This is the final chapter of this fic and I'd appreciate it if you could leave a brief review, if you're up to it. These chapters have spawned a side-fic, which expands on a few of the little details I've skimmed over in this story, it should be done in the coming weeks. Thanks a lot, to everyone, for reading and I hope this last chapter is at least half as entertaining as the others.

Silver had started to fidget. He knew he was expected to sit still, to pay attention, to wait patiently to be spoken to before he did anything. He'd been sitting in the office for too long and was tired of staring at the ugly paintings on the walls. The carpet was ugly, the office was dull, and Persian kept hissing at him, he wasn't even provoking him this time. He was just bored.

"Can I go now?"

"I asked for you to be here."

"I'm bored."

"Obviously." Giovanni finally looked up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk and stared coldly at the small boy sitting opposite him. "As you probably know, next Wednesday is your fifth birthday."

"I'll be five," Silver held up his hand. "I can use all my fingers now, see?"

"Yes. You know that on this day you have my attention for a full afternoon and therefore you are able to decide what you would like to spend that time doing. You have the rest of the day to think about it and are to tell Ariana what you choose. She will pass the information to me. Understood?"

Silver frowned across the desk and narrowed his eyebrows, stuck in as deep in thought as a four year old could be.

"I don't understand," he said eventually.

"You don't understand."

"Nope. Why can't I just tell you?"

"Because I have far too many things to deal with this week as it is without adding you to that list. Who's looking after you today?"

"Petrel," Silver answered the question cheerfully. Petrel had been babysitting him for almost two weeks.

"You can tell Petrel to take you home now."

"Okay."

"Silver?"

"Yeah?" Silver couldn't help but sound hopeful when Giovanni spoke again.

"Don't leave your belongings out where anyone can trip over them tonight. You do not want to know what the consequences will be if you forget."

"Yes, sir," he said and ran out of the office to find Petrel; not only was it a boring place to be but it was one that scared him, he knew the kind of people that worked in those offices.

xxxxx

"Silver!" Giovanni barked his son's name down the hallway. He didn't know if the boy was even awake let alone dressed for the day. He waited, impatiently, tapping his foot and glancing up at the clock. "Silver!" He shouted again, "I don't have time for this right now!"

"What?" Silver appeared pyjama-clad in his doorway, one hand trying to flatten his hair while the other clutched a stuffed Dragonite. "I was sleeping."

"It's after 9am, you should be awake by now. I have to attend to Gym business today, I'll be gone until sometime this evening."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"But…" Silver gave a small pout. "It's my birthday. You promised."

"Sometimes promises get broken. I don't choose when to attend to the Gym."

"Yes you do, you're the Boss."

"I don't choose when challengers come along."

"But the Gym closes early, will you be home after the Gym closes?"

"I have other business to attend to."

"Like what?" Silver's demanding tone cause Giovanni to raise a questioning eyebrow.

"Don't ask questions."

"It's Team Rocket stuff, isn't it?"

"Perhaps."

"It is."

"How do you know that?"

"Because Team Rocket stuff is always more important than me."

Giovanni was taken off guard by such a harsh comment coming from the mouth of a child. The boy didn't sound upset, he didn't look like he was about to cry. He didn't turn to leave but he didn't seem to be expecting an answer, either, and Giovanni knew that was the worst part about the statement. Silver was right. He was only just five years old and he knew that, for his own father, business came first. It had always come first and in that moment, both father and son knew it always would.

xxxxx

Ariana only left her spot by the fridge when she heard the door slam. Giovanni had walked out without giving her so much as a reminder of what day it was. She stepped into the hall and walked down to where Silver was standing by the doorway to his bedroom. She smiled and knelt in front of him, brushed back his dishevelled hair and zipped up the hoodie that she assumed he'd put on when Giovanni had shouted his name.

"Happy Birthday, baby."

"I don't think he's going to take me to Fuchsia City."

"Why'd you want to go there anyway?"

"To see the zoo again," Silver said as he shifted uncomfortably, tightening his grip on Dragonite.

"I got you something."

"Really?"

"Of course, baby, you're five now. That's pretty grown up," Ariana said with a smile. "Come on, let's have some breakfast and then we'll find something exciting to do today."

Silver hesitated but took her hand when she offered it; she led him back to the kitchen and helped him up onto one of the tall stools by the counter. He sat as patiently as he could while she poured him a bowl of cereal.

"What did you get me?"

"Hm?"

"You said you got me something!"

"Oh, did I?" Ariana laughed. "You can keep secrets, can't you?"

"Better than anyone else."

"Good, because I want you to keep this a secret from your Dad, okay? It's for you, not him."

Silver watched as Ariana sat up on the stool next to him and reached into her pocket. She took out a small box and handed it to the boy, who simply stared.

"What is it?"

"I've known your Dad and the rest of Team Rocket for a long time, baby. It used to be your mother's. I found it a little while ago and since your Dad's too busy to care, I thought you might want to hold on to it." Ariana watched as Silver opened the box and stared at the ring inside, running his fingers over the cool metal before he snapped the lid shut again. "You should hide it in your room somewhere. Somewhere only you can find it."

"Okay," Silver couldn't help but sound a little disappointed.

"Oh baby, you think that I'd just give you an old ring for your birthday?" Ariana laughed at his expression. "I thought I'd take you out and let you pick some new books. You've read all the old ones. And then," she continued, smiling as his eyes lit up, "I thought we'd have pancakes for dinner since there's no way your Dad's going to be home before dinnertime. What do you think?"

"Okay," Silver said. It was all he could say. Despite his young age, Silver knew better than to expect his father to come good on any promises he made. As much fun as he knew that he would have with Ariana, he couldn't help wishing that for once, just once, his father would prove him wrong. Come home from the Gym early, forget about Team Rocket for a few hours, sit with him and Ariana and eat pancakes for dinner.

Even as Silver laughed throughout the afternoon and clutched her hand as they walked through the streets of Celadon, so far from home, giggling like a happy child should, she could see through the mask that one so young shouldn't have been forced to wear.

The boy was so like his father already that Ariana could see what he was hiding, knew it long before he did. She had seen that expression before, many years ago, identical to the expression on his father's face. Except this time the circumstances were different, this time is was worse; Giovanni was not the one experiencing, but inflicting, the heartbreak.