I am not a doctor. I all the medical knowledge I have I've gotten from watching ER. So...if I've made medical type mistakes...sorry.
Continued...
When James returned to the ICU he saw Tracy sitting in the same spot heÕd left him in. The younger boy was staring desolately at the floor. James also saw AshÕs doctors walking away down the hall. It was obvious theyÕd come out and told Tracy how Ash was doing...it was also pretty apparent that the news wasnÕt good. James sat down beside Tracy, still holding both their cokes. He didnÕt know what to say. Luckily, he didnÕt have to.
ÒThey said heÕs stable now. TheyÕre taking him off the critical list.Ó Tracy said softly.
James thought that was good news and wondered why Tracy looked so horrible. His friend was doing better. He was no longer in constant danger of slipping away as he had been these last ten days. He didnÕt have to wonder long.
ÒThey said they donÕt know when......if.....heÕll ever wake up.Ó Tracy looked up at James with heartbroken eyes. ÒThey said that his head injury...the blood loss...the fevers...the trauma of surgery.... HeÕs in a coma. They donÕt know if heÕll ever wake up.Ó Tracy paused a moment, as if bracing himself for a blow. Or to face a reality that his mind couldnÕt handle. ÒThey canÕt take him off the machine. They said if they do, heÕll die. He canÕt breath on his own like this. He wonÕt be able to unless he wakes up. HeÕs stable...but he may never wake up...and if he doesnÕt...heÕs going to spend the rest of his life on a machine.Ó he finished miserably, burying his face in his hands.
Now James really didnÕt know what to say. He felt a tear escaping his eye and took a deep, shaky breath. He could never say that he liked Ash. The boy was his enemy and he made JamesÕs life miserable, always blasting him, Jessie, and Meowth off. Always standing between him and the Pikachu their Boss wanted. At this thought, AshÕs sick, hoarse voice echoed in the head ÒGive me back my Pikachu!Ó and James winced. He had nightmares about the boat trip just like Tracy. Only his were centered around the times that AshÕs delirium had taken him back to the times that Team Rocket had tried to get away with Pikachu. He knew how the boy felt. He remembered when Butch and Cassidy had hypnotized Meowth and stolen his pokemon. HeÕd felt awful. HeÕd wanted his friends back. So, he understood. He just had no choice. Neither him nor Jessie.
He didnÕt want Ash to die...or worse...spend his life a vegetable with a machine breathing for him. The thought was just about too horrible for words. The Ash he knew was too full of energy. Too full of stubborn pig-headed bravery to be trapped like that. Wasting away like that.
ÒI guess I should call AshÕs mom.Ó Tracy said softly, breaking James away from his thoughts. ÒI was hoping...I thought if I waited till he woke up...Ó TracyÕs voice cracked slightly, Òit wouldnÕt be so bad. I could tell her that AshÕd been hurt...but he was going to be ok.Ó He turned and looked James in the eye. ÒWhat am I going to tell her now?Ó
James didnÕt know.
ÒOh God...what am I going to tell Misty? SheÕs never going to forgive me. I was supposed to get him here safe. I was supposed to make sure heÕd be ok. She trusted me...Ó Tracy trailed off brokenly.
ÒTracy..its not your fault.Ó James said, surprised. In all the talks theyÕd had over the last ten days, Tracy had never said anything about blaming himself for any of this. ÒWe got Ash to the hospital as fast as we could. There was nothing you could have done to make it any faster.Ó
Tracy nodded. It was true. He knew it was true. He knew it was. At least, his head knew. His head told him everything James said was true. That heÕd done as best he could and if that hadnÕt been good enough, it wasnÕt his fault. HeÕd tried. His hear though...his heart was a different matter. It whispered to him that heÕd let his best friend down. That he was going to spend the rest of his life strapped to a machine, in a coma because of him. It whispered that Misty would never believe that heÕd tried his best because heÕd failed.
ÒDid the doctor say he could have visitors yet?Ó James asked, trying to rouse Tracy from the funk heÕd sunken into.
ÒYeah. Yeah they did.Ó
ÒLets go see him.Ó James suggested. ÒI read somewhere that coma patients could hear what was going on around them. Maybe if you were talking to him....encouraging him...heÕd get better faster.Ó James explained.
Tracy stared at James with something close to awe. This guy had sat with him though ten days of endless waiting. Listening to his silly stories about the various oddball adventures heÕd been on since meeting Ash and Misty....the ones not involving Team Rocket, of course. He knew James had to be worried sick about Jessie and Meowth. That he must wish he was out there with them...but heÕd stayed. And now, while he was focusing on every negative thing possible the doctors had told him, it was James who reminded him that Ash was still alive. That there was a chance he could pull through. It was James, who this time last month, Tracy wouldnÕt have credited with a single human emotion, who was trying to give him hope. He wanted to thank him. For everything. But the words were trapped in his throat by the lump that had lodged itself there. So he nodded silently and stood wiping his tears away.
James set the cokes down on a magazine covered table and followed Tracy into the room where Ash lay. He tried to brace himself for what he would see, but he was still shocked. The boy looked so little and helpless. His pale form dwarfed by the bed and the machines that surrounded it. There was a thick tube running from one machine into his mouth and down his throat. Another set of tubes entered his nose. He was hooked up to IVs and monitors and there were bandages on his head. Mostly though, he was still. Still as death with only the beeping of the monitors and the artificially induced rise and fall of his chest giving any indication that he was alive.
Tracy pulled a chair up next to the bed and took his best friendÕs hand. He sat for a while like that, not saying anything, just looking at Ash. James began to feel uncomfortable in the silence, but just when he thought he might better leave, Tracy started talking. At first James assumed he was talking to ash, but he soon realized that Tracy was actually speaking to him.
ÒI never really had friends growing up. I was always too worried about my drawings. About pokemon. Lots of kids go off and make friends while on Journeys, or just with the people they battle. Ash is like that. Not me. I spent my time in the woods with my sketch pad. After a while....I guess I realized I was lonely...but I didnÕt know what to do about it. Everyone already had their cliques and IÕd never taken the time to learn how to make friends. So I focused on the pokemon. Watching them...learning about them. Till I met Ash and Misty.Ó He paused and looked at James with a small nostalgic grin. ÒI just invited myself along when they left. I never even asked. I never gave them a chance to say no. Misty was pretty mad about that.Ó He turned back toward Ash. ÒAsh was....is....the first friend IÕve ever had. HeÕs my best friend...and Misty....Misty....Ó his voice trailed off sadly.
James wondered at the sudden quiet. He studied Tracy a moment curiously. One look at the boyÕs face though and his question was answered. Misty. James looked at Tracy with understanding and a little pity. He knew what it was like to not have any friends as a child. He understood that loneliness. He knew how important having a best friend was. He also knew what it was like to be secretly in love with someone. The difference was that Jessie was his best friend. Where as with Tracy...the object of his affection was in love with his best friend.
ÒWell well well. Look what we have here.Ó came a voice from behind them.
ÒYeah...its a real Kodak moment.Ó answered another voice.
James and Tracy both whirled around. ÒButch! Cassidy! What are you two doing here?Ó James asked. He unconsciously moved to place himself between the two Rocket members and Tracy and Ash.
Cassidy smiled sweetly. ÒNow what kind of way is that for you to greet fellow members of Team Rocket James?Ó Then her smile turned poisonous. ÒOh...Thats right! I almost forgot. YouÕre a traitorous sniveling turn-coat. Never mind.Ó Butch just stood, leaning against the doorframe grinning.
Tracy stood up. ÒWhat do you want?Ó he demanded.
ÒIts simple kid. The Boss wants your friend there.Ó Butch said, pointing at Ash. ÒWeÕre here to take him to him.Ó
ÒYou canÕt do that!Ó Tracy shouted, stepping forward. ÒYouÕll kill him!Ó
ÒOh we have no intention of doing that little boy.Ó Cassidy responded. ÒThe Boss wants him alive. He wants you two too ya know. Only he wasnÕt as specific. What were his exact words Butch?Ó
Butch grinned at his partner. ÒI think he said ÔDead or AliveÕ.Ó he said as he and Cassidy pulled out their guns.
To Be Continued.....