Terminality
Part One: Arrival
By Chris Devlin
E-Mail: devlin1983@hotmail.com
Genre: Romance
AN: Well, this is it, my first proper AAMRN in ages! Well, part one of it anyway. I intend to upload them all within a week so stay tuned the next few parts which should be out soon. Anyway, for those loyal fans of mine (Hyeah, right, I have fans) this could be the most you'll get for a while. Staying away from home, without an Internet connection plays havoc with my Fan-fic writing. I don't really get a chance to see what other writers are doing and I can't write one on the spur of the moment and have it on-line within minutes. This all really removes my inspiration quite a bit. Anyhow, this fic was inspired by the recent death of one of my mum's friends from cancer (Don't take either the title of the fic, or this rather morbid inspiration as any kind of indicator as to how this fic will finish). I have no intention of causing offence to anyone through this fic by wrong descriptions of how this nasty disease affects people. To any readers who have to cope with this disease (Either themselves or in relatives and friends) you have my good wishes and best of luck to you. Oh and one other thing, Misty is aged twenty-seven in this.
Misty lay back in the hospital bed and idly flicked through the pages of her magazine. Finding nothing she hadn't read four times already she placed it on the bedside cabinet. She was bored. No she was REALLY bored. Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. One thing that had always amazed Misty was that no matter how much reading material you had, you always ended up bored rigid when in hospital. She allowed her self a small smile at this thought. Here she was after a major procedure contemplating the tedium that was lying in a hospital bed. But the smile soon faded as she remembered far to readily why she was here. "That lump". she quietly said to herself. The mere thought of it brought her out in tears. She prayed to god that it hadn't spread and that they had caught it in time. She doubted she had the strength, mentally, to cope with it if they hadn't. Years ago she would have, when she was with Ash. The trainer just exuded confidence and even though they never ended up together, he had made her feel more alive than she ever had before or indeed since. The day they finally parted company had been a sad one for both of them. Ash was upset because he felt he was losing his best friend, even more so than Pikachu, thinking that he would never get to see her ever again. Misty was more upset, but for a different reason and not just because she was leaving a friend. Because she was leaving the only person she would ever love. Sure Ash had been her best friend, but she wanted so much more than that. She wanted to take it beyond friendship.
It wasn't long before Misty passed into a peaceful slumber, and woke up around an hour or so later. She was greeted by the sight of her sister Violet sitting next to her bed, correcting all the mistakes Misty had made in the magazine's crossword. Violet looked up to see Misty looking at her. "You know Misty, you aren't very good at crosswords are you?" she said a pleasant smile on her face. Misty laughed gently. "You've got that right. Word games are not my strong point." she told her older sister. Violet smiled at this and put down the magazine. "So how are you feeling today?" she asked her. "Tired. Bored. Bored and tired. Pretty much the same as yesterday." she told her. Violet nodded in understanding. "Yeah well, hospitals aren't exactly brimming over with excitement are they?" Violet responded. They sat in silence for the next few moments. "Oh!" Violet exclaimed, remembering something important. "While you were asleep, I spoke with your doctor. He says you should be fit to leave tomorrow sometime." she told her. This perked Misty up, and she gained a much more alert look in her eyes. "Really? That's great! Finally I can see Togepi again." she said. "Oh, yeah and one other thing, your publisher called. He thinks that the newest draft is ready to go to print." Violet told her, referring to Misty's book on training water Pokémon. "It's about time. I only sent him fifteen other drafts." Misty said, a look of relief on her face. "Well, that doesn't matter now does it Mist? Anyway I better get going, I've got to take my shift at the gym." Violet said as she reached for her bag. "Daisy will be round tomorrow to come pick you up. I'll see ya then." Violet stood up and headed away from Misty's bed. "Bye!" Misty called after her. She let out a sigh of relief. "Finally I can go home."
The next day came and went, and with it Misty returned to the Cerulean gym for some well earned rest. She'd missed home when she'd been traveling with Ash and the others, especially the pool. When she'd finally came home she took full advantage of the relaxation the pool offered, swimming every morning and most evenings when the gym was shut. Occasionally she was called upon to act as Gym Leader, taking on hordes of brash over-confident kids. Most of them had heard of her through her connection with Ash who was by now the Gym Leader in Pallet Towns new Gym. Both of them were notoriously difficult to beat. What surprised her was how many trainers were modeling themselves on her and Ash. The female trainers especially looked up to her. Some even copied her old hairstyle. As she gently floated on the surface she thought of those times. They had been fun. Not as fun as her traveling days, but still fun. Eventually her thoughts turned exclusively to Ash. Even after all these years she still held out some hope for Ash and herself getting together. As long as she was ill though, she never seriously entertained any notion of doing something about it. She closed her eyes and tried to forget about her health. She was here trying to relax. Thinking about it would do no good.
Months passed, and Misty allowed herself to do a bit more work each day. Soon she was back into the swing of things, battling trainers when it was required and doing the occasional book signing both at the gym and in local bookstores. She still kept to her daily regiment of relaxation, swimming and generally resting. It was a week before she was required to return to the hospital to check on her condition when it happened. She was gently propelling herself on her back through the cool pool water staring upwards, the recently installed glass roof letting her gaze upon the night sky. She enjoyed her evening swims the most. The pool was generally empty as her sisters usually stayed in the Gym's comfortable lounge or went out with their boyfriends. The water sloshed quietly around her, but not so quiet that she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. She heard the voice though. "What does a guy have to do... to get a Pokémon battle, with a beautiful young trainer around here?" it asked. She twisted her head slightly to see the owner of the voice. "Ash? Ash Ketchum?" Misty asked, almost speechless. What was he doing here? She was sure she'd soon find out.
To Be Continued...