge. Ash had had a hard day... and seeing Serena in that state pushed him over the edge. He wanted to take all the anger out. All the anger held in from the moment he saw Misty and Rudy to the moment he was Serena earlier in the evening... and that just what he did.

Ash didn't say a word... he didn't need to. He clenched his right fist as tight as possible and threw it at Calem's  left jaw with all his strength. The moment he made contact, Ash broke his Index and Middle finger... but he didn't care. He couldn't feel the pain because of all the adrenaline running through his body.

Calem, on the other hand felt the full force of the blow. He felt his brain start shaking as he stumbled onto the floor. His jaw hurt... a lot. As soon as he tried to open his mouth, he felt a stinging pain that stopped him from doing so. With just one punch, Ash had broken Calem's jaw.

Ash looked around the house. Right in front of his was the kitchen . The chairs were all on the floor and there was a knife right near the kitchen door. The living room was right next to the kitchen and it was full of empty Whiskey and Vodka bottles.

The whole house reeked of a combination and damp. It was relatively dark but Ash could still see glass shards scattered on the stairs. He could also see droplets of blood on the stairs, leading into the kitchen and the finally out of the front door.

Ash felt anger... but also sorrow. He couldn't believe that Serena was living in those conditions with a pathetic excuse for a human being, also known as Calem. Ash felt like it was his fault that Serena was put in this situation in the first place... but he knew that it was Calem's responsibility, as her boyfriend, to keep her happy and safe. But Calem didn't do so. Calem hurt Serena... and now, he was going to pay for it.

Ash glared at a struggling Calem on the floor with new-found hatred.

"You BITCH!!"

And with that, Ash jumped on top of Calem and started throwing a flurry of fists at Calem's face.

"You were the luckiest man in the world to have Serena as your girlfriend and this is how you treat her?" he exclaimed with a powerful voice full of anger and hatred, while continuing repeatedly hurling his fists at Calem's face.

Ash could feel his hand getting wet. He knew it was blood. It was a mixture of his own blood and Calem's blood, but he didn't stop. He wanted Calem to feel pain like her never has before.

At this point, Calem was nearing unconsciousness. He was missing some teeth and his nose was broken in more than one place... but he didn't even have the chance to fight back. He was finned down onto the floor by a furious Ash Ketchum who was now destroying his face in ways he didn't even could be done.

After almost 2 minutes of non-stop punching Calem, Ash felt satisfied. He stood up to look at Calem. He face was all bloodied, there were a couple teeth next to him and you could see his cheek bones swelling up.

"Fuck you..." exclaimed Ash, and with one last powerful kick to the face, knocked Calem out cold.

Ash then dialed the emergency services using Calem's phone but didn't say anything. He left the phone there and walked out of the house counting on the fact that the emergency services would be able to track the location of his phone and get to his house... not that Ash cared as such.

Calem could die for all he cared, but he didn't want to spend the next 20-30 years in jail... so yeah.

After about 30-45 minutes, Ash returned to the hospital. He was treated for all his injuries. He had casts on both hands... but that was about it. Calem didn't even have a chance to put a finger on him. The only injuries Ash had were ones he bought to himself.

He then visited Serena's room in the hospital. Upon entering, he felt his heart drop. She had a patch on her right eye and a huge bandage on her shoulder. There were smaller band-aids scattered all over her arms and legs, probably covering up smaller cuts and bruises.

Ash frowned at the sight but sighed a breath of relief after remembering that she was out of trouble now. It was relatively late at night, Serena was already asleep and Ash didn't want to return home and sleep on his bed... not after what he saw happening on it today. So, Ash decided to sleep in he hospital. In the corner of Serena's hospital room, there was an easy chair and Ash decided to catch some shut eye on it. He gazed fondly at Serena, the only woman who has ever loved him and managed to crack a smile. With that smile, he fell asleep.

No one's POV

Serena fluttered her eyes open and took in her surroundings. The walls were white with green curtains. The bed was slightly rough and the air smelled of chlorine. That's when she remembered that she was in a hospital.

"Serena, you're awake!"

She froze. She could recognise that voice anywhere. Just now it contained so much happiness and excitement. She twisted her neck to look to her left and saw him sitting there.

"A-Ash?" asked Serena, slightly surprised that he was still there.

Ash smiled at her and Serena smiled back. Her smile, however, immediately turned into a frown as soon as she saw Ash's hands. They were all bandaged up.

"Ash, what happened to your hands?" asked Serena with worry evident in her voice.

Ash just chuckled and replied.

"Its nothing serious. I wouldn't worry about it too much." replied Ash while grinning at her.

Serena didn't know how to react. Of course she was still worried, however, if Ash said it was no big deal... then it probably wasn't.

As the was thinking that, the door to her room opened and the doctor came in.

"Hello Miss Yvonne. I see that you are awake now. We have conducted some tests on you and we are happy to let you know that you haven't suffered any serious injuries, apart from that shoulder of yours." he said while removing the eye patch.

As soon as the patch was taken off, Ash frowned. Serena had a black eye and there was a small, but visible up on her right eyebrow. The doctor then look a small band-aid and put it on her eyebrow.

"If you rest and keep your shoulder still, it should be usable after 2-3 weeks. All you need to do is rest and take these medicine to help your shoulder recover quicker." continued the doctor while writing the names of some medicines on a prescription note.

He handed them to Serena and continued speaking.

"That means you can now go home." he finished with a smile.

Serena, however, frowned and started tearing up. She had nowhere to go now. Ash noticed Serena's facial expression easily and walked up to her. He put a palm on her shoulder and fought through the pain to give her a tight and reassuring squeeze. Serena looked up at Ash as he smiled back down on her. He warm smile immediately lifted Serena's mood.

"You can come with me." said Ash, almost as if he could read Serena's mind, however, it was quite obvious. Ash knew that Serena's only abode was now in Vaniville... and they were currently in Coumarine City. He knew Serena needed a place to stay, and that's what he offered her.

Serena, without a second thought, pounced on the opportunity. She smiled brightly at him while nodding.

With that, a couple of hours later, the two exited the hospital and made their way to Ash's house. His house was on the other side of the city, so they slowly started making their way there.

Eventually, the reached the front door and Serena immediately stopped walking. She remembered the day she left the house. The day her life turned upside down. She regretted it as it was, by far, the worst decision she had ever made. But... there was something else holding her back. Misty Waterflower. Serena knew that Ash and Misty were in a relationship. Ash looked happy with her and Serena, unaware of Ash current situation, didn't want to interfere.

Ash noticed that Serena had stopped.

"What's wrong?" he asked while turning around to look at her.

"I... I can't do this." said Serena while slowly backing away.

Ash immediately started frowning.

"But why? You have nowhere else to go. You need someone to take care of you right now, so please, I want to be here for you." said Ash sincerely. He didn't want Serena to fall into the wrong hands again. It has already happened one and he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if it happened again.

Serena was surprised by Ash's words, but skepticism was still lingering around her.

"But... what about Misty?" asked Serena in a quiet voice while looking down to the floor. She hated the idea of Ash already being with someone else, but she was helpless if that is what Ash wanted.

Ash too looked away. He wasn't aware that Serena knew about Misty.

"You... don't have to worry about her... anymore." said Ash as his voice quivered a little.

Serena noticed it and looked up at Ash immediately and saw the same broken and sorrowful eyes as yesterday. Serena's eyes widened in realisation. The reason why Ash was so far away yesterday, the reason why he appeared so depressed and the reason why he had the look on his face right now.

"No..." was all Serena managed to whisper out.

"Let's go inside..." said Ash as he opened the door.

To his relief, he noticed that all of Misty's stuff like her shoes, bags and towels were not where they usually were, meaning she had left the house... probably to go live with Rudy.

Serena didn't say anything and followed Ash inside the house.

"Go up to my room... I'll get us some water." said Ash as he made his way to the kitchen.

Serena went to the room. The same room she had slept in countless times. This was the first time in 6 months that she would enter the room. Upon entering, she noticed that there were no bed-sheets and all the stuff there only belonged to Ash, further adding evidence to her suspicion.

As she went to sit on the bed, she saw a note on the bedside table and started to read it.

To Ash,

I'm sorry for what I did. I know it was wrong and I know I shouldn't have hurt you. You've always been the one trying to make the relationship work and I've ruined everything.

I'm sorry I'm having to do this, but after what you saw, I know you will never want to see me again. That's why I am leaving.

Goodbye Ash. The wish the best for you in the future.

-Misty

As Serena read this, she couldn't help but tear up. Her suspicion was true after all. Misty's words suggested one thing and one thing only. Ash caught her cheating on him.

The door to the room opened and Ash walked in with two glasses of water. As soon as he saw Serena with tears flowing down her cheeks, he started getting worried.

"Serena, are you OK?" asked Ash.

Serena couldn't speak. She looked up at Ash while handing him the sheet of paper.

Ash took it. He had a vague idea of what was written on it. As he started reading it, he felt a tiny bot satisfied by that fact that Misty really seemed sorry, however, he was still very hurt and Serena could see it very clearly.

Serena felt guilty, so she started talking.

"I am so... so... sorry Ash!" she said between sobs.

Ash looked at her. He was very worried about her.

"There's nothing to be sorry abo-" Ash started, however was cut off.

"There is Ash! I acted really rash that day. I jumped to conclusions without any evidence. I left you alone and went out and at the end, it ended up getting both of us hurt. It's all my fault Ash. I'm sorry!" said Serena as she wept.

Ash knew what she said was partially right, however, he would never let her take complete blame for the whole thing.

"No Serena. I'm to blame too. I never thought about it from your point of view. I just kept working and working. I left you all day to get the boutique ready, I to bla-" Ash started, however, he was cut off by Serena again.

"Boutique? What boutique?" asked Serena.

Ash froze. He didn't want to tell Serena about it just yet. He knew that the words had already slipped out of his mouth. The situation was already fragile and he didn't want to hide anything from Serena right now, so he let everything out.

Ash explained what he was doing during the two months that he left early and returned later. He explained why he couldn't spend time with Serena. He then explained that it was his fault too as he should have spent more time with Serena.

After hearing what Ash said, Serena broke down even more. Ash was only trying to give her a gift. A gift that she has always wanted, and all she did was assume things randomly, hurt him and pushed him away from her. She felt like it was her completely her fault, however after Ash explained how it was his fault too, she understood.

She knew that she loved Ash more than anything else in the whole wide world, and being with Calem only made her realise it even more. She knew that she had a chance now, and she had to take it.

"A-Ash... I have something to say to you." said Serena.

Ash looked at hr and gave her his full and undivided attention.

"I'm sorry for breaking up with you. I know you're going to say that we should share the blame... but it was me who broke up with you... and I'm sorry." Serena stopped to gather her thoughts again.

"I-I don't know how you feel about me anymore. 6 months is a lot of time, and things can change... but one thing that hasn't changed are my feelings for you." said Serena. She looked Ash dead in the eye and continued.

"Ash, I still love you..." said Serena.

Ash stood still. He froze. He never expected that. He wanted to win her back.He wanted her back in his arms, but she was the one who confessed first.

"Serena..." Ash croaked. He then remained silent.

The silence was killing Serena on the inside. She was expecting the worst. After what she did to him and after the amount of pain he has gone though, she didn't expect Ash to accept her again. She knew love could hurt... but she wanted to make sure Ash was never hurt again. She wanted to protect him in the same way he wanted to protect her. Serena looked at Ash with hopeful eyes but all she could see in Ash's eyes were nothingness. With each passing Second, Serena started losing more and more hope, until it reached the point where she could no longer maintain eye contact.

Tears started leaving her eyes again. She faced away from Ash and look down onto the floor. Ash hadn't said anything for quite a while now. He was still in shock, but he soon came back to his senses. He was filled with joy again. The one girl he cared about the most and loved so deeply had come back to him.

Serena was still facing the floor and sobbing, however, everything abruptly stopped when she help two fingers under her chin, pushing it up. As soon as her head rose, her lips were immediately met with Ash's. Serena was surprised at first, however, she soon melted.

To Serena, Ash's kisses where sincere. They were full of unparalleled love and affection. It was a passionate kiss. One that conveyed everything Ash felt towards Serena. It was powerful and beautiful. They actually meant something, unlike Calem's ones that felt hollow and meaningless. Serena was so grateful to Ash. She was filled with happiness and contentment as she started crying tears of joy.

To Ash, Serena's kiss was full of unconditional love. Love that both Ash and Serena yearned for. The kiss she returned was sweet and gentle. It showed to Ash that Serena cared. She cared about Ash and his feelings. Serena's kiss that a healing effect on Ash's once broken heart. She mended it with the kiss she returned.

The two soon separated as they both needed some air. They were both breathing heavily as they started into each other's eyes. They loved every second they spent with each other. There was complete silence, until Ash spoke up.

"So, Serena Yvonne, would you like to be my girlfriend again?" asked Ash.

Serena sighed a breath of satisfaction as she grew a wide grin on her face and replied.

"I would love to!" she squealed as she hugged Ash.

"I've got something else for you." said Ash as be broke from the hug and walked to a nearby table. He got a key out of the drawer and walked back to Serena.

"This is the key to your new store." said Ash while holding up the key and grinning.

Serena stood there dumbfounded.

"You still had it? Why?" asked Serena. She thought that Ash would have sold the place or something after she left him.

"Because, I knew my Serena would return to me one day." he said while grinning sheepishly at her.

Serena was at the verge of tears. She knew now that there was no other man she would rather spend her life with. She lunged on Ash and kissed him passionately. After a while they broke the kiss and looked at each other.

"I Love you, Ash."

"I love you too, Serena."

And with that, our favourite couple are back together.

Over the past 6 months, Serena learned that jumping to conclusions is not the smarted thing to do and that trust is the most important thing in a relationship. If she had just trusted Ash, none of this would have happened.

Ash also learned that he should be more considerate of the feelings of those around him, and also that your time is the most valuable gift you can ever give to anyone, especially your significant other. If he had just give her more time and attention, none of this would have happened.

However, both of them were glad that it did happen. It taught the two new things. It made their relationship stronger and it showed the two just how important they were to each other.

In the end, a relationship is like a string. A string can break and when it does, one becomes two. However, if the two sides work together, they can from a knot. A knot that joins the string back together. The knot represents the hardships the two sides had to suffer through to bring the string back together.

That evening, the headlines on all newspapers in Kalos were the same thing:

"Former Champion, Calem Xavier, found injured with multiple broken bones and missing teeth in his own house. He is in a stable condition in Coumarine University Hospital.

He is to appear in Court after recovering for alleged physical