Chapter 14

"Hello there," May says to a nurse at the front desk in the hospital. "I was just wondering if you could please tell me which room my friend is in? Her name is Misty Williams-Ketchum."

"Yes, just let me check…" the nurse answered. " …Ah, okay. Misty Williams-Ketchum--she's in room 101."

"Alright, thank you." May said. "C'mon Gary, you real Slowpoke, let's go find her room."

Misty took hold of Ash's hand and screamed at the top of her lungs, in the throes of another contraction, just as a nurse wheeled Jessie out of the room, heading for the delivery room. Misty had been quite outraged when Jessie was told that it was time for her to go have the baby.

"But I was here first! I'm giving birth to more children!" she had shouted at the old, fragile-looking nurse. "Why is it her turn?"

"Turn?" Ash had questioned.

"Oh, shut up Ash!" Misty exclaimed. "You have no idea what I'm going through now--I can say whatever I want!"

Now, though, Misty had finally stopped screaming.

"That must've been some contraction, huh?" Ash remarked, nursing the hand that Misty had just practically crushed.

"Yeah, and it was only a few minutes away from the last one, too." she replied, her voice sounding a little hoarse.

"Hello," a doctor said as they entered the room. "Let's see how you're coming along.

May counted the room numbers as she and Gary walked down the hospital corridor. They found room 101 within a few minutes, but decided to wait to go in when they saw a doctor in there.

"Now," the doctor said. "Your contractions are remarkably close together, considering how short a time you've been in labor, which suggests that you will be heading for the delivery room very shortly. I have to go check on another patient now, but I will be back in little bit to check on you. Did you tell me before that you feel with this abnormal weight gain and all else that you say you've gone through, that you think you are having triplets? Well, call it motherly instinct."

"Okay. Thank you. At least you whispered that last part to me, I don't think my husband would be able to handle it yet. If anything I should be the one telling him, somehow." Misty said.

"Misty! There you are!" May exclaimed as she entered the room just after the doctor left.

She walked over to the bed and gave her still technically pregnant friend a hug.

"How are you? I saw Togekiss fly over to me and Gary, and it told me what was going on."

"Good." Misty answered. "That is, considering the fact that I'm trying to bring not one, maybe not two, but possibly three people into the world."

"And how are you, Ash?" Gary asked, striding across the room to stand beside his friend.

"I'm good." he replied. "That is, considering the fact that I'll probably never regain full use of my left hand."

Gary chuckled.

"Oh, hey!" Ash said suddenly, addressing both Gary and May. "You guys won't believe who was in here just before you got here."

"Who?" May asked.

"Team Rocket, the Pikachu-obsessed ones, to be specific." Ash answered.

"No way!" May replied.

"Yep." said Dawn.

"Wow…" May said. "I can't imagine Jessie and James having a baby…"

"Yeah," Ash replied. "I actually felt kind of sorry for James. Jessie kept screaming at him, threatening him, and-"

"Kind of like what I'm doing to you during the contractions?" Misty asked suddenly, interrupting Ash. "Well, if you feel sorry for him, you must feel sorry for yourself, too, right? Having to be in here with me while I'm all despicable and frightening--so that's how it is, huh?"

"What're you--I didn't--"

"Because if that's how you really feel, Ash, then you don't have to be in here with me."

"What?"

"Get out. Leave. Don't worry about the fact that I'm having your children--just go."

"But I--"

"Go."

"Misty, my flower…"

"Go! Now, or else you'll end up being admitted to the ICU!"

Ash jumped back slightly, putting his hands up, as if in surrender.

"I'll be back in a few minutes anyway, Misty." he said, before turning and walking out of the room, Gary following behind him.

"Where are you going, Gary, sweetie guy?" May asked.

"I'm going to go schedule for a vasectomy." he replied, his voice sounding so high pitched its like he was barely speaking.