We hit 700 visitors for this story! Next chapter is the last chapter before the epilogue!
Chapter 23
The next day, Ash had apologized to Nathan by phone before telling the deadbeat, in a nicer tone, to stay out of their lives. He then blocked the man's number after mailing out the paperwork. On Sunday, Ash left for the League, much to Clementine's dislike, but at least he left Pikachu with the girl and Ruru. A few days later, Daisy and Tracey leave for Johto, and Lily moves into the gym temporarily to keep an eye on Misty.
The League has sent a woman named Jackie Lawson to fill in for Misty. The substitute is on the elderly side but assures Misty she is still a fierce competitor. Of course, all of the gym Pokemon minus Gyarados have agreed to listen to the substitute. Fortunately, Jackie is allowed to use her own water Pokemon too. She is staying at a nearby apartment provided to her by the League.
Clementine has met Miss Jackie many times now and loves playing with the new Pokemon. Under Pikachu's and Politoed's watch, Misty allows the girl to hang out with the elderly gym leader. At 38 weeks, Misty is exhausted. Ash will be joining her on his paternity leave this weekend after he picks up his mother from Pallet Town.
For the first time in a long time, Misty peacefully lays down on the sofa in the quiet house. After Violet had come home pregnant, Misty had to deal with her overly hormonal and crying sister. Once Clementine was born, Misty was constantly with her or at least hearing her throughout the house. Now, though, the redhead can bask in the quietness of the empty house.
"Auntie Misty!" Well, that was nice while it lasted. Misty looks over as Politoed helps her up. The little bluenette hugs her aunt. "Thank you, Auntie Misty!" She beams.
Misty gives her a confused look. "Um. For what exactly?"
"For being the best auntie in the world and giving me the best uncle in the world!" The little girl smiles at her while hugging her side tightly.
Misty smiles. "Well, you are welcome, my random little Squirtle." Clementine giggles at the nickname and sits down on the couch. Her aunt sits down as well and is greeted by Clementine snuggles. The Pokemon go search for a snack in the kitchen. "How are you doing, Clem?" Misty asks the girl.
Leaning into her aunt, she responds, "I love you and Uncle Ashy!"
The woman giggles at the silly girl. "Well, we love you too." She plants a kiss on Clem's head.
They sit in comfortable silence when Clementine speaks, "I love mommy too." she quietly says.
Misty puts an arm around her and squeezes her close. "Me too, Clem." The redhead takes a deep breath. "But I'm sure your mommy is happy now."
"Why?" the girl looks up at her aunt.
Misty smiles. "Because you're happy."
Clem smiles and snuggles into Misty some more. "I am happy."
"Me too." The woman says. "How about we visit mommy this weekend with Uncle Ashy?" Clementine's eyes light up and she quickly nods her head. "Okay! We'll do that!" Clementine then kisses Misty's cheek before running off to get the Pokemon in the kitchen. She heads upstairs with the Pokemon following her, but Pikachu stays back and jumps into Misty's arms. "Aw. I missed you too, Pikachu!" She hugs the mouse. "Thank you for always looking out for Clementine."
"Pi pika!" He gives her a salute before sprinting up the stairs after the girl. While upstairs playing, Clementine gleefully tells the Pokemon stories about her mommy.
A Few Days Later
It is now Friday night and Miss Jackie has closed up the gym for the week. Lily left for a nearby date saying she'll be back later that night. Although Ash would normally arrive soon, he went to Pallet Town first to bring his mom to the gym. They plan to arrive in Cerulean tomorrow night. Clementine and Misty are currently watching a kids TV show while Misty looks over some gym papers. Pikachu and Ruru are hanging out with the gym Pokemon.
"Auntie Misty?"
Misty looks up from her papers and smiles at the young girl. "Yes, Clem?" Clementine doesn't say anything. She is looking at her hands nervously. Misty slides over to sit right next to her and places an arm around her. "How are you feeling, Clem?"
The little girl takes a deep breath. "I'm scared you and Uncle Ashy will love the baby more than me." She sniffles.
Misty hugs the girl close and kisses her head. "You are my first baby, Clem. Me and Ash will love you just as much as the baby." Clem looks up at her aunt now, but the girl still has a few tears falling. "But Ash and I will need your help with the baby. Will you be able to help us?"
Clem's green eyes sparkle and she nods hurriedly. "I'm gonna be the best helper!"
Misty just smiles and squeezes the girl again. "I know."
After tucking Clem into bed, Misty blissfully falls asleep as well. They always enjoy the quality time they get to spend alone. It reminds Misty of when Violet was still alive and would leave Clem in Misty's care. Back then, Daisy, Lily, and Tracey were still traveling, and she could barely be considered Ash's acquaintance. Misty also isn't surprised Lily isn't home, especially since Ash and Delia will be arriving tomorrow.
The redhead's peaceful night is interrupted by a wave of pain. She opens her eyes with a loud groan as she clutches her abdomen. The area of the bed beneath her legs is wet, and Misty screams when a more intense pain jolts through her.
There is knocking on the door. "Auntie Misty!" cries the voice, but Misty is in too much pain to respond. Fortunately, she keeps the door unlocked most of the time, and the little girl walks in when Misty groans again. Clementine hops onto the bed to see her aunt clutching her stomach and wincing. Fear courses through the little girl. "No! You can't die too, Auntie Misty!" she cries and tears start dripping down her cheeks.
The woman manages to say one word before she bites her lip in pain again, "Baby."
Still sniffling, the 5 year old looks at her aunt again and then stands up to grab the pokenav by the side of the bed. Pikachu snuggles up to Misty as Clementine dials the only other number she has memorized besides Misty's.
After a couple of rings, Clementine hears a groggy, "It's 3 in the morning, Mist."
"Uncle Ashy!" The girl is crying a lot now and hears shuffling on the other end.
"Clem! What's wrong? Where's Auntie Misty?" he panics.
"She's hurting a lot! Help!" wails Clementine.
Before Ash can respond, he hears Misty scream, "Labor!" and he now understands.
"Okay. Clem. Call Auntie Lily. Her name should be in the contacts. I'll call the ambulance and be there as soon as possible."
"Mhmm." The girl nods.
"You're a strong girl, Clem! Take care of Auntie Misty until I get there! I love you!" Ash quickly says.
"I love you too! Hurry!" The girl sniffles. Ash ends the call and she looks at her aunt who is still curled up. Clementine then scrolls through the contacts and finds her Aunt Lily. By the time Lily picks up and figures out what is going on, the ambulance is already at the gym. After Ash had called the ambulance, he called Clementine back to let her know to open the door when she sees blue and red lights.
At the hospital, Clementine is waiting with an officer when Lily finally arrives. The pinkette hugs her niece tightly. "Where's Aunt Misty?" She asks the scared girl. Clementine points to the double doors.
The young officer smiles at Lily and extends his hand to her. He is fairly tall and muscular with light blue hair and dark blue eyes. "Hello. I'm Officer Danny." He then looks at Clementine. "Is this your aunt, Clementine?" the girl shyly nods. "Okay. Then I will be going now." Officer Danny tells Lily.
Lily grabs his arm to stop him. He looks at her fierce eyes. "Not yet, officer!" She tells him. "I need to make some phone calls."
"Um. Ma'am. I have other duties to attend to."
"Your duties are to serve the public! I am the public." Lily tells him and walks a few steps away to pull out her pokenav. She calls Ash, but gets no answer. Frustrated, she calls Tracey since she knows Daisy won't pick up the call at 5 in the morning.
"Hello?" Tracey surprisingly sounds awake.
"Tracey! Misty is in labor."
"Thanks for telling us. We're on our way! Please keep us updated!" Tracey hurriedly replies. The two hang up and Lily tries Ash's number again. He still isn't picking up. The woman walks back to the officer and her niece. Officer Danny had gotten Clementine a coloring book while the girl waited for Lily to arrive. He and the bluenette had been coloring together, and they continued with their coloring when Lily left to make the phone calls.
Lily sits down next to Clementine who now stops coloring to hug her aunt. "I'm scared." sniffles the girl. "Will Auntie Misty be okay?"
The pinkette puts an arm around the girl and squeezes her while looking worriedly at the double doors. "Yeah. She's very strong, like you, Clementine." Lily tries to reassure herself as well.
Awkwardly, Officer Danny stands up and offers them a smile. "I should get going now." He gives Lily a business card. "Here's my number if you need anything."
A few hours later, Delia runs into the waiting room. "Grandma!" the little bluenette sprints into her arms and cries. Delia hugs her tightly and walks over to sit next to Lily who is worriedly looking at her hands. "Where's Uncle Ashy?!" Clementine continues to cry.
"He's inside with Aunt Misty." the woman tells the girl as well as saying it loud enough for Lily to hear. "He's been here for a few hours. He left on Charizard when you called." Clementine nods, and Lily lets out a sigh of relief. Clementine hadn't slept at all since waking up to find Misty. "Ash told me about how strong you are, Clementine. You are a very brave girl." Still clinging to Delia, Clementine sniffles and nods.
"Uncle Ashy says I need to be strong for Auntie Misty."
"That's good." Delia smiles. "You can rest. Ash will be strong for her now. You did a great job!" Clementine nods and soon drifts off to sleep.
Growing Up With Clementine chapters are released now. It's just full of one-shots about Clem's life. I'll be uploading chapters whenever I think of them and type 'em up. Feel free to send me ideas! :D