i dont own pokemon, but i do own this story, so i hope you like it. As always, reviews are welcomed and appreciated, they always help me start writing. =]

13. Surprise

Misty sat in her hospital bed, unable to fall asleep. Her daughters were snoring softly on each side and Nate was cuddled in a cradle next to her bed. The thought of Ash, laying somewhere else in the hospital, and not being able to see him, was unbearable. Just then the nurse walked in the door.

"Is there any news?" Misty asked hopefully, though not quite sure if she was ready for the possibilities.

"I'm sorry, I'm only here to check your vitals. You've had a difficult night."

The nurse took her temperature and her heart rate. She then woke each of the girls to check them as well. The staff was a little worried about Melanie's concussion, but she didn't seem to suffer from any side effects so far. Then, Nurse Joy walked into the room. Misty knew it was for real this time.

"Why doesn't Nurse Jessica take you girls for a midnight snack of ice cream in the main lobby?" Nurse Joy suggested, looking at Nurse Jessica. Jessica nodded and cheerfully grabbed each girl's hand and walked to the lobby, chatting about their pokemon.

Now Misty was really worried.

"Please, please don't tell me…" Misty felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ash made it through the surgery. Barely, but he did," Joy began. Misty let out a sigh of relief, but prepared herself for the 'but' she knew was coming.

"But, he was hurt, badly. His left leg was crushed. We put a steel rod in his leg, to help it heal straight. It will stay in him to give him more support later in life. He also ruptured his spleen. Luckily, that is an organ that we can remove, which we did. For that, all we have to worry about is him getting sick easier. We gave him some extra vaccines, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. The real worry is that his kidneys were severely damaged. We had to remove one entirely. You can live a normal life with just one kidney, but the remaining kidney is very damaged as well. There is only a 10% chance of it healing himself and a 2% chance of him living if it didn't."

Misty's breath caught in her throat and choked her.

"However, he has a 95% chance of surviving if we find an organ donor," Joy concluded.

Misty felt a little better. She held out her arm. "Go ahead, test me."

"Well, you see its 95% chance if the donor is a family member. It drops to a 55% chance if it is an unrelated person."

Misty immediately felt a rush of disappointment and sadness. Ash had his mom. His dad was out of the picture completely. There wasn't a large chance that his mom would be a match.

"We have already notified his mother. She will be on her way down later this morning. Is there any other family we can contact?"

Misty slowly shook her head. She needed time alone. Joy seemed to understand. She walked out, closing the door behind her. Misty lifted up Nate, her little Ash, and snuggled him into her chest. She prayed to anyone who would listen that Ash would find a way to live. Just as she finished nursing Nate, Delia walked in with Melanie and Alyssa. Delia hugged Misty.

"Oh, honey, how are you? And look at this little cutie. Looks just like Ash when he was a baby."

"I'm doing alright considering. "

"Well, I just had my blood work done. They said they would let me know in an hour."

They passed the time holding the baby. Delia took pictures of each of them holding him, Melanie and Alyssa's first time. She took a picture of the three of them together.

"This one's a keeper," she said, showing it to Misty. Misty smiled. Her two girls that were her, and her little Ash boy. They needed their Daddy.

Nurse Joy walked in. "Unfortunately, Ash has gotten worse. I'm afraid he needs a new kidney, in order to have any chance of survival. And worse, Delia was not a match. Is there any other family we can contact, even a cousin or anyone?"

Misty just shook her head, defeated. Ash would have to fight so much harder now.

"Well, I will put him on the donor list I guess. We'll just have to hope for the best. You can go see him now, it can't hurt." Joy walked out of the room.

Delia was chewing her lip. She looked like she was making a huge decision. She poked her head out the door. She saw Nurse Jessica from last night. She asked her to take the girls again. She then grabbed Misty's hand and Nate's cradle on wheels with the other. They walked down the hall into Ash's room.

Misty ran over to him. He looked like he had been in a fight. His eye was swollen and his leg was in a cast that covered his foot up to his hip. His stomach was bandaged, and he was hooked up to various machines in the room. Misty kissed his head gently and picked up his bruised hand.

"I have something to tell you," Delia announced from across the bed. She too had picked up one Ash's hands.

"You see, I'm not Ash's only family member. I'm not even his closest family member. Ash, Ash has a twin brother."

Misty gasped. Ash, a twin?

"Does Ash know?"

"No, he doesn't. You see, I never married Ash's dad. His name was Evan Thompson. I met him in high school. He couldn't wait to get out in the world and become a pokemon master. His mother wouldn't let him leave until he completed high school. I think this is why he couldn't hold onto anything. He was too worried about getting out there. Well, like a fool, I fell in love with him. I got pregnant at the end of my senior year. Evan stayed and delayed his journey. I thought he would settle down and just become a gym leader. But he couldn't. The twins were born. Ash had dark hair like me and the other had light hair like Evan. Evan managed to stick around for a few months. Then, he felt he had to continue his journey. He didn't want to go alone. He pleaded to be able to take one of his sons with him. I had to let him, I had to. He took the boy with the light hair and left me Ash. He promised they would visit, but they never did. I never saw my son again."

Misty looked at Delia. She reached across the bed and squeezed her hand.

"Until recently."

Misty looked at her.

"You see, I saw my son a few years ago. At your wedding. Ever wondered why Ritchie was so much like Ash?"

Misty's mouth fell open as she realized what Delia was saying. Ritchie Thompson was Ash's twin brother.

"When Ash called me so many years ago to tell me about his friend who beat him, and how alike they were, I almost died when I heard who he was. I didn't say anything though. I was always too afraid that it would hurt Ash more than it would help him. But now, we might need Ritchie."

Nurse Joy came in and Delia told her the secret.

"Oh, good. We will contact him right away. This is very good for Ash. Siblings, especially twins, are almost always a match."

"You hear that baby?" Misty asked the sleeping Ash. "You have a good chance now, so you better keep fighting. You have two new members of your family to meet now."

Betcha didnt see that one coming huh?! =] New chapter soon!