"Mom?" Ariel curiously knocks on her mother's bedroom door. Misty always makes breakfast and sees Ariel off to school in the mornings. However, Ariel couldn't find her mother at the gym this Friday morning. After fixing up a bowl of cereal for herself, Ariel became worried when her mother still wasn't around. The only place Misty can be if she's not in the gym or the public areas of the house would be her room.
Yesterday, Misty was sneezing a lot more, and she was more lethargic. Ariel was concerned, but Misty kept reassuring her that she was okay. "Mom!" Ariel tries again. She doesn't care if she's late for school. What if Team Rocket got her mother now? The girl is very scared. When there's no response, Ariel says, "I'm coming in!"
Opening the door, she is relieved to see her mother is in bed. However, Misty never sleeps in. Even on a day off, which she rarely takes, Misty would still wake up early to see Ariel off to school. Once Ariel walks up to the bed, she instantly sees why her mother hasn't been responding. The girl drops her backpack to the ground and jumps on the bed.
She reaches out to remove some of her mother's sweaty hair from her forehead. "Mom!" Ariel worriedly speaks, but Misty can only moan in response. This isn't the first time Misty has been sick. However, this is the worst Ariel has ever seen. Usually Misty can still take care of herself or she's conscious enough to tell Ariel what to do.
"What do I do, mom?" pleads the girl. Without a response, Ariel says, "Wait here." The girl won't cry. She won't be scared. Her mother is the strongest person she knows, so Ariel needs to trust Misty will be okay.
Running out of the room and to the gym, Ariel puts up a sign saying the gym will be closed for the day. She then grabs Politoed before locking up and running back to the house. "Poli?"
"Mom's sick, Politoed! I need help!" The frog salutes her and runs with her. When they arrive, they head up to Misty's room where Ariel feels like her mother's state has gotten worse. "I'm gonna get a warm towel and water. Can you make sure she's okay?"
"Poli!"
After an hour, Ariel and Politoed have placed Misty in a suitable position on the bed with a wet towel on her forehead. They take turns rinsing out the water and reapplying the towel. Being 9, Ariel doesn't know how to cook. She can do simple things, like pancakes and scrambled eggs, but not stew. It's times like these she wished Uncle Brock was visiting. Apparently he's in Johto for some conference this month.
The home phone ringing gets her attention, so she sprints down the stairs. Picking it up, she greets them. "Hello, Waterflower residence!"
"Hello. This is the Cerulean City Public Trainer School - East. Is this Ms. Misty Waterflower?"
Ariel mentally curses herself because she totally forgot about school. It's Friday! Of course her school would call looking for her. "Um. No. She's sick."
Recognizing the young voice, the person asks, "Is this Ariel?"
"Yes." the girl weakly replies.
Sighing, the caller knows Ariel doesn't miss school. She's a diligent student who even completed all of her work when she was in the hospital for a month. "Can I talk to your mother, Ariel?"
"She's sick, ma'am. Like really really sick, so I'm taking care of her."
The caller also knows Misty and Ariel live alone. "Can you have her call me to excuse your absence when she's better?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Ariel is relieved that the call didn't end differently. She writes down a note on the notepad so that she doesn't forget to get her absence excused later.
Wait. It's Friday. That's why she had to close the gym today. That's why she got a call from school today. Friday means she goes to Pallet Town. But she can't go to Pallet Town if her mom is this sick! She needs to tell the Oak siblings and her dad. Ariel could ask Ash to pick her up again, but the girl can't leave her sick mother all alone.
Pulling out her pokenav, she calls him. He always picks up when she calls unless he's driving. However, he should be at the League right now, so he shouldn't be driving. Fortunately for her, he picks up after a few rings. Ash knows that when Ariel calls, especially when he isn't expecting, it's urgent. It's also why he didn't pick up her call on Wednesday because he figured she was calling to ask where he was. Plus, Ash hates using his pokenav and driving.
"Hey, Champ! Is everything okay?" Ash had stepped out of a meeting due to his pokenav. Of course the League executives get annoyed, but he only ever picks up when Ariel calls, which is rare. She tries to avoid calling him during business hours; thus, she usually texts him.
The girl fights the lump in her throat. Yes, she's trying to be strong for her mother, but what can a 9 year old do all alone? Her aunts aren't in town, and Ariel's other emergency contact is her father. There's no one in Cerulean City to care for her if Misty isn't around. It's why Ariel also prefers Pallet Town.
When Ash doesn't hear anything, he gets worried. "Hello? Who's there?" He really hopes Ariel hasn't been captured and this is Team Rocket. Pikachu alertly looks at his trainer. Just what is going on?
Believing that her voice is level now, Ariel chokes out, "I can't come to Pallet Town this weekend."
Ash is somewhat relieved to hear her voice, though he is anxious because she sounds scared. She sounds like she's on the verge of tears. "It's okay, champ. I'm not mad." He knows Ariel won't miss a Pallet Town visit unless she has to. This will be her first one she's ever missed. However, Ash is confused about why. He hopes she's okay. "Can you tell me why?"
Ariel pauses. She feels her heart beating quickly due to her fear. It makes her grateful for her mother being able to care for them all alone in the city. "Mom's too sick to drive."
Ash raises a confused eyebrow. "Oh. I can just pick you up and drop you off then." He knows how much she loves seeing the Oak siblings. Plus, Ash would like to spend his weekend with his daughter. He doesn't want to miss one, especially due to transportation reasons when he can clearly get her.
Ariel shakes her head, and Ash hears a loud sniffle Ariel quickly tries to hide. "No, dad. I'll take care of mom here."
"Ariel, where are your aunts?"
"I don't know." Why would she know? They're always traveling the world, and Ash mentally curses himself. He should know this.
"Wait there, okay. I'm coming." Ash is grateful the sky isn't too cloudy today, else Charizard would throw a fit. After hanging up, the man rushes outside.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu curiously asks his trainer. He was concerned when Ariel called and then Ash's behavior on the nav. Now that Ash has just left the building without informing the League executives, Pikachu is scared. He hopes Ariel is okay.
"Ariel's alone." Ash tells Pikachu before calling out Charizard. He will save the talk about Misty for Pikachu to find out later. This is a three hour flight that he doesn't want to spend listening to his Pokemons' opinions. The three then take off towards Cerulean City.
Hours later, Ariel still isn't sure what to do. She's been eating cereal as a quick meal to pass the day, but Misty still hasn't eaten. The girl sent Politoed to the store to buy canned soup. Although Ariel knows homemade soup is better, she doesn't know how to make it.
She heated up a can of soup for her mother as soon as Politoed returned. Ariel is still changing out Misty's rag on her head. The girl isn't sure if her mother is getting better. Misty would only eat a few spoonfuls of the soup, and Ariel is too weak to hold her up. Politoed tried helping, but with Misty's pain and fatigue, the woman snapped at them to let her sleep.
Ariel hates seeing her mother's ragged breathing and intense sweat. Misty's skin is usually porcelain, though it's looking pale with her face being red right now. "Please get better, mom."
The doorbell ringing gets her attention. The girl is still traumatized from Team Rocket, so she clutches Misty's hand tightly. Of all the days for an ambush, it would be the day Ariel is all alone while Misty is too sick to be awake. The girl pulls out her pokenav to call the police when she sees she's getting an incoming call.
Quickly picking it up because she wants him right now, she says, "Dad, I'm scared!"
"Ariel, I'm at the door." Ash worriedly tells her. What's wrong? Is Misty that sick?
Hearing this, Ariel hurries down the stairs and swings open the front door. Before Ash can greet her, she tackles him in a tight hug. Her tears she's been holding back all day flow into his shirt. She's only 9. She's not ready to take care of others yet. She's not used to being alone.
Ash picks up the sobbing girl in his arms. He walks inside and closes the door as Pikachu watches them from the ground. "What's wrong, Ariel?" Ash soothingly asks her.
Sniffling in his shoulder, she mumbles, "Mom's sick. I thought you were Team Rocket. I'm scared, dad."
Ash lets out a relieved breath to know she's okay. He makes a mental note to call her next time rather than ring the doorbell. Kissing the side of her head, Ash sets her down on the couch where he squats down to her eye level in front of her. "Get some rest, Ariel. I'm here now."
The girl furiously shakes her head. "I can't! Someone needs to watch mom!" Politoed is up there, but Ariel feels better being by her mother's side too.
Pikachu now curiously eyes Ash. So this is why Ash rushed over. "Pikachupi." Pikachu whispers and runs up the stairs to join Politoed. The pokemon have nothing against each other. They both understand that their battle months ago was due to them protecting their trainers.
Ash furrows his brows because he knows where Pikachu ran off to. "You can't take care of your mother if you can't take care of yourself." Ash notices the drained expression on Ariel's face. He wonders how long she's been caring for Misty.
"But, dad-"
"Go to your room, Ariel." Ash sternly tells her. Nodding reluctantly, the girl heads upstairs. She peeks into her mother's room one last time before going to her own. To Ariel's surprise, she quickly falls asleep. This could be due to her not having to worry anymore. Her father is here. She's not alone anymore. She has another parent to make sure everything is okay.
Once Ariel is gone, Ash groans into his hands on the couch. Why did he come over? Well, he knows why. He does everything for Ariel. But he knew she is sick too. Coming over for Ariel also means having to help take care of her. Deciding that he should fulfill his promise to his daughter, Ash gets up to walk to the stairs.
On the way, he notices a note etched by the home phone: Have mom excuse absence.
Excuse absence? Ash then remembers it's a Friday, which means it's a school day. He only has Ariel on the weekends, so he sometimes forgets she has school until she reminds him of her homework. He should probably call it in now before it's too late. Picking up the homephone, Ash searches the directory until he lands on the school.
"Hello? Cerulean City Trainer School - East."
"Hello. This is Ariel Ketchum's father. I'd like to excuse her absence today." Ash doesn't really know what to say because he never has to contact Ariel's school. Misty always communicates with them, so Ash never gets called, despite being on the emergency contact list.
"Um. Who did you say you are?" the school definitely knows this is a man's voice, and not Misty's.
"Ash Ketchum." Ash nervously replies. "I'm Ariel's father. Can we excuse her absence today. Her mother is sick."
The school also knows how much Ariel's parents hate each other. Nevertheless, Ariel could've gotten her father to call them, but this is the Waterflower's home phone, which means Ash must be at the Waterflower House. "Okay, sir. We can do that for you."
After a few more awkward minutes, the call ends, and Ash lets out a long breath. Being a parent is hard when he's not just hanging out with his child. There's a lot of legal and societal things involved with a child. Ash furrows his brows because he knows he's only learning these things now due to Misty being sick. She always handled anything difficult involving Ariel while Ash would get his daughter for fun bonding time.
Sighing, Ash looks at the stairs again. He owes it to his ex to at least check up on her. She does so much for Ariel. Besides, he told Ariel he'd take care of the house while she rests. Walking up the stairs, Ash eventually finds himself in front of the master bedroom. He hasn't been here in years. It brings back a lot of painful memories to him.
Flashback
"Mew, Ash! That was too funny!" laughs the redhead girl.
Rolling his eyes, the raven haired boy replies, "It wasn't that funny."
"It was so funny, Pikachu laughed himself into a coughing fit!" Misty giggles. It's also why they had to leave him at the Pokemon Center. Ash doesn't want to hear Pikachu's teasing on top of Misty's.
Earlier, they went to Cerulean Cape for their first anniversary date. They're celebrating one year of dating, and Ash, being Ash, fumbled his words. His nervousness caused him to fall into Cerulean Cape, ruining the romantic evening. Misty, though, found him cute and hilarious while the boy is still very embarrassed.
Now that they're in the empty gym, Misty hands him a towel and some clothes she's taken from him in the past year. With Ash traveling, she only sees him a few times. It's summer, so she gets to see him more for now, but he'll be leaving again this weekend. "Shower. You reek of Cerulean Cape."
Ash mutters under his breath, though he gratefully takes the items. He just wants to bathe this embarrassment away. Once out of the shower, he doesn't see Misty anywhere downstairs. Walking down the hall, he knocks on her door. When he doesn't hear anything, he grows concerned. Could she have been attacked by Team Rocket while he showered?
Ash quickly opens the door, which he is surprised isn't locked. What he sees is his girlfriend sitting in a towel on her bed with her back to him. If she was here, how come she didn't respond? The door opening gets her attention away from her pokenav, causing her to smile at the boy in the clothes she gave him earlier. "Hey, Ash."
The boy avoids looking at her in her towel. "Uh. I knocked."
Nodding, Misty lays down on her bed and sighs. "Daisy's pregnant."
Ash's interest is piqued, so he looks at Misty again. "What? That's great!" He's happy for Tracey and Daisy.
"I don't think so, Ash." Misty groans. "Knowing my sisters, I'm gonna be watching their kids most of the time."
Ash chuckles and walks inside to sit on the bed beside her. Her arms are covering her face. "The Sketchits are on the Orange Islands, Mist. I doubt they'd drop off their kid for you to watch for a few hours."
"You don't know my sisters."
"I'm sure it won't be that bad. Kids are fun."
Misty peeks at him from under her arms. "You try being a full time gym leader and babysitter, Ash."
The boy shrugs. "Kids are easy, Mist. You just hang out with them."
Of course her boyfriend, a carefree oblivious only child, would think this. Misty can't help but smile at how naive Ash is. "There's more to that than raising a kid."
"I don't think it'll be that hard." he knowingly tells her with a smile.
Misty sits up to challenge him. Her cerulean blue eyes gaze into his playful brown ones. "I'll remember this when you have a child."
"We."
"Huh?" She curiously asks him.
"When we have a child, Mist. I'm dating you. Of course I'd have a kid with you." he nonchalantly tells her, causing her to blush profusely.
Yes, she's dating him, so they can talk about this stuff, but Misty and Ash haven't before. This dense boy always says words that can affect her in ways he doesn't intend to. Due to this, she closes the space between them to kiss him. Mew, she loves his kisses, and he loves hers.
Ash welcomes the kiss as he lays Misty back down on the bed. With her being in a towel, it comes loose, and he reaches out to close it again. However, Misty stops his hand. He raises an eyebrow at her, but when he sees those lustful cerulean blue eyes, his face blushes. "I've never done this before, Mist." This isn't kissing. He's had kissing practice with Serena before he ever got into a relationship with Misty. Thus, he was confident about his kissing skills.
Rolling her eyes, Misty tugs off his shirt. "Me neither, Mr. Pokemon Master." She kisses him again before he can retort. Everything just feels so right tonight. While Misty doesn't plan on having children any time soon, she can at least have fun with her boyfriend. Besides, she'll have to go almost a year without seeing him once he leaves in a few days.
Ash, although nervous, feels in sync with Misty tonight. He always feels and matches her energy, but tonight, this is different. It's like they're one body, and he loves it. He loves her. She makes him the happiest, and he can't imagine getting married, having children, and growing old with anyone else.
Flashback Over
"Relax, Politoed. Ariel asked me to be here. You know I wouldn't be here if not for her." Ash says with his hands up defensively. Pikachu warily watches the two.
Politoed knows Ash is right; thus, he stops glaring at the man. He won't relax though because he hates Ash. "Pol."
Ash sighs and walks over to the bed. He frowns at the sweaty redhead. Politoed is doing a good job of rinsing out her towel on her forehead. Ash then notices the cold full bowl of soup on the nightstand. "Did she eat?"
Politoed shakes his head. Ash furrows his brows. He reaches out to remove the towel, but Politoed hits his hand. "Poli!"
"Pi!" Pikachu sparks his cheeks at Politoed.
"Guys, we're not fighting. Not right now." Ash is tired and he hates this situation. The fighting Pokemon will only make things worse. Listening to his trainer, Pikachu resumes his curled up position on the other side of Misty's bed. Politoed also looks away from Pikachu and Ash. "I'm just checking her fever." Ash tells Politoed.
The frog reluctantly allows Ash to remove the towel and touch Misty's forehead. Since Misty and Ariel rarely get sick, Misty has forgotten where the thermometer is. "She's burning up!" Ash worriedly places the towel back. As much as he hates this woman, she means a lot to Ariel. Grabbing the cold bowl of soup, Ash heads downstairs. He knows Misty hates store bought soup when she's sick. She'll only eat one thing when she's sick. He's glad to see she has the ingredients.
After cooking, Ash makes his way back up to Misty's room. He places the bowl on the desk by Politoed. "She'll eat this." He informs the Pokemon.
"Pol." Politoed narrows his eyes suspiciously at Ash. He doesn't trust Ash. However, he knows Ash would never hurt Misty. Ash wouldn't do that to Ariel. Picking up the spoon, Politoed speaks to his trainer. "Poli politoed po!"
"Leave me alone, Politoed!" the woman mumbles incoherently, but everyone is able to guess what she said.
"Poli!" scolds the Pokemon.
"Hn!"
Sighing, Ash walks back over to Politoed. "Let me handle this." The frog shakes his head. There's no way he will allow Ash to get any closer to Misty. "She obviously won't listen to you. I know what to do."
"Pol!" Why would Misty listen to Ash if she won't listen to Politoed? The frog finds it hard to believe.
"Aren't you two supposed to be protecting Ariel?" Ash asks them. He knows his daughter is asleep, but just in case Team Rocket sneaks into kidnap her. Plus, Ash doesn't want the Pokemon around as he feeds his ex-wife. He already feels terrible enough cooking for her.
Pikachu rolls his eyes, but he knows this is the only way for Misty to eat today. Motioning to Politoed, Pikachu manages to convince the water type to leave the room. Of course, the door is left open, which Ash prefers. Ariel's room is down the hall, so he'll be able to hear if anything happens.
Once the Pokemon are out, Ash internally groans. This sucks. He doesn't want to speak to her, so he lightly moves her up into a sitting position. He props pillows around her to make her comfortable, just how she likes. Misty moans in pain with every movement, and a part of Ash does feel bad for it. He blows on the soup to cool it down and then holds the spoon in front of her face. When Misty doesn't open her mouth or even acknowledge the soup, Ash sees her eyes are still closed.
Is she that sick? He's only ever seen her this sick once before. She could barely do anything, and he was scared she wouldn't make it without a hospital. Usually, when she's sick, she can still take care of herself for the most part, though she shouldn't. "Open your mouth." He quietly tells her.
Misty ignores him because all she wants to do is sleep. She's too sick to know this is him. She just thinks it's another person or pokemon bothering her.
"Misty." he hates how he has to say her voice.
"Leave." she mumbles.
Ash sighs and then reaches out a hand to her chin. He easily opens her mouth to put the spoon in, and to his surprise she swallows the soup.
Satisfied that she's eating, he gets more soup from the bowl. Looking back at Misty, Ash almost spills the soup. Her eyes are open, although barely. He can see a small sliver of cerulean blue, making his breath hitch. He liked it better when her eyes were completely closed.
"Ash?" she whispers. It doesn't sound like a cold whisper or a mean one, rather, it's a surprised and relieved one. The soup reminded her of a lot. Of home, mostly. Only her sisters and her ex-husband know about it. Thus, Misty had some sense knocked back into her when she tasted it, causing her to want to see who's taking care of her. She knows her sisters are out of the region right now.
The woman is surprised to see her ex-husband. What is he doing here? Why is he feeding her? Unless this is a dream? She gets weird dreams when she's sick. "What're you going here?" she breathes out heavily.
Ash can hear her ragged breathing, which concerns him. Putting the spoonful of soup in Misty's mouth, he tells her, "Ariel called. I'm here for her. She's scared cuz you're sick." No way will Ash let Misty think he's here for her.
Misty closes her eyes again, much to Ash's delight, and nods. "That's good. Thanks."
Thanks? Ash is really confused. "Uh. Yeah. She is my daughter."
"Mine too."
"I never said she wasn't." He isn't trying to argue with a sick woman right now.
"I know." Misty heavily breathes out, making Ash calm down.
"Just eat and stop talking." He doesn't want to entertain her. It's the last thing he wants, which is why he rarely communicated with her during their dinners.
That sounds like a great idea. She loves this soup. And she always loved it best when he made it. Once the soup is finished, Ash lays Misty back down before making his way out with the dishes. "You're a good dad, Ash."
He stops in his tracks. "What?" The man turns to curiously look at her. Seeing the small weak smile form on Misty's lips makes him feel his breath hitch in his throat.
"I'm glad you're Ariel's dad."
The man breathes out deeply through his nostrils. Leaving the room, he heads down to the kitchen to wash his bowl. Along the way, he sees the Pokemon sleeping beside Ariel in her room. Everyone is exhausted. Mew, he's always exhausted, especially from today. After he washes the dishes, he leans over the sink with his head in his hands.
It's been so much time, but why won't his heart stop pounding. It's the reason he left her room earlier. Those words, for some reason, made his heart race. He's been trying to calm down and forget about it, but his heart is still beating rapidly. Fortunately, his face has cooled down since then.
Looking outside, Ash sees the sun is setting. Misty is still sick. Ariel won't leave her alone. Ash can't leave his daughter alone to care for her sick mother. He pulls out his pokenav to see many missed calls and texts from Melody. She's not going to like this. Ash furrows his brows. If he tells Melody he's at Misty's house, she will come over, which will only add more stress to him and Misty. As much as Ash hates his ex, he would never want to make her more sick. Plus, the sooner she recovers, then the sooner everything can return back to normal.
Ignoring Melody, Ash calls his mother. He lets her know he won't be coming home this weekend, and he informs her that Ariel won't be either. Thus, Delia won't have to wait for anyone. Although Delia questions her son, he doesn't tell her his reason. He just says everyone is busy, and he's glad she doesn't pry.
Putting away his pokenav, Ash decides to change Misty's wet towel once more before figuring out his sleeping arrangement. He'll have to get Politoed to come back and sleep in Misty's room because Ash will not. He'll sleep in the guest bedroom tonight.