He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
By Trish.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the song He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by the Hollies. The story is my own.
A/N: Now this is not a songfic. It is merely influenced by the song. This is a story about Ash and Brock's strong friendship. This is NOT a Bouldership in any way! I think men can be as close as brothers without being slash/yaoi. Look at the comradeship of soldiers in wartime. It is mateship, friendship, family, brotherhood.
This does not have the usual ships in it as well. But I wanted to be different so…
Ash - 30, Brock - 33.
Rated PG-13 for adult concepts and other deep issues.
This is for Chris as a belated birthday present. I know it's not what I set out to write - but this idea just crowded out all the others. Yes you will get your skiltshipping when I can think of it!
a
Chapter 1: The Road is long, with many a winding turn…
Brock leaned back in his chair and observed the afternoon crowds in the popular Starmiebucks in Viridian City. He sipped his coffee and turned to his companion, a brown-haired young man scribbling in a notebook and with a mini tape recorder.
"So what else can I tell you?"
The Pewter City Post was doing an article on its most famous son, the world renowned breeder Brock Stonewall, and so had sent its reporter Peter Hackett along to spend a few weeks in his company.
Peter glanced down at his notes. "So can you tell me about your friendship with the Pokémon Grand Master, Ash Ketchum?"
Brock grinned. "Sure, he's my best friend, like a younger brother to me." The breeder chuckled. "Though God knows I have enough of them already!"
The reporter laughed. "That's true. You have about ten brothers and sisters?"
"That's correct."
"You looked after them for years after your mother died, until your father came back."
"That's right."
"So you met Ash when he was ten years old, am I right?"
"Yes. When he came in to get his Boulder Badge…." Brock drifted off as memories of yesterday assailed him. How little Ash was back then, how he had sent in a tiny Pikachu against Brock's mighty Onix.
How, despite being defeated the first time, the stubborn kid had refused to give in and came back. How he forfeited the match because it wasn't right that he should win because the sprinklers had weakened the Rock Pokémon. Most people would have capitalised on such an opportunity. But Ash was different.
Brock suddenly remembered that he was in an interview, and smiled apologetically at the reporter who was sitting there patiently. "Sorry about that, I was just reminiscing….He sent in his Pikachu against my Onix, they got beaten badly but he refused to give up. He came back a day or so later to challenge me again."
"Then my father came back and I joined Ash on his Pokémon journey. And I was with him for every step of the way with exception of the year I spent with…." He hesitated before he said THAT NAME. "With a Professor in the Orange Islands."
"So you've seen Ash grow and develop from a Pokémon trainer wannabe to the number one trainer in the world."
"That's right."
"How would you describe him?"
"The Energizer Bunny?"
Peter stared at him. "Energizer Bunny?"
Brock laughed. "You know that toy bunny on TV that never slows down because it has long lasting batteries?"
The reporter nodded.
"Well Ash is like that. Full of energy and bounce. Especially if it is to do with Pokémon. Always has been, always will. Let's see….he's stubborn as a Tauros, he's friendly, has an undeniable knack with Pokémon, he's persistent. The words 'Give Up' are not found in his vocabulary."
"And he has a good heart. He will always do anything he can to help others, regardless of whether they are people or Pokémon."
The reporter was taking notes furiously.
Brock was interrupted from further musings by his cell phone going off in his pocket to the tune of Mambo No. 5.
"Hello, Brock speaking."
"Brock! Thank God I've caught you!" The nasally voice of Gary Oak, the Viridian City Gym Leader came through the phone.
"Hi Gary! What's up?"
"You've got to drop everything and come down to Pallet's Memorial Hospital. It's an emergency!"
Brock tried to digest all this information. "Why what's happened? Tell me!"
"It's Ash. Gotta make some other calls." And with that Gary ended the call.
Brock stared at the cell phone.
"Something wrong?" Peter asked.
For an answer the breeder grabbed his coat and rose from the chair. The Post reporter hastily gathered up his things and followed the man out the door. "What's happening?" Peter persisted.
Brock unlocked the door to his car and threw his stuff into the back seat. He indicated to the reporter to get in. "Change of plans. We're going to Pallet."
"What for?"
"Ash."
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As they drove down the highway from Viridian to Pallet, Peter was busy speculating what the emergency could possibly be. This could be the biggest scoop of his entire career! "Do you think he could be seriously ill or hurt?"
Brock grimaced. "God I hope not…"
He really hoped that nothing bad had happened to Ash, but then again he wouldn't be surprised if it had. Throughout the twenty years Brock had known him, the dark-haired trainer had a unique talent for getting himself into all sorts of trouble.
And that trouble usually saw Ash in peril of snuffing out the one life that he had.
Brock remembered the time they found Ash and Pikachu lying motionless under the chandelier in Lavender Town, the time Ash fell out of the Fuschia Gym, or when he fell out of the Crystal Tower in Greenfield….
He had lost count of how many times he had come close to losing his younger friend. But either due to a lucky star or a guardian angel Ash had survived every single time. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he imagined what life would be like if he ever did lose him for good.
a
An hour later, Brock pulled into the car park of Pallet Memorial Hospital, the two men making a dash for the emergency ward.
As they burst in through the double doors, the first thing they saw was the Pokémon Grand Master sitting there clutching tightly onto the hands of his mother and father. From beside Delia Ketchum, Gary Oak rose with a look of relief on his face and hurried over. "Brock, you made it!"
"Yeah I did." The breeder introduced his companion to the brown-haired Master. "Gary, this is Peter Hackett from the Pewter City Post. He's spending the next few weeks with me doing an interview. Peter, this is my good friend Gary Oak, Pokémon Master and Viridian City Gym Leader."
"Nice to meet you."
"You too."
Gary glanced over his shoulder at the Ketchum family and led the two to a far corner.
"What's going on?" Brock whispered. "I thought you said…"
Gary looked apologetic. "Sorry, but I was in a bit of a rush when I spoke to you. It's not Ash, it's Katrina…"
Katrina…Ash's lovely wife. Brock remembered when they first met, in the heady days before Ash's first attempt at the Indigo League. Katrina had a Raichu and challenged Ash to a battle, which of course he could not refuse. It was there that they had all worked on the movie Pokémon In Love with Mr. Clevon Spielbunk.
Ash and Katrina had got along together right from the word go. As had their two Pokémon. They had kept in close contact over the years as they had noticed how well the two mice got along. Five years ago Pikachu had decided upon Raichu as a mate and the next year saw their trainers get together.
They had been married for two years now, and Brock remembered the happy announcement they had made earlier this year that Katrina was expecting twins. Oh no don't tell me….
"What's wrong?"
"She collapsed suddenly at home, Ash rushed her straight here." Gary ran a hand through his hair. "He called me from here, absolutely distraught. Some serious complication with the pregnancy…"
Brock slapped a hand against his mouth. "Oh God…."
Gary nodded. "Come on, I'll take you over to him…."
He led them to where Ash was sitting. The dark-haired trainer looked up at their approach and rose to engulf one of his oldest friends in a big hug.
Brock returned the embrace, hoping to give his friend what little comfort if, any, that he could give him. It was the least he could do after what Ash had done for him a few years earlier.
Ash stepped back and gave him a wan smile. "They're performing an emergency caesarean on her now. The twins need to come out, there seems to be a complication with them as well."
"Oh no…"
"All we can do is wait…"
a
Brock looked up from the worn pages of the magazine that he had read for perhaps the twentieth time when the door to the specialist's office swung open.
A pale Ash stumbled out of the office and collapsed into the nearest chair.
Brock exchanged a glance with Gary and both went to sit on either side of their distraught friend.
"Oh man…what's the news?" he asked quietly.
Ash tried to say something, but no words came.
Gary patted him on the back awkwardly.
Finally he spoke, his words coming out in short spasmodic bursts. "Katrina suffered from eclampsia…she's in the ICU…and she might not make it…"
"And the twins?" Gary asked carefully.
"9 weeks premature…" the father said in a hollow voice. He looked down and ran a hand agitatedly through his dark hair.
Ash raised his head and there was such a haunted look in his eyes that it chilled Brock and Gary to the core. "Oh God….they're going to make me choose…" he choked out.
Brock felt his heart sink. "Choose what?"
"Which twin is going to live or die…" Ash buried his face in his hands. "They're conjoined, they share a liver between them. One of them is smaller, more weaker and undeveloped than the other…"
There was silence as Ash broke down. There was nothing that either of his friends could think of to say to that, nothing that they could possibly say…
"Oh God, what am I going to do Brock?" Ash said after a few minutes. "I am being asked…to…play the role of God…with my own children. Judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one…." He stared at the wall of the waiting room as tears trailed down his face.
"They're going to make me choose…" he repeated dully. "One to live and one to die…."
He turned those haunted brown eyes on them. "And you know I can't do that…"
a
To be continued…
Author's Note: Evil of me - yes I know. And I know that is an impossible choice for Ash - as it is for many real life people who have faced that very same situation. That would tear me apart if I ever had to do that…
As I said - I wanted to be different from my usual AAMRN pairing - so.
Very angsty fic. But it's been floating around my head for ages.
Midsummer Nights Chapter 2 will be coming some time soon I hope.
Read and Review - Flamers fed to my Tassie Devils.