DON'T WORRY
Author: SiriusFic
Category: Fanfic
Genre: Some fluff
Story Basis: Pokemon
Main Characters: Ash, Misty
Rating: PG

The sounds of insects and other nocturnal creatures softly filled the air while leaves rustled in the cool breeze. Fourteen year old Ash Ketchum lay awake in his sleeping bag, staring up at the night sky, filled with twinkling stars. He could hear the light breathing of his traveling companions, Misty and Brock, and of his rat-like pokemon, Pikachu. He sat up, unable to sleep, and looked around at his surroundings. They were in a clearing, a burned out pile of sticks that was the fire lay not far from the foot of his sleeping bag. Pikachu was in his little sleeping bag near Ash, then there was Misty, holding Togepi close as she slept and finally Brock. Their backpacks lay together a short way from what was the fire about two hours ago. They were surrounded by tall trees and the ocassional bush in a fairly tight circle. He traced his fingers around on his sleeping bag, making faint scratching noises as he thought about what the next town might be like, what his next badge might be, if he would see any new pokemon, if he could ever...

"Ash?" came a voice from his right. It was Misty. "You really ought to get some sleep you know."

Ash looked over at Misty, she was looking up at him from her sleeping bag, propped on her elbow, the moonlight faintly illuminating her firey orange hair and aqua eyes. "Yeah ... just thinking, thats all" he replied. "Sorry for waking you."

"You've been up thinking every night this week Ash, whats bothering you?"

"Nothing Misty, i told you, just thinking about stuff." He replied a little irritably.

"Alright, such a grouch!" She exclaimed, pulling up a tuft of grass and flinging it at him

"Okay, fine, fine, i'll get some sleep ... night Misty" Ash replied, laughing as he shielded himself from the flying grass.

"Night"

The next morning, Ash awoke to a piercing scream. His eyes adjusted to the early morning sunlight and looked around alarmed, wondering what was going on. He knew that scream anywhere. It had been Misty, and her sleeping bag was empty now. Brock was sitting up as well, looking straight at Ash.

"Where's Misty?" He asked

"I don't know! Pikachu! Pikachu's gone too!" Ash tore out of his sleeping bag and towards where the sound had come from. He stopped dead in his tracks a short way from camp. Misty was hunched over something on the ground, Pikachu next to her. A whimpering sound was coming from whatever they were looking at. Ash ran over to them and kneeled down on the ground. There was Togepi, evidentally in some sort of a shock, a red mark on one of her spikes. Misty looked over at Ash and simply said, "Bedrill".

"Bedrill?? Whats going on?" Brock had arrived. "Togepi!" He picked up Togepi and looked at her, then ran back to camp. Ash and Misty followed, and watched as Brock took some antidote out of his backpack and gave it to Togepi. "That should slow things down, but Togepi is so so small, so young..." said Brock, "we have to get her to a Pokemon Center. Pack your things, we have to get going NOW."

Ash quickly packed his things and Misty's (Misty was too busy with Togepi), loosely pulled on his jacket, and they set off, Brock leading the way and checking a map. Pikachu bounded along behind him, Ash and Misty following closely. Ash looked over at Misty. Her face had a brave expression on it, much as it always did when there was trouble, but her eyes were telling a different story. She was scared. After four years of travelling, they all knew that a Beedrill's sting could be fatal to baby Pokemon. "Misty ..." Ash said. Misty simply nodded her head and kept going. "Brock where are we going?" he asked.

"Silver Lake" said Brock. "There's a small town set up along it, and they have a Pokemon Center. We're not far from it now."

He was right, around mid-morning, the three of them left the woods. Before their eyes, lay a shimmering lake with a town along its shore, but there was no time for sight seeing. They could make out the unmistakable dome shape of a Pokemon Center near the outskirts and headed straight for it at a run. Togepi was still silent, shivering in Misty's arms.



"Nurse Joy!" Misty exclaimed, as they all burst in through the Pokemon Center doors, a surprised Nurse Joy watching them from over the counter. "Togepi, Beedrill sting..." she panted.

"Oh dear," said Nurse Joy, rushing over, a Chansey right behind her. "Chansey, take this Togepi to the Emergency Room. "You'll have to wait here ... what's your name?"

"Misty ... Misty Waterflower"

"Alright Misty, how long ago did this happen?"

"Um ... about two hours, we gave her some antidote but ...."

"Well you get her here just in time. I can't make any promises but you'll have to wait here." With that, Nurse Joy disappeared behind a door with a sign showing a syringe over it.

"Nurse Joy! Don't you want my name too?!" Brock called after her, his hormones getting the better of him.

"BROCK!!! HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT ... TOGEPI MIGHT..." Misty couldn't continue, she turned and walked closer to the door and stood facing it. Ash could tell this was no longer the same Misty from the day before. She was standing with her back to the boys, arms rigid at her side. One hand was balled into a tight fist, the other nervously playing with the hem of her shorts. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail and not very neat at all. Then again, the only thing on her mind all morning had been Togepi. Ash couldn't really believe that after four years of knowing Misty, four years of travelling with her, four years of being best friends, that he didn't really know what to say. He looked at Brock, who appeared to have recovered from his spasm of 'Nurse Joy-ness" and was looking just as speechless as he was. Pikachu had bounded up to Misty and was now looking sadly up at her. Ash lowered his head to stare at the glossy white tiles of the Pokemon Center floor, and then approached Misty.

"Misty?" he asked cautiously.

"What if ... what if Togepi doesn't ..." Misty started to say, but her voice was shaking and she stopped for a few moments. "My poor defenseless little Togepi ..."

"Misty ..." Was all Ash could say. He let his hand rest on Misty's shoulder, and she turned to face him with watery eyes. A stray tear traced its way down her cheek and she sniffled. It didn't appear that she cared if anyone saw her crying anymore. "I should have been ... been watching Togepi ... closer ..." With that she threw herself onto Ash and disolved into tears. Ash, looking rather nervous, wrapped his arms around Misty and looked at Brock, wide eyed. Brock shook his head, he didn't know what to say either, so Ash simply closed his eyes and held Misty close, her tears soaking into his black t-shirt. "Don't worry." he whispered.

"I'm going to get some breakfast." Brock said, not moving from where he was. "I'll ... I'll be in the cafe ..." With that, he turned and left through a door with a picture of a burger and fries over it. Pikachu shot a sad look at Ash and Misty, then followed Brock, feeling rather hungry.

Ash remained where he was, one arm firmly around Misty, his free hand playing idly with a few strands of her hair. He looked around at his surroundings; the glossy floor of the Pokemon Center, the granite ceiling with its Pokeball shaped speakers and light fixtures hanging from it, the white walls adorned with pictures of Pokemon, several bulletin boards, the reception desk with two flatscreen computer monitors on it, three videophones along one wall, potted plants, several sliding doors and corridors leading away from the lobby. A boy of about sixteen walked out of one corridor marked "Cyber Cafe", spinning a Pokeball on his finger. He stopped, letting the Pokeball fall into the palm of his hand. His his eyes rested on Ash and Misty, then he continued walking, disappearing into a corridor marked "Rooms." This Pokemon Center, like many others, doubled as a sort of hotel for trainers passing through the town. Through the glass front of the building, Ash could see the street outside. It appeared to be a quiet town, with few people walking the streets. Once in a while, a car or a bicycle would pass by.

The sliding doors to the hospital portion of the Pokemon Center opened with a hiss, and Nurse Joy emerged. Misty looked up at her, but did not let go of Ash; her fingers gripped into his jacket. This was too soon, Togepi couldn't be better already, something must have gone wrong. However, Nurse Joy simply smiled. "It's going to take a while yet, but Togepi will be fine! You got here just in time." she said. Misty relaxed and let out a relieved sigh as Nurse Joy spoke again. "Now you two look terrible! You look like you ran through a forest without breakfast! And where did that boy who came in with you go?"

"We did run through a forest without breakfast." Ash replied, feeling relieved himself. "Brock went to get something to eat, i guess we'll join him now if Togepi will be alright ..."

"Yes, you do that, and check back with me in about two hours" said Nurse Joy, heading back through the sliding doors.

Misty let go of Ash and dried her eyes, Ash watching her calmly, but feeling embarrassed about the long embrace. "Lets find Brock" he said, starting towards the cafe, but Misty had taken hold of his wrist and wasn't following him. He turned around.

"Ash ... um ... thanks." she said, her eyes glued the ground.

Ash tried to forget the hot feeling in his face and smiled at Misty, who still looked pretty close to tears but now seemed about as embarrassed as he did. "Don't worry about it" he said, wriggling his arm free of Misty's grasp and holding her hand. "What are friends for?" They then walked into the cafe, and found Brock sitting at a table, looking outside.



"Well, the important thing is Togepi's alright" said Brock, stuffing a syrupy pancake into his mouth, after hearing what Nurse Joy had said. "So stop worrying about how it happened Misty, the important thing is Togepi is OK."

"I guess you're right ..." said Misty, holding her toast in front of her but not really feeling to eat anything. "I still feel like i should have been keeping a better watch on Togepi though"

"Misty. Look, i know I don't normally say stuff like this, but you're great with Togepi." Ash said, putting his glass of orange juice back on the table and scratching Pikachu behind the ears. "You're a perfectly fine trainer, Mist, now will you please quit worrying and eat something? Nurse Joy's right, you look terrible."

Misty smiled a little and finally took a bite of her toast. It didn't take long for her to finish the rest. After they were all finished eating, discussing what they could do while in town and eventually quietly recovering from the morning's shock, two hours had passed. The three friends paid for their food and went to find Nurse Joy. She was chatting with a co-worker and waved at them as they entered the lobby. "Excuse me Clara. Follow me kids, Togepi is fully recovered" she said, leading them to a recovery room.

Togepi was waiting for them in the recovery room, making her shrill "Togi! Togi Priiii!" noises as she spotted Misty.

"TOGEPI!" Misty yelled, running over and scooping Togepi up in her arms, hugging her tightly. "You're okay! Oh thanks Nurse Joy!" She spun around and beamed at Ash and Brock.

"You're back together" Ash said, smiling at her.

"Yup!" replied Misty, holding Togepi even closer, if that were even possible.

Ash walked over and petted Togepi as well, and Pikachu jumped into Misty's arms as well, playing with Togepi, happy to have his little friend back. "Everything is back to normal now" he said.




DISCLAIMER / RANT / WHATEVER ELSE
I do no own Pokemon or its characters. If you want to talk to the people who do, contact Nintendo. I created this story but it is a fanfic and nothing more. In closing, I would like to say that I do not like the egg-demon Togepi, and I'm hoping that in a future episode of the TV series, Brock will cook it for breakfast or something.

Misty: ASH! ASH! Where is my Togepi?!?
Ash: I don't know Misty! I thought you had it!
Brock: Ash! Misty! Hurry up, your omlette's getting cold!