Samuel awoke stiffly five hours later. With some embarrassment he noticed that his arm had migrated upward while he was asleep and his hand now rested atop Delia's heart. After feeling the slow, steady beat beneath his palm for a few seconds, he carefully removed his hand from between her breasts and rubbed his eyes. Being careful not to wake her, he rolled out of bed and tucked the blanket underneath her chin. At the same time, the door to the room opened and a gray-haired man a few years older than Samuel entered.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Claiborne," the visitor said, extending a hand.

"Samuel Oak," a half-asleep Professor Oak replied as he shook the doctor's hand.

"I understand that you're Ash's stepfather," the doctor continued.

"Yes, that's true," Samuel replied, trying to ignore the reappearance of the nagging feeling of guilt.

The doctor studied Ash's chart for a moment. "The nurse on duty noted some improvement in your son's condition during the night."

"Yes, I thought I saw a slight improvement myself last evening."

"Well, let me take a look at Ash and see what's going on with him." The doctor spent several minutes examining Ash while Professor Oak watched hopefully. "Yes, I think there is some improvement," the doctor said optimistically as he stuffed his stethoscope back into his pocket and gave the dozing Pikachu a friendly pat. "Now if he'll just wake up, then I think he'll be out of the woods. How are you doing, by the way?" the doctor asked with a kind smile.

"A bit stiff. Hospital beds weren't exactly made for two people," Samuel said as he tried to stretch out his aching back.

"And how's your wife?" the doctor asked as he made some notes on Ash's chart. "The nurse mentioned that she had a fainting episode yesterday."

"Delia's still sleeping. She's been asleep for…" He glanced at his watch. "Over fifteen hours."

"That's probably the best thing for her," the doctor said as he made his way to the door. "That and something to eat when she wakes up. You should probably have something to eat, too. Why don't you head down to the cafeteria and have some breakfast?"

Samuel shook his head. "I promised Delia that I wouldn't leave Ash until she woke up."

"Well, let me or the nurse on duty know if you or your wife need anything. Nice to meet you," the doctor said as he shook Professor Oak's hand again and headed down the hall to continue his morning rounds.

As Samuel tried to ignore the growling in his stomach, Pikachu awoke and eyed him curiously. "Pika?"

"She's still asleep, Pikachu," Samuel said as he sat down in the chair next to Ash's bed and tore open the package of peanuts that he had left for Delia the day before. As he started eating his makeshift breakfast, Pikachu watched his every move hungrily. "You hungry too, Pikachu?" Professor Oak reached into the pocket of his lab coat and found a small half-eaten bag of Pokémon food. "Kingler wasn't particularly fond of this flavor of Poké Chow," he said as he poured out a few nuggets and offered them to Pikachu, who ate them greedily. "Nice to see that someone likes it."

A stirring in the nearby bed attracted his attention. Leaving the rest of the bag of food for Pikachu (who proceeded to devour every nugget), Samuel leaned over Delia's bed and lightly touched her shoulder.

"Delia?" he whispered softly.

Her eyes slowly opened. "Samuel?" she said groggily as the face hovering above her came into focus.

"How do you feel?" he asked as he reached for her hand.

"Wiped out," she murmured.

"I'm not surprised. You've had a rough couple of days."

Delia turned her head in the direction of the beeping monitors. "Ash?"

"He's still unconscious, but the doctor came by earlier and said that there's some improvement in his condition. Sounds like good news," he said with a smile.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked as she made an attempt to sit up.

"Over fifteen hours."

"Fifteen…" A wave of dizziness forced her to lie back down on her pillow.

"Do you feel like eating something?" he asked, noticing that she had gone quite pale.

Delia nodded. "I'm starving."

"That's a good sign," he said as he made his way to the door. "I'll get you some juice to start with. And I promise I won't bring you back any more tapioca pudding," he said with a grin.

---

After drinking two containers of orange juice and successfully keeping down some dry toast, Delia felt well enough to get out of bed (with some assistance from Samuel).

"Careful. Don't want you to pass out again," he said as he helped her into the chair by her son's bedside. Pikachu, happy to see that Delia was all right, immediately jumped into her lap.

"Pikachu!"

"Hi, Pikachu," she said cheerfully as the little Pokémon gave her a hug. "Have you been keeping an eye on Ash for me while I was asleep?"

"Pika," the Pokémon nodded.

"Do you think you'll be all right now, Delia?" Samuel asked. "I'd like to go wish Gary luck before the final match today."

"The championship match is today?" Delia exclaimed.

"Yes. I thought I'd go see how my grandson is doing, then I'll come back here."

"Oh no, Samuel. Don't do that. You need to go watch Gary play in person. What time does the match start?"

"Ten."

Delia looked at her watch. "It's eight o'clock now. Why don't you go get something to eat, then go visit with your grandson? Afterwards, you can go watch the match with Brock and Misty."

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself, Delia? I mean, I don't want to leave you if you're still not feeling well."

"I'm feeling much better now, Samuel. Thanks to you," she smiled. "Go watch Gary play, and let him know that we're all rooting for him."

"Thanks, Delia. I'll do that." After giving her hand a quick squeeze, he headed for the door and nearly collided with the nurse as he opened it.

"Oh, sorry," she said apologetically. "I didn't see…" She then noticed Delia sitting next to Ash's bedside. "Oh. I see your wife is awake. How's she doing?"

"Wife?" a puzzled Delia asked.

"Um, she's much better," Professor Oak said hastily with a nervous glance back at Delia. "Although you might want to check on her while I'm gone. I'll see you later, bye."

"Your husband was quite worried about you yesterday." the nurse informed Delia as Samuel made a beeline down the hallway.

"He was?" said a still-confused Delia.

"Yes," the nurse continued as she made some notes on the readouts of the various monitors. "He didn't even leave the room once while you were sleeping. The nurse on duty last night said that the two of you were curled up together in the same bed."

"Oh, really?" said a rather surprised Delia.

"Yes," said the nurse with a grin. "You're lucky to have a husband that's so devoted to you and your son."

Delia pondered what the nurse had just said for a moment and then a tiny smile crept across her face. "Yes, I guess I am."

---

Gary and Melissa are now down to their last Pokémon in this topsy-turvy championship match!

"Lightning, I choose you!"

The crowd watched expectantly as a little yellow Pokémon appeared in a bright flash of light.

"Pika!"

And Melissa has selected a Pikachu for her final battle!

In the stands, Brock and Misty went wild.

"Ha! I don't believe it!" Brock laughed. "Melissa chose a Pikachu!"

"And I know which Pokémon Gary's going to choose!" Misty smiled.

A confident smile crept across Gary's face. "Go, Umbreon!"

"Umbre!" cried the dark-type Pokémon as it leapt forward to do battle.

"Yes!!!" Misty cheered. "Umbreon knows all of Pikachu's moves!"

"It does?" Richie asked.

"Yep," grinned Brock. "Gary once told Ash that he didn't see the point in battling him because Umbreon learned all of Pikachu's moves."

And Gary has selected Umbreon for this final battle of the final round of this year's Indigo League Championship!

---

Back at the hospital, Delia and Pikachu eagerly watched Gary and Melissa's match on television.

And Melissa's Pikachu has taken a real beating at the hands of Gary's Umbreon, but it's not ready to quit just yet!

"Lightning, Thundershock!" Melissa commanded her weary Pokémon.

"Umbreon, duck out of the way!"

As sparks started flying from the Pikachu's red cheeks, a dark wave suddenly appeared out of nowhere and sent the Pokémon reeling.

"Ha! Future Sight!" Brock cried excitedly.

"Lightning, get up! GET UP!" Melissa desperately urged her fallen Pokémon. The Pokémon struggled to its feet, then fell over and lay still.

The referee raised a red flag. "Pikachu is unable to battle. The match goes to the red trainer, Gary Oak!"

As the crowd went wild, Ash's Pikachu suddenly jumped then cocked its head. "Pika?" Pikachu looked down then jumped again. Something under the blankets had kicked him.

"We're now here live with this year's Indigo League Champion, Gary Oak," said the television reporter as she stuck a microphone into the boy's face. "How do you feel, Gary?"

"Great!" Gary smiled as Umbreon leapt up to lick his face. "Hey, Ash!" Gary said as he snatched the microphone away from the reporter. "If you're listening, you'd better get well because next year I'm gonna kick your butt!"

"Jerk," mumbled a faint voice from the direction of Ash's head.

Delia whirled around in surprise and saw that her son's eyes had opened.

"I'm gonna kick his butt next year," Ash murmured groggily as Pikachu eagerly scampered to the head of the bed and sniffed his trainer's face. "Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" the Pokémon cried happily as he nuzzled his friend.