DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon.

A/N: I'M BACK! Yay! And another chapter is ready to go, hurrah. It just gets better, doesn't it?! Eeek! Okay sorry, I'll stop with the non-sensical babble and let you read.

Chapter Seventeen - A visit to the doctor.

"Happy birthday dear Misty…"

"Mr. Mime!"

Okay, I'd never quite envisioned a Mr. Mime attending one of my birthday celebrations, but I didn't really have a choice when it came to my sixteenth. Delia was inseparable from her Mimey, who was now clumsily attempting to cut a piece of the double chocolate fudge cake its master had made, despite my protests of a low-key birthday.

"Delia, I told you not to do anything" I scolded through my giggles.

"Well you've at least got to have a cake" Delia grinned. "No birthday is complete without one!" She even knew that double chocolate fudge was my favourite, no doubt thanks to a phonecall to her son while I was out of earshot.

It had been six days since Ash had gone back to the Indigo Plateau, farewelling Delia and I as I tried to force out the insecurity that hit me every time he left for anywhere. He would be back. I just had to be patient.

I had filled in the days by doing things I had never even considered before in my life. I called adoption agencies, inquired after abortions (which seemed kinda weird because I always thought I was against them, but I guess we had to have a backup), met my new doctor who would check up on me every couple of months and started buying those god awful maternity clothes. Delia was with me practically every second of the day, which can't have been easy on her but which I appreciated so much with Ash gone.

The phone rang and I glanced at the clock. 7.30. It would be Ash. I smiled and hobbled down the hall as fast as my broken leg would take me and picked up, instantly switching to the video phone.

"Hey, there's my birthday girl" Ash greeted me, those brown eyes forever dancing with mine. "Joyeaux anniversaire, ma cherie."

I burst out laughing at the French greeting. "Merci, mon amour" I grinned.

"Oh good, so you did understand what I was saying, thank God, I've been practicing all day" Ash said warily.

"Aww, how sweet" I cooed.

"How are you holding up on this day of days?" Ash asked. Despite the cheery nature of his words, I couldn't miss the concern in his tone.

"Not bad actually. I met Dr. Jenkins today, she wants to run an ultrasound on me" I announced.

"Shit, this early?" Ash exclaimed.

"Well, I am three months along" I reminded him. "It's okay, they just wanna make sure the baby's healthy and all. But…" I trailed off.

"But what?"

I sighed. "I could've had it done today but I…I got scared" I confessed, noticing Ash's face break out into a warm smile. "So I said I'd wait till you got back. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not" Ash replied. "Though I don't think I'll be much braver than you, to be honest."

"That's alright, I just want you there."

"Ten days, Mist. I'm counting down and reminding these buggers up here that they have no choice in letting me go" Ash declared.

"And no one's protesting or asking you to stay?" I asked cautiously.

"Nope. They know that all they'll get in reply is a 'see you in three months' monotone" Ash said.

"Good, cos I'm gonna be selfish in saying this, but I want you to myself."

"Oh Mist, God I want that too" Ash sighed.

"And you will have it, we both will, just hold tight" I said assuredly.

"I will, I will. How's Mom?"

"She doesn't stop smiling" I replied with a grin. "She acts like this is the most normal thing in the world. You couldn't have been blessed more."

"I know, having the two women I love the most under the same roof" Ash said teasingly.

"And a Mr. Mime who can't cut cake" I muttered, glancing down the hall to see Delia patiently teaching her Pokémon to cut straight.

"What was that?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Never mind" I shook my head. "Do you wanna talk to your mom?"

"Yeah, just for a sec."

"Okay. Love you and miss you more each day" I said sadly. As much as I loved receiving Ash's phone calls, sometimes this part was almost too painful to bear.

"Right back at ya. Look after yourself" Ash said worriedly.

"I will. See ya." I gave him one final glance and put the phone on the table, calling for Delia as I made my way back to the kitchen.

*******

A week later I was lying face down on my bed, unable to grab a hold of myself as huge tears rolled down my face, accompanied by sets of sobs. My pillow had been caught in my storm of tears and thus was now drenched, my eyes were stinging and my chest felt like it was going to explode, but I couldn't stop.

I used to think PMS was bad. This was unreal.

Pre-natal depression. As mild as I had it, it was still a killer. It seemed to be in harmony with my hormones, resulting in my bawling. No one was home, Delia had gone to the market with Mimey, so I had that whole house to myself.

I missed Ash. I hated talking about prospective foster parents and legal dealings and whatnot. I was scared of everything that had happened and that was going to happen. Can you blame me for my tears?

Ding dong. Who on earth was ringing the doorbell? I looked like too much of a ruin to answer anyways, so I stayed on my bed letting more tears flow.

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong.

Go away, I silently urged. The ringing stopped and I buried my head in my pillow again. I was so absorbed in my sobbing that a minute later I didn't realise my door had opened - hell, a burglar could've come in and I wouldn't have even lifted my head. But I had to in this case, for someone had put a hand on my shoulder and, not surprisingly, I was curious to see who.

"Who's there?" I whispered, my vision still blurry. Because of this I was forced to rub my eyes but I was in for a shock when halfway through my actions I felt a pair of lips on mine, making me wonder for an insane moment if I was going to be raped or something.

But this kiss was full of the love and tenderness I had only known with one person and I knew I had no need to panic as I melted into the kiss, tears still streaming down my cheeks.

"I've missed you so fricken' much" Ash murmured as he pulled away stroking my cheek. I couldn't get any words out thanks to those bloody tears killing my vocal chords. In fact, no other words were brought forward when Ash pulled me into his comforting embrace and held me close. I stood there so very still, both out of my shock of him being back and my ravaged state.

"What's wrong Mist?" Ash finally whispered in my ear, his warm breath sending tingles down my slumped spine.

"Everything" I sniffled as I desperately tried to regain my composure. Sheesh, it hadn't been that long ago that I was complaining to him that I cried too much, and then there I was, out of control again.

"Has your mom called again?" Ash asked worriedly.

"No." I shook my head and tightened my grip on him. "I missed you, I'm scared, I'm sick of the stupid adoption agencies and I still hate myself cos I'm still a damn emotional wreck."

"Come on, I'll get you a drink" Ash said softly.

"Three fingers of whisky would be great" I mumbled, not really meaning my words.

"Misty" Ash said warningly, gently poking my stomach. "Nuh-uh. You can have juice."

"I don't want juice" I grumbled as I followed him down the stairs.

"No complaining, I had to beg my ass off to get here today" Ash said, rummaging round the fridge as I sat down on the kitchen bench. I would've been right in Delia's way had she been cooking.

"Pass the pickles" I ordered, holding my hand out to indicate I was ready to receive my request.

"Pickles?!" Ash looked horrified.

"Pickles" I repeated. Ash handed me the jar and raised an eyebrow as I started scoffing my snack. "What?" I asked, noticing his bemused expression.

"I could ask you the same thing" Ash laughed. "What's with this new fad?"

"Cwafings" I mumbled with my mouth full.

"Cravings?" Ash asked. I nodded and resumed scoffing while Ash poured me my juice. "You poor thing. Morning sickness and -" he paused to kiss me again - "pickle breath. What a turn-on."

"Mmm, I know" I nodded, finishing off the pickles with a swig of juice. "So what are you doing home now?" I asked, swinging my legs over the bench. Ash sat down beside me and sighed heavily.

"I'd love to tell you it was solely because of my overwhelming longing for one Misty Waterflower, but to be honest it was a mixture of that and utter stress. Things still haven't completely smoothed out up there but at least the Elite are staying put."

"That's good" I said enthusiastically. "I'm just so glad they let you go already. I know it's been hard for you." Scanning my eyes round the kitchen, I dropped my voice when I next spoke. "Does anyone up there…know?"

Ash shook his head. "Do they need to?"

"Well it'll start looking a little risky when you're not at Indigo as often and I'm not at the gym at all" I pointed out.

"At this stage it's not critical that anyone knows, except Mom and your family. The media would twist it into pretzels. But if something leaks and we have to explain ourselves then we don't really have a choice" Ash said. Despite him being there with me, I suddenly felt ready to burst into tears again. The situation hadn't even arisen and already it was reducing me to tears.

"I see" I said flatly, my eyes focused on the kitchen floor. Ash, however, instantly noticed my crestfallen face and placed his hand on top of mine.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about that yet, maybe not even at all. You just worry about yourself."

"How conceited" I smiled weakly. Something suddenly came to my mind and I let out a cry of realisation as I jumped off the bench. "I've gotta do something now that you're here" I announced, hobbling over to the phone.

"What would that be?" Ash asked as he followed me. I turned to him with a wary expression on my face but a smile slicing through my hundreds of emotions.

"Book an ultrasound."

*******

"Waterflower, Misty. Doctor Jenkins will see you now."

"Shit" I muttered at the receptionist's words. Ash helped me up as my mixed feelings threatened to overwhelm me and we followed the receptionist down to room five.

Ash's hand was as sweaty as mine and I was betting that his heart rate wouldn't have been much slower than my own. Who could blame him? At least I'd actually met the doctor, Ash hadn't even gone through that process yet.

"Hello Misty" Dr. Jenkins greeted me from behind her desk.

"Hi" I meekly replied. No matter how warm or open she was towards me, I still found some kind of power in her that rendered me feeble.

"And you must be Ash. Pleased to meet you" Dr. Jenkins said as she shook Ash's sweaty hand.

"Um, yeah" Ash said awkwardly. I nearly burst out laughing in a nervous fit of insanity. He usually had such composure - he had to in his high position - and now here he was, totally freaked out by one measly doctor that wasn't even examining him.

"Well first things first, we've got a due date for you. What will you be doing round the 22nd of April?"

"Having a baby by the sound of it" I said with absolutely no expression.

"Well that does depend on what you decide to do. Have you come to a decision yet?" Dr. Jenkins asked.

"N-no" I stammered, briefly glancing at Ash.

"Just remember, time is running out if you choose to abort" Dr. Jenkins gently reminded us.

"Yes, we'll talk about it tonight" I announced, probably catching Ash by surprise but dead serious about my words.

"Okay. In that case, I think it's about time we went through with the ultrasound. If the two of you follow me through here, we can begin the procedure."

Why did her words suddenly sound like a death sentence, and why did the walk to the dimly lit room feel like a walk to the gallows? Probably because it was silent, never ending and the scariest paces I'd ever had to take in my life.

The room itself wasn't exactly comforting. Images of convicted criminals with blindfolds and guns pointed to their heads flashed through my mind but I immediately forced them back out. I had to be a microscopic bit brave, if not for myself then for Ash. There was a single bed and one of those monitors that I'd seen on T.V in the medical dramas.

"Misty, if you could lie down on the bed and Ash can have a seat I'll get everything ready" Dr. Jenkins instructed. We both did as we were told, Ash's hand never leaving mine, and without being told I half lifted my shirt. I'd seen this on T.V too. The heavy breath I drew in didn't douse my flames of nerves and neither did Ash's peck on my cheek.

"Okay Misty, this gel will be cold" Dr. Jenkins announced about a second before she applied it to my stomach. I drew in a sharp breath - cold was an understatement - and watched the fuzzy images on the monitor slowly becoming defined.

Wow. My insides were on T.V. That was just one of the many strange thoughts running through my head as I intently watched the screen, ignoring the weird sensation of the funny wand slowly gliding over my gelled stomach.

"Okay, I'm getting something here" Dr. Jenkins said, keeping the wand in one place. I squinted. She was? I couldn't see anything. "Look" Dr. Jenkins smiled as she pointed to the screen. "That's a hand."

"Oh my God" Ash and I both gasped at the same time. It was tiny, barely definitive, but it was definitely there. Our baby's hand. I could even make out the fingers. I didn't think it would be that developed that early on.

Moving the wand lower, Dr. Jenkins also found a barely developed and tiny head, spine and feet. To the untrained eye, it would've been a blurry image of no significance. But I knew. This was a creation of Ash and I, another human being just like any of us. And as I burst into uncontrollable tears (again), I could only sob out my words.

"I can't kill our child, Ash."

A/N: Hmm, this one was kinda short. Oh well! It's another one down. Another one up tomorrow! Hurrah! (what is it with me and that word?) And waaah, the Tall Blacks lost their semi-final game at the World Basketball Champs. Oh how sad. At least they got that far, we were expecting a first round hammering. Anyways that is SO not relevant so I'll go now, thanks for the reviews! AAML forever!