"Ah-Achoo!" Misty sneezed as she laid in bed for the forth day in a row. She didn't feel as bad as she did yesterday, but she still felt horrible. As with every morning, Ash came to let her know he was leaving for work. Although this usually signaled it was time for Misty to wake up, today she just grunted to let him know he was disturbing her sleep.
Ash got the picture right away. "Ok, ok I'm going. Feel better honey!" And with that, Ash went downstairs and left for work. Misty could hear the front door shut and the car start as he drove away. Suddenly, Misty could feel another sneeze coming on. "Ah-Ah-Achoo!" She sneezed even harder and it was starting to make her neck sore. After a few more sneezes and realizing it would be impossible to get anymore sleep, she trudged downstairs and started a tea kettle as she measured out the loose tea.
Today, she realized not only could she not breathe through her nose, but also realized she would have to make breakfast for Elizabeth before crashing on the couch to sleep. As the teapot squealed, she turned the burner off and slowly added the loose tea before stirring. She knew she should add lemon and honey to help her sore throat, but she hated any kind of sugar in her tea. So she just added the lemon juice, hoping it would be sufficient.
She sat on the couch, sipping her tea as she flipped through the channels stopping for a moment to see the weather and then finding a documentary on baby water pokemon, she settled on the couch. Just then, Squirtle came downstairs, rubbing his eyes. Misty and Elizabeth had watched Squirtle hatch just a few months ago, and now with Michelle and Aiden gone, Squirtle seemed to fill a void. Misty invited Squirtle to join her on the couch and he jumped excitingly onto the couch and snuggled close to her. After having her tea, she realized she was tired. She took the blanket hung over the couch and wrapped herself tightly as she drifted off the sleep.
"Mommy!" Elizabeth called as she walked downstairs a few hours later. When she heard no answer, she rushed down the stairs to find her mother and Squirtle asleep on the couch. Knowing her mom was still sick, she decided not to wake her up. Instead, she headed to the kitchen. As she looked around the counter and tables, she didn't see any food out. She then saw a box of cereal on the corner counter and grabbing the small stool from the living room, she grabbed the cereal and a bowl from the dish drying rack. After, pouring some cereal into a bowl, she grabbed a juice box from the fridge and sat at the table. As she munched on her cereal, Squirtle came out and greeted her.
"Squirt!" Squirtle said as he looked to the girl sitting at the table. Squirtle saw her eating and suddenly realized he was hungry too. "Squirtle, Squirt?" He asked.
"Sure Squirtle." She replied, seeming to know exactly what Squirtle wanted. After eating the last bite of her cereal, Elizabeth got a Pokemon feeding bowl and got the water Pokemon food from the cabinet under the sink. Although she couldn't read yet, the Pokemon food was easy to identify. It was a tall canister with a blue label on it, which pictured a drop of water.
After pouring in one scoop of Pokemon food, she took her bowl and spoon to the sink. She watched as Squirtle ate happily, and smiled at the little Water Pokemon. Just then Ash came in the back door. "Daddy?" The young girl questioned as her father came in.
"Hey Pumpkin. Where's your mother?" Ash asked as he franticly looked for his lunch box, which he had forgotten again. He then tripped over Squirtle's food bowl, caused the young Pokemon to wail.
"Aw, Daddy, I just finished feeding Squirtle. Now I'll have to start all over again." Elizabeth said as she picked up the crying Squirtle off the ground. That last statement took Ash by surprise.
"You fed Squirtle?" He said as he hopped up off the ground. "So, where's mom?" He asked, now looking concerned.
"She's sleeping on the couch. I know she's still sick, so I didn't want to wake her." She informed her father. "But I fed Squirtle and myself." Ash looked mighty pleased with his daughter. He knew she was independent, but making herself breakfast and feeding the Pokemon. She was really smart for a five year old. "Oh yeah, I found your lunch in the fridge again." She said as she handed it to him.
"Well, I'm going to wake mommy up, and then I have to get back to work." Ash said as he headed to the living room.
"Misty." Ash cooed sweetly to her. "Sweetie, it's time to wake up." She woke up slowly as she looked in question at him "Oh, I came back to get my lunch." He told her.
Sleepily she rose and sat up. "Again?" She murmured as Ash stood up. She then looked at her watch. "Oh, no! It's almost 10:30! I have go feed Lizzie." She said as she stood and found herself in another coughing spasm. Ash sat her back down.
"It's ok. Lizzie fed herself. And get this, she even fed Squirtle." Ash said as he watched his wife's eyes become wide eyed. "She told me she didn't want to wake you up."
After a few tears of joy slipped out of Misty's eyes, she took Ash's hand and stood up. Finding her balance, she went to the kitchen and found Lizzie picking up Squirtle's food, which her father had tripped on.
"Oh sweetie." Misty said looking at the young girl, who was being so responsible. "I'll clean the rest up. Why don't you go and play?"
To Misty's surprise, she nodded her head. "We can do it together." Lizzie said as she continued picking up pellets of food. Misty smiled. Getting the broom, she began to help her daughter. As Ash went back out the door to return to work, he said to himself. "I really have an amazing family." And with that, he was out the for wor