Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. This is just for fun.
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Girlfriends
Part 4
by Vickie211
"I think that one's dry, James." Brock was washing the dishes from lunch, and James was drying. Actually, he had been drying the same plate for almost ten minutes.
"Huh?" James noticed the plate in his hand. "Oh, yeah, I suppose it is." He set the plate on the table and absentmindedly reached for another.
Brock shook his head wearily and looked toward the other end of the picnic table. Meowth and Pikachu were playing Go Magikarp with Togepi. "Priii? Togii?" "Chu!" Pikachu didn't seem to be having as much luck at this as he had at poker. Brock watched as he handed over two 7's. At least they were keeping Togepi occupied and out of trouble.
Brock then turned his attention to Ash. He was sitting by the campfire, poking the coals with a stick and staring toward the road. He appeared to be as distant as James. The two of them had been this way since Misty and Jessie left. It was becoming ridiculous. Brock decided to put a stop to it. "Will you two quit worrying?! They're both fine!"
Ash and James both jerked their heads up. Oops! Brock saw the fire in their eyes and realized he had just set off a powder keg. Ash found his voice first. "Brock, how can you say that?! Misty's gone off with Jessie!"
James wasn't about to let that pass. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
Ash glowered at James. "It means exactly what Jessie always says ... trouble! Trouble for Misty! Jessie's probably kidnapping her and planning to ransom her for our Pokemon!!"
"Ash, get real!" Brock scolded.
James threw down the dish towel. "That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard! If you'll recall, it was Misty who approached Jessie in the first place!"
Ash jumped to his feet. "Yeah, but you two probably tricked her into doing that!"
Brock tried again, "Ash ... !"
"If there's any trickery going on, it's against us! I knew Jessie was being too trusting! She's probably sitting in a jail cell right now!" James started out from behind the picnic table.
Brock put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "James ... !"
James brushed Brock aside and headed straight for Ash. A moment later the two were nose to nose shouting increasingly imaginative accusations at one another.
Meanwhile, the card game had drawn to a halt, and Pikachu and Meowth were staring at their friends in consternation. Meowth turned to Pikachu. "Thunder shock or fury swipes?"
"Pikachu, ka pi pika."
Meowth brightened, "Yeah, dat's right. You can do it from here widout gettin' up."
"Pppiiikkkaaa ... ccchhhuuuuu!!"
Ash and James fell to the ground, somewhat charred and disheveled. Meowth grinned, "T'anks, Pikachu," then turned to the two on the ground. "Will youse two listen to ya selves? Ya both sound like lunatics."
Brock chimed in, "Meowth is right. You both need to calm down. I'm sure the girls are fine and neither one is trying to hurt the other."
Ash stood up with difficulty. "But Brock, Misty was crying."
Brock was silent for a moment as he considered this. "Okay, Ash. You're right about that. Something was wrong with Misty. But it wasn't Jessie. She was just trying to help."
"Yeah!" James said adamantly as he, too, got to his feet.
With a disheartened look on his face, Ash continued, "But why didn't Misty ask me for help? She knows I'd do anything for her."
Brock realized what was really bothering Ash. He must be feeling that he had failed Misty in some way. That he hadn't been able to protect her from whatever was upsetting her. Brock tried to console his friend. "Ash, it's probably a girl thing. You know, some sort of female problem. Something Misty would only want to talk to another girl about. What do you think, James?"
"Well, that might explain why Jessie was so secretive," James agreed.
Ash refused to be comforted by this. "But I know about that female stuff. She could've talked to me about it."
James shrugged, "Just because you know about it doesn't mean she would be comfortable talking to you about it."
Ash was quiet as he pondered this possibility. Reluctantly, he admitted, "Maybe you guys are right." He looked thoughtful for another minute, then turned to James. "Okay, how about a truce until we know what's going on?" Ash stuck out his hand.
James hesitated, then glanced at Meowth, who nodded his head in encouragement. "Alright, a truce, but only temporarily," he said as he shook Ash's hand.
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Jessie watched as Misty nervously shredded another tissue. This was at least the third one. The two girls were sitting in an examination room waiting for the doctor to make an appearance.
They had reached the office right on time, but except for brief periods of activity, they had done almost nothing since then except wait. Misty had filled out a new patient form detailing her vital statistics, medical history, recent illnesses, and the reason for today's visit. It then took another half-hour for her to be shown to a room.
Once there, a nurse had taken her temperature, pulse and blood pressure. She had asked Misty about her symptoms, and Misty repeated what she had told Jessie about being late and nauseous. The nurse then sent her to the restroom for a specimen. After Misty returned, the nurse had left saying the doctor would be in soon. That had been forty minutes ago.
Misty had insisted that Jessie accompany her back to the examination room. Jessie figured this was probably a good thing, because the longer they waited, the more agitated Misty became. At first, Jessie had been able to distract her with conversation, but she could tell that Misty was close to losing control. The panic Jessie had seen in her eyes earlier today was nothing compared to the hysteria that threatened now. "Misty … " she began.
And that's when Misty fell apart. "Jessie!" she cried. "What am I going to do?! I won't be able to continue traveling with Ash! And I won't ask him to give up his Pokemon journey. But how can I stand to be away from him?"
She continued her frenzied questions, each one higher in pitch than the one before. "What are my sisters going to say? And what about Ash's mother!? She's going to hate me! Oh God, what will Ash do?!" She finally took a breath. "Jessie, what if he dumps me?!!"
"Misty!!" Jessie took her by the shoulders. "Stop it! You have to get hold of yourself." She hoped she was sounding mature and sensible. "Questions about details are valid. Questions about what people will think won't do any good, although I can understand your concern. But that last bit is just plain ridiculous!"
She had Misty's attention now. She went on, "Look, I may think he's a twerp. But I do know him well enough to know he would never dump you just because you were pregnant. He wouldn't abandon a Pokemon. What makes you think he would abandon the mother of his child?"
A single tear rolled down Misty's cheek. "You're right, Jessie." She covered her face with her hands. "Oh, I'm horrible! How could I even think such a thing about Ash?!"
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Jessie said soothingly. "You're scared. It's understandable."
Misty lowered her hands but seemed unconvinced.
Jessie persisted. "Misty, it's going to be okay. Maybe this isn't how you imagined your life, but you and Ash will get through this. Together."
A tiny smile of relief appeared on Misty's face. "Thanks, Jessie. That's just what I ... "
At that moment the door opened, and the doctor walked in.
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Author's Note: I appreciate any reviews and helpful comments.