Chapter 26

Late into the night, the redhead finds herself groggily waking up. She feels a lot better, and she's glad because she hates being sick. It just interrupts too much in her busy life. Blinking slowly a few times, she scans the dark room. She hears the rain pouring outside, making her frown. Of course it'd be raining. It's always raining. Being the Cerulean City Gym Leader, she loves the rain, but being sick, she doesn't want to think about it.

Letting out a breath, Misty continues looking around the room. There's a sliver of light coming from the hallway. Her door is cracked slightly open to keep most of the light out. Misty feels the towel on her forehead, causing her to wonder who took care of her. It couldn't have been Ariel, right? The girl is supposed to be in Pallet Town. No! Misty was supposed to drive her to Pallet Town! At this realization, the woman sits up quickly, making her cover her cough.

"What?" exclaims the deep voice sitting in the chair beside her. Usually, he's a deep sleeper and can sleep through pretty much anything, but ever since Ariel's attack, he constantly has nightmares about it. He did find his bloody and battered daughter on the verge of death. The man is traumatized, though he tries to not show it. Therefore, he wakes up to the slightest noise.

The sick woman looks at him. In the dimly lit room, she can somewhat make out his silhouette. Her sickness must be making her see things. Deciding that must be it because her ex husband would never care for her, Misty opts to lay back down and go to sleep. "It's not real." She mutters to herself.

Ash, though, heard that. In his tired state, he closes his eyes again and leans back in the chair. The only reason he's here is because he knows Politoed doesn't like him. Ash doesn't want to go ordering the frog pokemon around, especially after making Politoed go watch Ariel. Pikachu is too small to care for Misty, and Ash told Ariel he would handle everything. "It is." He mumbles back.

Misty, being a light sleeper, abruptly opens her eyes again where they linger on the figure beside her. "Ash?"

"Mhm." Of course he doesn't sound happy to be here. Mew, she's not happy he's here!

"What're you doing here?"

Sighing loudly so she can hear his annoyance, he replies, "Ariel was home alone."

"She's never home alone!" Misty sits up to glare at him. Her sickness is ignored as her hatred for him energizes her. "She always has my Pokemon and me!"

Ash narrows his eyes at her due to her cold tone. This is how she treats him for taking care of her? She's lucky he's only here because of Ariel, else he'd leave Misty to recover by herself. "You really think a 9 year old and a Pokemon can take care of her sick parent all alone?"

Misty's gaze softens while she thinks. Is she that sick that Ariel has to care for her? Usually, Misty can take care of her own illnesses. Occasionally, she'll ask Ariel to get something, but for the most part, Misty can care for herself. "How sick am I?"

He shrugs because she doesn't have a thermometer. "You were burning up when I got here. Sweating everywhere, but you also had chills. Obviously, Ariel would be scared."

Misty places the towel on her head back in the bowl on her desk. She feels her forehead, and although hot, it doesn't seem too bad. She rinses out the towel to place back on her head, and she notices the empty bowl of soup. There are still remnants of the soup, indicating to her that it's the only one she will eat when sick. Only her sisters, Tracey, and ex know how to make it.

The woman curiously gazes back at her annoyed ex who is surprisingly watching her every move. It's not that he doesn't trust her. No. It's because he wants to make sure she doesn't collapse or spill the water. He did promise Ariel that he'd take care of everything, which means her mother too. Misty knows the only reason Ash is here taking care of her is because no one else can. Thus, only Ash can make this soup. She's not sure if it's her fever spiking again or her embarrassment from knowing her ex has been caring for her, but Misty chooses to lay back in her sheets.

"Thanks." She mumbles.

He nods and closes his eyes again. "Thank Ariel." It's the only reason he's here against his will.

Morning

Knocking on the door makes both adults wake up to look at it. Obviously, it's just Ariel, Pikachu, and Politoed, but the girl knocked lightly out of respect for her sick mother. Misty and Ash smile warmly at her, causing Ariel's eyes to light up happily. With a few tears, the girl runs over to hug Misty. "You're awake, mom!" Pikachu also leaps on the bed to nuzzle Misty's side.

"Thank you for taking care of me, baby." Misty squeezes the girl lightly.

When they pull away, Ariel feels her mother's forehead. "You still have a fever."

Giggling at the child taking care of her, Misty replies, "Yes, but I'm feeling better now." She then looks over at Ash who is subjected to Politoed's glare. "So you can go to Pallet Town with your father today."

Ariel, without even looking at her father, vigorously shakes her head. "No way, mom! You're sick! I'm not leaving you."

Misty sits up on the side of the bed. "I can take care of myself now." She tells Ariel. "And I have Politoed to help me."

"Poli!" Politoed reassures them. The sooner Ash is gone, the better.

"Mom…" Ariel really doesn't feel comfortable leaving Misty home alone, even with Politoed and the other Pokemon around.

Sighing, Misty forces herself to stand up, so she can show to everyone that she will be okay. She feels a lot better, thus she can take care of herself. It's not the first time she's taken care of herself when sick. However, when she stands, an intense wave of lightheadedness hits her, causing her to stumble.

"Mom!"

To Misty's surprise, someone is supporting her while she stands. She knows this is not Ariel because the person's hands are larger and on her shoulders. She can feel his chest beside her. "Stop being stubborn." He mutters.

She opens her eyes to glare up at his annoyed expression. "You're one to talk."

"I'm not gonna argue with a sick person."

"I don't need your pity."

"I'd never pity you." He snarls at her. "I'm here because of Ariel. That's it." Ash then forces the woman to sit back on the bed. "So just get better soon and everything can go back to normal."

"No way. I don't wanna hear you use this against me in the future!" snaps the redhead. Pikachu, Politoed, and Ariel watch the bickering adults with worry. Misty's hatred towards Ash is really giving her a lot of energy. One wouldn't be able to tell that she's sick. They'd think her red face is due to her anger.

Ash disappointedly shakes his head at her. "You know I'm not that kinda person." He helps everyone no matter what. Even his worst enemies. Never will he use his kindness as leverage or as a way to gain something from someone. His kindness is unconditional. That's just who he is. Misty is surprised he said that, like he has some faith in her that she sees the good in him. This causes the woman to quiet down and lay in bed.

Everyone is in uncomfortable silence until Ariel breaks it, "I'm gonna eat breakfast."

Ash nods. "I'll make you something." He grabs Misty's empty soup bowl and walks out of the room. Pikachu and Politoed, although hungry, choose to stay with Misty.

Once the Ketchums are out, Misty closes her eyes and groans. "What's going on, guys?"

Politoed and Pikachu look at each other before shrugging. "Pikapi pik pikachu ka pichu pikachupi."

"Poli!" Politoed nods.

"I know he's taking care of me because Ariel asked, okay." Mew, she hates hearing about it. She hates the fact that he's in her house. Shooting Politoed a sharp look, she says, "No fighting, Politoed."

"Pol." Politoed reluctantly agrees.

Pikachu moves towards Misty's face to feel her face with his tail. She really is hot. "Pikachupi…"

She smiles slightly at him. "Thanks, Pikachu, but I'm feeling a lot better."

Kitchen

"Thanks for helping me take care of mom, dad." the girl grins as Ash makes eggs and bacon while she makes the pancakes.

The man nods. He hates being here. He loves being with Ariel, but he hates the fact that they're in Cerulean City. Ash likes to avoid anything that has to do with this place. He also hates being in this house. It just holds too many bad memories.

"Dad?"

"Hm?"

"I think you're burning the bacon."

The man blinks in confusion until her words register. Well, they register when he smells the smoke in front of him. Looking down, he exclaims, "Oh no!" He quickly takes the pan off the stove and rushes over to the sink. It's definitely burnt.

"Are you okay, dad?" Ariel really hopes her father didn't catch her mother's sickness.

Sighing, Ash cleans the pan before using it to cook more bacon. "Yeah."

"You don't look okay. Is mom getting you sick?"

He gives her a small smile to reassure her that he's okay. He knows he's not getting sick. Ash is only feeling lethargic because he doesn't like being around his toxic ex-wife, and he has to be nice to her. It sucks. "I'm fine, champ. Just tired."

She notices the bags under his eyes and figures he must've been up late caring for her mother. "You can take a nap, and I'll watch mom."

"How about, after breakfast, I show you how to make your mom's favorite soup for when she's sick?"

Ariel raises a confused eyebrow at him. He still remembers her mother's favorite things? However, it'd be good of her to learn so that she can feed Misty in the future. "Yeah!"

Flashback

"That's some good soup, Mist!" grins the sick boy.

"Duh. It's the Waterflower special, Ash."

Chuckling, he replies, "Thanks for making it."

After coming down with a cold due to training in his sweat last night, Misty has been caring for him. Delia is out running errands, though the woman trusts Misty to care for her son. Nevertheless, Delia has been gone since morning, and Misty assumes it's Delia's way of meddling. Delia always loves it when Ash and Misty are alone. She hopes for her son to come to his senses and date the girl she already sees as a daughter.

"Yeah. Because I know you'd be eating salty and sweet snacks if I didn't make you a soup to help you get better."

Rolling his eyes, he lays back down on the bed. "I'm glad your cooking skills got better."

"If you weren't sick, I'd hit you with my mallet."

Ash grins mischievously at her. "I know. It's also why I said it."

Misty glares at him. "Hurry up and get better so I can hit you."

"I wanna get better so I can train again!"

"Training too much is what made you sick. You're gonna wear poor Pikachu down again. Stop it, Ash."

"I need to win! I'm going to Alola soon!" Ash is still upset about his loss to Alain in the Kalos tournament.

"There's not even a league in Alola." Misty knowingly responds.

"Then I'll make one and I'll be it's first winner!"

Ash coughs at the end of this statement, making Misty pat his back. "See. Even your body is telling you to stop thinking about Pokemon Leagues. You need to relax and get better, Ash."

Sighing, he knows she's right. He knows he should be sleeping right now, but he loves spending alone time with her. It's rare that they have it, which is why he's been awake since his mother checked in on him this morning. "Can I get more soup?"

Misty giggles. No matter how Ash is feeling, he always has a big appetite. "How about I teach you how to make it, so you can have it any time?"

"Nah. I only like it when you make it."

Blushing profusely, Misty looks away from him. Is this his way of being lazy? Or is he flirting with her? Or is he just dense and saying things again?

"Or I can learn it so that I can make it for you when you get sick!" Ash exclaims excitedly. He knows Misty's sisters are rarely around, and he loves the soup. It's good to learn for whenever anyone gets sick. This soup already makes him feel energized.

Misty's blush deepens at his thoughtful words. Nodding, she tells him, "If you're not too weak, I can show you now."

"Yeah!" Ash grins while getting out of bed. Spending time with Misty as well as eating her soup gives him a lot of energy. He's pretty sure he'll be completely recovered after another bowl of soup.

Flashback Over

Ariel has been caring for Misty most of the day, with Ash watching from afar. Ash takes care of Ariel and her needs. He spent the day catching up on League paperwork as well as phone calls since he left the meeting yesterday. He has yet to pick up any of Melody's calls. Mew, what is he going to say to her?

Ash, deciding he wants a break from the League work, heads upstairs to check on his daughter. She's been by her mother's side all day. Ash brought her and the Pokemon food throughout the day. He's noticed Ariel has just been attentively watching Misty today. "Hey, champ."

Ariel shakes with a start in the chair. She had sent Politoed back to the gym for fear he'd start a fight with her father. Pikachu went too because he misses the other gym Pokemon. Smiling at her father, Ariel says, "Hey, dad!"

Ash notices the sleeping redhead. She looks less red and sweaty. Her breathing sounds more regular too. "Do you have homework?" Ariel's face pales, indicating to Ash that she does. "You have school on Monday where you'll be getting the homework from Friday you missed. Better finish your homework now before then." Ash knowingly tells her. He knows Misty will blame Ariel's poor academics on him if her grades slip. Moreover, Ash just wants his daughter out of the room. Ariel's constant worrying worries him. He doesn't want her catching Misty's sickness nor does he want Ariel to not take care of herself.

"But dad!"

"Ariel."

Sighing reluctantly, the girl gets up. Ash only says her name when he's serious. She never wants to upset her parents, especially her father who she rarely sees. "Take care of mom then." Ariel mumbles in defeat.

Ash knew that's what would happen once Ariel left. However, a part of him expected Politoed and Pikachu to be here. Groaning, the man sits on the chair Ariel was once in. His ex wife is still asleep. Ash grabs the towel to rinse out in the bowl or water on the desk. Seeing Misty's uncharged pokenav, the man figures he should plug it into the charger.

When he reaches around the desk to find a charger, his hand brushes something thin. Pulling it out, Ash curiously looks at it. Why was it pinned between the desk leg and the wall? Almost like it was hidden? His gaze softens on it. It's a picture of a baby Ariel. Obviously, she's in his ex's arms, but Ash loves looking at pictures of his baby girl. He feels a flap on the back of the picture, so he unfolds it. Of course he should've known what the flap would reveal, but he's just surprised she still has him in it. She didn't cut him out? It'd be hard to tell if she did.

Ash's brows furrow and he looks at his sleeping ex and then at the picture again. They really look like such a happy family with their new addition. Sighing, he throws the picture in a draw of her desk and then he replaces her towel on her head. Eventually, he finds the charger for her pokenav.

An hour later, Ash gets up to check on Ariel. He sees the girl sleeping at her desk, so he carries her to her bed. Ariel has really exhausted herself by caring for her mother. Ash never wants his little girl to feel this stressed or scared. She's been through enough already. Kissing her forehead, he heads back out of the room. He leaves the door open so that he can hear anything if anything happens, which he doubts.

Walking back to the master bedroom, Ash realizes something is missing. Well, not something, but someone. He sees the bed is empty, and he groans. He was only gone a couple of minutes, and she was asleep. Where could she have gone? When he hears the shower in the master bathroom running, he knows where she is.

"What are you doing?" He yells in annoyance as he stands outside the bathroom.

She woke up sweaty and wanted to shower the filth away. When she didn't see him, she assumed he had left, so Misty is startled by his voice. Not seeing his silhouette through the shower door, she figures he must be in the bedroom. His voice does sound a bit distant. "Showering, duh." She says matter-of-factly. She's still sick, but she's not as bedridden as she was yesterday.

"I'm not coming in if you collapse."

"Why are you even in here. I'm showering."

"I'm not in there. I'm in the bedroom."

"Why are you still here?" she snaps.

Ash is tired. He's exhausted and stressed, and he's spent all this time caring for her only for her to talk to him like this. She really is ungrateful. "I'm only involved with you because of Ariel!"

"Then go watch her! She got hurt under your care last time!"

"You were supposed to pick her up on time!" Ash shouts. He's tired of her constantly blaming him. He already blames himself so much, but just hearing it from her angers him more.

"And you were supposed to make sure she left with me! If you just looked out the fucking window, you'd see I wasn't even there!"

"Fuck you! Taking care of you is stupid! I'm leaving!"

"That's all you're good at!" Misty finishes her quick cold shower and wraps a towel around her. When she doesn't hear anything, she assumes he's gone. Good riddance. Looking at her reflection, she sees that she does look pretty sick. However, the cold shower has helped with the fever and the sweating. She feels a lot better.

Walking out to the bedroom, she sees Ash is indeed gone. As she grabs some clothes from her closet, a wave of lightheadedness hits her, causing her to stumble. She reaches out to the wall to catch her, but her hand hits the closet door, slamming it against the wall. "Shit." Misty mutters while sitting on the floor and then laying down. She winces in pain. Arguing with her ex seems to have just worsened her aching head.

With her eyes shut tightly, she doesn't hear the footsteps entering the room, nor does she hear the person's voice. She only knows she's not alone when a pair of strong arms gently picks her up, causing her to peek at who it could be. She has an idea, though she really hopes it isn't him.

Ash was on his way out after the argument. He had stopped in Ariel's room, and was happy to see she slept through her parents' small argument. When he was packing his stuff up downstairs, he heard the bang. Fearing it is Team Rocket, the man ran upstairs. Since Ariel was still sleeping peacefully, he decided to check the other person upstairs, which is his ex wife. He saw her on the ground wincing in pain.

"Where are you hurt?" he asks once she's on the bed. He's made sure her towel stayed around her.

Misty lets out a breath as the headache is becoming more manageable. "I'm fine. Just a headache."

"That's why you need to rest. Stop doing things or you'll get worse."

"You're not my dad."

"I'm Ariel's." Ash knowingly remarks while pulling the blanket around her.

"Yeah. Not mine." Misty narrows her eyes at him.

Mew, he's annoyed with her. He's trying to be civil because she's sick, and their daughter is sleeping a few doors down, but Misty just keeps testing his patience. "I don't have to fucking take care of you, but I am! Can't you just shut up for once?" Okay. Maybe that wasn't the best way to go about it, though Ash is tired.

Glaring at him, Misty sits up on the bed. "Are you-" She's cut off because she feels the towel slip. She forgot she didn't put clothes on yet.

Fortunately for her, Ash shields his eyes and looks away. "I'm happily taken." He reminds her.

Rolling her eyes, Misty says, "Keep your eyes closed." She finds the energy to get out of bed and put on the clothes she grabbed earlier. "And I said it before: I don't want you. You and Melody can do whatever you want for all I care." When Misty gets back in the bed, she adds, "How does Melody feel about you caring for your ex wife?"

Seeing Ash flinch makes Misty know he hasn't told Melody. Ash is still so easy to read after all this time. "Worry about your own relationship."

"I'm not the one who's happily taken but spending the weekend alone with my ex."

"Ariel is here. We're not alone."

Misty raises an eyebrow at him. "Where is she then?"

"Her room sleeping. She's been watching you all day." Ash, sensing Misty must be in bed and clothed now, removes his hand to glare at her. However, he just sees Misty's knowing smirk, which irritates him more.

"I'm pretty sure I remember someone getting mad because I was hanging out with Rudy without his knowledge, but…" Misty's blue eyes look at Ash's annoyed chocolate ones, "the difference between me and Melody is that Melody actually contacts you. I wonder what her messages and voicemails are saying now?"

"This and that are different!" Ash snaps angrily.

Misty crosses her arms over her chest. "How?"

"You would constantly see Rudy without me knowing!"

"You knew." Misty remarks. "I used to tell you, but you never answer your pokenav. And Rudy and I only hung out in public, so it was in the news." Her smirk grows. "But you're alone in the privacy of your ex-wife's house while your girlfriend is trying to contact you."

"You know nothing!"

"I know I never cheated!" Misty fumes. She hates how that's his only leverage against her. She was loyal to him!

"I know you're lying!" Seethes Ash.

"Really? You're doing a lot worse to Melody right now. She has every right to assume you're cheating." Misty reaches for her pokenav. 'Let me tell your girlfriend where you are."

"You wouldn't." Ash challenges her. A part of him regrets being nice and charging her pokenav. "You don't like her, and you hate having her around Ariel."

"I hate having you around me more." Misty informs him while scrolling through her pokenav. "I'd tell her so she can take you out of here."

"And Ariel will be upset."

Misty sets her pokenav down. She was never going to call Melody. Misty doesn't even have her number. If Misty did and called Melody, Melody would only come here to yell at her rather than Ash. Melody would think Misty is trying to take Ash, and it'll just make the situation worse for Misty. "You're lucky I care about my daughter more than my pride." Misty replies and lays back on her bed.

Ash is glad she won't contact Melody. He'll jump that hurdle when he leaves. "I see you're feeling better." Especially since she's speaking to him like she normally does, and not nicely, like she was yesterday.

"Yeah, so you can leave."

"You still can't care for Ariel." Ash crosses his arms over his chest. "I'll stay until someone can take care of her." He knows Brock is in Johto for the month, which really makes Ash miss his friend.

"I can take care of her better than you ever did here."

Groaning, he gives her an incredulous look. "Are we really gonna argue or are you gonna rest and get better?" He thought they vowed to stop arguing? Well, they obviously can't go long without it.

"I'll rest when you leave me alone."

"I would, but you may break something again." He says referring to the closet door. The door is fine, but Ash noticed a small break in the wall. Misty really is still strong despite being sick.

She shies away in embarrassment. Thankfully, she can blame everything on this fever, so she closes her eyes to sleep, or try to sleep. After some time, she falls asleep. She eventually wakes up to a scratching noise. Opening her eyes, she sees the desk chair is empty, making her grateful that he's not here. She follows the noise to see he is still here.

Frowning, Misty watches her ex clean up the crack on the wall by scratching away the chipped drywall and paint. "What are you doing?"

He is startled by her voice, and turns to face her. "Fixing the wall. I'm stuck here, so I might as well do something."

"I don't have plaster." She knowingly remarks.

He nods. "I know. I made some."

"You made some?"

"Yeah. I'll have to deal with Gary's teasing later, but I got some plaster powder from Donphan, and I just mixed it with water." That phone call with Gary asking why Ash is at the Waterflower house is going to haunt him later. He knows it.

Misty groans because she now knows Gary and Leaf will be teasing her about it. This is terrible. "I bet he already told Leaf."

Ash chuckles as he starts putting up the plaster. "I know. But at least you don't see them every weekend. Jace and Lauren are Ariel's best friends."

"True." Misty giggles. She watches him quickly fix the hole, but he doesn't have paint for it. "I'll buy some paint later."

Ash frowns at the random plaster ruining the yellow wall. "You're really gonna buy a gallon of paint just for this little spot?"

"Well, it looks weird."

"The only people in this room are you and Ariel. Who's gonna judge you?" He doubts Misty brings men around with Ariel here.

"Well, it bothers me."

Ash thinks as he looks at the wall. "When it dries, you can hang a picture up or a banner to cover it."

Misty blinks at him in confusion. That's actually a good idea. Sometimes, Ash really does have a lot of easy solutions to problems she makes too complex. "Thanks." She smiles at the wall.

The man awkwardly cleans up the area. He never expected a conscious Misty to be nice to him. They're both thinking about how normal their conversation was right now. It wasn't forced. It wasn't a shouting match. No. It was a normal conversation about how to fix a wall. Maybe they can make this friendship work for Ariel.

When Ash comes back up to the room, he places a bowl on the desk before sitting on the chair. "Dinner."

"Thanks." she mutters. He's eating his own share of the soup, and Misty can't help but smile. He's gotten better at making the soup since she first taught him. "I'm surprised you remember how to make this."

He shrugs because he hates thinking about it. While he hasn't had the soup in years because he hates being reminded about his ex, he can't forget how to cook it. "You look better."

"I feel better." she smiles, and it surprises her. Why is she smiling at him? She's supposed to hate him!

Ash is too focused on his bowl of soup to notice her smile. "I'll leave as soon as you can start moving around and cook again."

Why does she feel disappointed hearing that? Although she was mostly asleep while he was here, and then they argued when she was awake, a part of her is upset hearing him want to go so badly. Nevertheless, she knows she should be happy. This is what she wants. "Uh. Yeah. Hopefully that's by tomorrow."

He nods. "Just sleep tonight."

Misty finds herself looking at him, and she notices his deep bags. Has he been staying up taking care of her? "Hey."

"Hm?" he still looks at his bowl.

"Are you tired?" When he shrugs, Misty sighs. "You look terrible. You can sleep in the guest bedroom. I'll be fine tonight."

"Thanks." he mumbles gratefully, though he doubts he'll be able to sleep. The nightmares don't stop. Not even when he's sleeping in the same room as Ariel, else they wouldn't have occurred so often at the clinic.

Lil bit of pokeshipping for y'all these past 2 chapters.