Chapter 15: An Awakening and Surprises
The next morning, Misty awakened and had a strange feeling of calm come over her. She remembered the words that she heard last night that reassured her that Ash would come through this situation but Misty found it strange that she had no memory of the voice that had spoken these words. Just then a voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Tracey standing in the doorway with Carla beside him.
"Good morning, Misty. We stopped in to see if you wanted us to bring you anything to eat or if you wanted to come down to the cafeteria with the rest of us." Carla smiled.
"I think I'll go with you to get something to eat. Who knows it might make me feel a little bit better. I guess I am pretty hungry. It's been almost a whole day and a half since the last time I ate anything." Misty said.
"Okay. Let's go and get a quick breakfast so that way you can get back to Ash."
"Good idea. Hey, you guys were praying for us last night weren't you?" Misty asked suddenly.
"Yeah. But how did you know that?" Tracey replied startled.
"That's the weird thing. I'm not sure how I know but I do." Misty said.
"Hmm. That's weird. Sounds a little eerie." Carla observed.
"I'm really not sure how it is that I know that. Call it a gut feeling maybe. That's probably all it is. Let's go get some breakfast." Misty said as she decided to drop the subject.
* * * * *
At the same time, Gary stopped by Brock's room to see if Angelica wanted to go with them to eat something. When he walked in the door Gary noticed that Angelica was staring off into dead air and appeared to be deep in thought about something. He then made the mistake of walking up behind Angelica and placing a hand on her shoulder. This resulted in her whirling around and taking a swing at him that Gary just barely avoided.
"Whoa, whoa! Hey! It's me, Gary! Calm down!" Gary exclaimed.
"Oh my gosh. I am so sorry. You just startled me and that was just a reflex action. Are you okay?" Angelica apologized.
"Yeah. I didn't mean to startle you. I wasn't really thinking." Gary admitted.
"Thank you." Angelica said suddenly.
"For what?"
"Thanks to all of you for praying for Ash and Brock's situation. I really appreciate it."
"Uh. You're welcome. But I don't understand how in the world you knew that." Gary said in confusion.
"Women's intuition, I suppose. I don't really know." Angelica admitted.
"Okay, if you say so. Listen, the reason I came by was to see if you wanted to come down to the cafeteria with us to get something to eat. You've got to be hungry."
"No thanks. Dr. Adams said that Brock will come to sometime today and I really want to be here when he wakes up. You can bring me something if you want but you don't have to."
"I'll bring you something to eat and some juice. You haven't eaten in almost two days so I know you have to be starving." Gary insisted.
"Thanks, Gary." Angelica smiled gratefully.
"No problem. See you later."
Angelica smiled at Gary as he turned and walked out to join the others but remained by Brock's side.
* * * * *
"Hey, Gary. Is Angelica going to come to eat with us?" Misty asked.
"No. She said that she wanted to stay so she can be there in case Brock wakes up." Gary said.
"I understand how she feels. It's probably best for her to be there for Brock when he does wake up. We can bring her something to eat." Delia reasoned.
"Yeah. I told her that I'd bring her something to eat and some juice. It's been almost two days since she's eaten anything."
"That was very thoughtful." Professor Oak smiled as his grandson.
"You sure have changed a lot from the guy I used to know, Gary. Of course I mean that in a good way." Tracey said.
"It's like I told you the other day. I was young and stupid back when you knew me before. I realized the error in that a long time ago." Gary smiled.
"Well, here we are. Let's get something to eat. I don't know about you guys but I'm really hungry." Carla said.
"I'll agree with that." Tracey agreed as they went and got some breakfast.
* * * * *
A short time later the group had finished breakfast and went back to check up on their friends and Misty immediately returned to Ash's side. Before Gary returned to the waiting room with the others, he made a stop by Brock's room to give Angelica the donuts and juice that he had picked up for her to eat.
"Hey, Angelica. I brought you a couple of donuts and some orange juice. How's Brock doing?" Gary spoke up as he entered the room. He wasn't about to make the same mistake he had before.
"Hi, Gary. Thanks for the breakfast. It'll probably make me feel a little better. I hope Brock wakes up soon." Angelica whispered as she took the food and juice from Gary and started to nibble on it.
"I hope so too, for the sake of both of you."
"I really appreciate it."
"Well, I'm going to go back with the others now. Make sure you let us know if something changes." Gary said.
"I will." Angelica smiled as Gary turned and walked from the room.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, back in Ash's room, Misty walked in the door and was greeted by an unusually quiet Pikachu, who was seated by his friend's side, keeping a silent vigil.
"Hi there, Pikachu. Everything okay here?" Misty asked.
"Pi pika ka chu ka pi, Pikachupi. Pikachu pika." (As well as they can be, Misty. Nothing's different.) Pikachu answered.
"Thanks for staying here and watching over Ash while I went and got something to eat. It really helped. Here, I brought you some Pokemon food."
"Pi pikachu. Pikapi chu pi pika ka chu Pikachu." (You're welcome. Ash would have done it for me.)
Misty just smiled at this and patted the small Pokemon on the head in appreciation as he munched the food hungrily. She also noticed that even though she had returned, Pikachu still refused to leave Ash. It was almost as if Pikachu thought that if he left Ash's side for a moment, something terrible would happen. Obviously the Pokemon felt for Ash and wanted him to wake up just as much as Misty did.
* * * * *
About an hour later, Angelica was keeping vigil at Brock's side when she felt him squeeze her hand. When she noticed this, Angelica gasped and immediately slammed her hand on the nurse call button. Then she turned back to Brock and took his hand again as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Angelica? Where am I?" Brock asked sleepily, looking around the room trying to get himself reoriented.
"I'm right here, sweetheart. You're in the hospital and you just woke up from surgery. Just try and rest."
"Hospital? Surgery?" Brock was confused for a moment and then it all came back to him and he remembered why he was in the hospital. "Oh yeah. How's Ash?"
"He's holding up all right. I talked to Misty a few hours ago. He's still unconscious though. Dr. Adams told her that Ash won't wake up until probably tomorrow." Angelica whispered. Just then the door opened and Dr. Adams walked in.
"Hi, Brock. Welcome back. How are you feeling?"
"Like I just got run over by a herd of rampaging Tauros." Brock said. When he said this Angelica got an uncomfortable look on her face but Dr. Adams, who caught the slight humor in Brock's comment, only laughed.
"You seem to be doing very well. Things couldn't have gone any better. That was a heroic thing you did." Dr. Adams smiled.
"Did it work? Is Ash going to come through all right?"
"Of course. He'll regain consciousness sometime tomorrow and it'll take some time for him to fully recover but he's going to be just fine." Dr. Adams said reassuringly as Brock flinched in pain. "Oh. Would you like me to get you something for that?"
"Yeah. If it's not too much trouble."
"No trouble at all. Let me get over here to the call button and I'll have a nurse bring something."
Angelica cautiously got out of the way momentarily to allow Dr. Adams to reach the call button. Then she retook her position at Brock's side. A few minutes later, a nurse arrived with something to ease some of Brock's pain. As Dr. Adams gave the injection, Brock noticed that Angelica didn't take her eyes away from the man for a second. She seemed to be watching him like a hawk.
"There we go. That'll take the edge off of the pain that you're feeling. The only down side to it is that it may make you a little sleepy. I'll leave you now so you can get some rest. I'll come by to look in on you a little later."
"Could you do a favor for me?" Angelica asked.
"I'll do what I can."
"Can you please let our friends know that Brock is awake? They're all very concerned."
"Sure. I'll do that." Dr. Adams smiled as he left the room.
"Honey, can I ask you a question?" Brock asked.
"Of course. What is it?"
"Why were you looking so suspicious of the doctor just now. He saved Ash and made it where we both came through okay."
"It's a long story. I just had a really bad feeling and it made me a little suspicious." Angelica explained.
"Oh. It's okay. I understand." Brock said tiredly.
"Are you feeling any better?" Angelica asked.
"Yeah. The pain is gone but I am feeling a little tired."
"Well, if you're tired why don't you try to take a nap? It may make you feel better." Angelica suggested.
"Sounds like a nice idea. I think I will take a little rest." Brock agreed as his eyes began to droop a little.
Angelica stayed right by Brock's side and held his hand as he closed his eyes and slid into a sound sleep.
* * * * *
In the waiting room, the others were trying to find ways of keeping their minds off of what was going on. Tracey, Carla and Gary were playing cards while Delia and Professor Oak were talking about happier things. When Dr. Adams walked into the room, everyone stopped right in the middle of what they were doing and turned their attention to him.
"What's going on?" Delia asked nervously.
"First of all let me say that nothing is wrong. The reason I came by here is because Brock is awake and Angelica asked me if I would come and tell you."
"That's wonderful news!" Professor Oak said.
"I agree." Tracey smiled.
"Me too. Things are getting better." Carla observed.
"Can we see him yet?" Gary asked.
"Not yet. He needs to try and rest a little right now. Wait about thirty minutes." Dr. Adams explained.
"Okay."
"Well, I'm going to go on with my rounds now. Let me know if you have any questions or need anything." Dr. Adams said as he turned to leave.
"I'm going to go and tell Misty. I'm sure she'll want to know." Tracey said as he took his leave and left the room as well.
* * * * *
Misty had just finished taking a little nap as she was awakened by the sound of approaching footsteps. She looked up just in time to see Tracey walk in the door.
"Hi, Misty." Tracey smiled.
"What's going on, Tracey? Is something wrong?" Misty suddenly looked startled.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Nothing bad happened. I came here to tell you that Brock's awake. Dr. Adams just came and told us. I thought you'd like to know."
"That's great! I'll need to go and see him later!" Misty exclaimed.
"How's Ash?"
"Nothing's really changed yet. The one thing that I'm afraid of is that when Ash wakes up he's going to be in a lot of pain."
"Well, I'm sure the doctor and nurses can help out with that. But just think of it this way. Ash has a wonderful surprise ahead of him when he wakes up." Tracey reasoned.
"You're right. I can't wait to tell Ash." Misty smiled.
"You seemed a little disoriented when I came in. Are you okay?" Tracey asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I took a nap a little while ago because I was tired and I had just woke up when you came in. That's why I was so disoriented."
"Oh, okay. I was just a little concerned because I thought something might have been wrong. I did promise Ash that I would look after you while this was going on."
"I really appreciate it, Tracey. And I know that our little unseen one appreciates you looking after him or her too." Misty smiled.
"You're both welcome. I'm going to leave you alone now so you can get some rest. I think it would be a good idea for you to check up on Brock later. That would help Angelica too."
"Okay. Thank you, Tracey. I appreciate the news. I'll go and look in on Brock here in a few minutes."
"Bye. Make sure to holler if anything changes."
"Sure. Bye."
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes later, Angelica was keeping watch over Brock when a friendly voice caused her to turn her head.
"Hi, Misty. How's Ash doing?"
"Hey. Nothing's really changed. I left Pikachu to stay with Ash and I came to check on Brock. I heard that he woke up earlier." Misty said.
"Yeah. He did wake up about an hour ago but the doctor gave him something to take the edge off his pain and it made him sleepy. I figure a nap will do him some good." Angelica answered as Misty gave her a hug.
"I'm so glad to hear that Brock woke up. Things are starting to get a little bit back to normal."
Just then Brock opened his eyes with a small yawn and smiled when he saw Misty talking to Angelica.
"Hi, Misty." Brock whispered.
"Hey, Brock. I'm really glad that you're awake. I was concerned about you." Misty smiled as she approached her dear friend and took him by the hand.
"Is Ash doing any better?"
"He's still unconscious. I've been told that he'll wake up tomorrow sometime. Pikachu is with Ash watching over him while I'm here. I wish Ash would wake up because I have a surprise for him."
"Are you feeling any better, Brock?" Angelica asked with concern.
"Yeah. I'm not hurting as badly right now and taking a little rest really helped too." Brock kissed Angelica's cheek and turned back to Misty. "Misty, if you don't mind my asking. What is this surprise that you have for Ash when he wakes up?"
"Well, I suppose I could tell you. Something happened while you two were still in surgery and it revealed a little something. The surprise I have is that Ash is going to be a daddy." Misty grinned.
"You're pregnant! Wow. I get put out of it for a little bit and I miss a lot with you guys." Brock joked.
"Well, things do tend to happen fast around here. I know Ash will be excited when I get to tell him. I'm excited just thinking about it." Misty laughed
"How did you find out?" Brock asked.
"Yesterday when we had gone to get some lunch I started to feel a little dizzy and I was hungry but I couldn't eat. At first I thought it was stress related until we were walking back to the waiting room and I fainted. When I woke up I found out that they had run a blood test and a doctor came and told me the reason I felt like that wasn't because of stress but because I'm pregnant. I was shocked to say the least." Misty explained.
"We were all concerned about Misty but we were shocked and excited to hear that Misty is expecting." Angelica smiled.
"That is some good news."
"Brock. I know you've heard this probably more than you want to but I'm going to say it again. I want to thank you for what you did. I know it wasn't an easy thing to do but it gave Ash a new lease on life. If you hadn't been willing to make such a sacrifice I don't even want to think about what might have happened." Misty said.
"If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have done anything different. It wasn't a hard decision really because I know that if it was me in Ash's situation then he would have done exactly what I did." Brock smiled.
"You're right. He would have. I just want you to know how much I appreciate what you did. Even more now than before considering that I have someone else in the equation now."
"It's okay. You're very welcome. Like I said before, I consider you and Ash like family."
"I appreciate that. We consider you like family too. I'm going to go now so you and Angelica can spend some time together. Besides I need to get back to Ash." Misty smiled.
"Ok. Thanks for coming by Misty. I really appreciate your concern. Let us know if anything changes with Ash." Brock said.
"I will. I'll see you guys a little later."
After Misty was gone, Angelica went to Brock and sat down beside him. She was immensely relieved that he was awake and doing a little better.
"You okay? You seem a little quiet."
"I'm fine. I'm just so glad that you're finally awake. It makes me feel so much better. You have no idea how worried I was. Gary came in here this morning and startled me and I swung at him. Luckily I missed. Normally I never would have reacted like that. It really scared me." Angelica admitted a little shakily.
"It's okay. Everything's fine now. I understand that you were stressed out. If I were in your position I probably would have been a nervous wreck too. The only thing different is if I had swung at someone I probably wouldn't have missed." Brock said causing Angelica to giggle a bit. "Ah. I knew that would bring out that pretty smile."
"You always seem to know how to bring out the best in me." Angelica said.
"That's because I love you so much. You bring out the best in me too. I will always love you."
"I love you too. I kept my promise you know. I told you that I wasn't going to leave your side and I didn't. Not for a second. Gary asked if I wanted to come with them to eat earlier and I turned him down because I was afraid if I left then I wouldn't be here for you when you woke up."
"I knew you would keep that promise. Did you eat anything this morning?"
"Oh yeah. Gary brought me some donuts and juice from the cafeteria. Until this morning it had been nearly two days since I'd eaten." Angelica reassured Brock quietly.
"I'll have to thank Gary for taking such good care of you. It makes me feel better to know that you had someone there for you when I couldn't be." Brock whispered.
"You were there for me the whole time." Angelica smiled as Brock pulled her close and kissed her lips.
* * * * *
Forty-five minutes later, Gary decided that he was going to take a leave from the others so that he could go and talk to Brock. He knew now that Brock would want the engagement ring that he had been holding onto since this whole thing started.
"Hey, guys. I'll be back. It's been over thirty minutes since Dr. Adams was here and I need to talk to Brock about something. I can't explain why just now but I have to go alone. I'll try not to be long."
"Okay. Tell Brock that we're all glad that he's awake and doing okay." Professor Oak said.
"I will Grandpa. See you guys later." Gary called back over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
* * * * *
When Gary arrived outside Brock's room, he first checked his pocket to make sure he still had the ring box. After assuring that he still had it, Gary opened the door and walked in the room.
"Oh, sorry. I can come back." Gary stuttered as he realized he had just walked in on Brock and Angelica kissing.
"No. It's okay. Come on in, Gary." Brock smiled as Gary approached.
"My grandpa said to tell you that everyone is glad that you're awake and doing better. It is good to see that you've returned to the land of the living."
"Thanks. I really appreciate that." Brock said and then, noticing the look in Gary's eyes, turned momentarily to Angelica.
"Babe, can I get you to do me a favor? I'm a little thirsty but I don't know if I can drink anything. Could you go and find out about that for me?" Brock asked.
"Are you sure you'll be okay while I'm gone?"
"Sure. Besides, Gary can keep me company while you're gone." Brock said.
"Okay. I'll be right back." Angelica said as she left the room.
"Are you really thirsty, Brock? I could have done that for you." Gary asked as soon as Angelica had gone.
"Not really. I just used that to get Angelica out of the room so you and I can talk for a minute. Did you do that favor that I asked?"
"Sure did. I have the ring right here." Gary smiled as he handed the small box back to Brock.
"Thanks. I really appreciate it. I'm going to ask her as soon as she gets back." Brock smiled in appreciation.
A few minutes later the two boys heard the door opening and Brock hid the ring box under the covers just as Angelica entered the room again.
"I finally found a nurse and she said that if you want something to drink I can get you something."
"That's okay, love. I'm not really thirsty anymore. I appreciate you finding that out though."
"Uh. Okay. I'm glad I don't have to leave again." Angelica said with a bit of confusion.
"Hey, I'm going to leave you two alone now. You'll probably have some more visitors later." Gary said.
"Ok. Thanks for taking care of Angelica for me." Brock smiled.
"No problem. Later."
When Gary had left the room Brock turned to Angelica and motioned her to come and sit next to him. She did this and Brock took her hand and gazed into her eyes.
"Is something wrong, Brock?" Angelica was concerned about Brock's sudden change in behavior.
"No. Nothing's wrong. There's just something that I need to talk to you about."
"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"
"Well it has to do with you and me and it's a good thing. When I found out that I was a liver match for Ash, I started thinking about some things. I started thinking how important you are to me and how wonderful it is having you in my life. Then I wondered what I should do about this. I knew that it was time to do something that I was trying to work up the nerve to do for some time now." Brock explained.
"What are you saying, Brock?" Angelica asked and then let out a loud gasp when Brock pulled the ring box out from under the blankets.
"I'm saying that I have a very important question to ask you. Angelica, would you be my wife? Will you marry me?"
"Oh my gosh. Yes! I will marry you!" Angelica exclaimed as she gave Brock a very careful hug when he slid the diamond on her finger.
"Whoa. That sure took a lot more out of me than I expected. It zapped my energy but it was well worth it." Brock murmured sleepily as he closed his eyes. A few minutes later his breathing grew deeper and he drifted off to sleep.
"Rest well, my hero. You deserve some sleep. I love you so much." Angelica whispered as she gave Brock a gentle kiss on the head.
The next morning, Misty awakened and had a strange feeling of calm come over her. She remembered the words that she heard last night that reassured her that Ash would come through this situation but Misty found it strange that she had no memory of the voice that had spoken these words. Just then a voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Tracey standing in the doorway with Carla beside him.
"Good morning, Misty. We stopped in to see if you wanted us to bring you anything to eat or if you wanted to come down to the cafeteria with the rest of us." Carla smiled.
"I think I'll go with you to get something to eat. Who knows it might make me feel a little bit better. I guess I am pretty hungry. It's been almost a whole day and a half since the last time I ate anything." Misty said.
"Okay. Let's go and get a quick breakfast so that way you can get back to Ash."
"Good idea. Hey, you guys were praying for us last night weren't you?" Misty asked suddenly.
"Yeah. But how did you know that?" Tracey replied startled.
"That's the weird thing. I'm not sure how I know but I do." Misty said.
"Hmm. That's weird. Sounds a little eerie." Carla observed.
"I'm really not sure how it is that I know that. Call it a gut feeling maybe. That's probably all it is. Let's go get some breakfast." Misty said as she decided to drop the subject.
* * * * *
At the same time, Gary stopped by Brock's room to see if Angelica wanted to go with them to eat something. When he walked in the door Gary noticed that Angelica was staring off into dead air and appeared to be deep in thought about something. He then made the mistake of walking up behind Angelica and placing a hand on her shoulder. This resulted in her whirling around and taking a swing at him that Gary just barely avoided.
"Whoa, whoa! Hey! It's me, Gary! Calm down!" Gary exclaimed.
"Oh my gosh. I am so sorry. You just startled me and that was just a reflex action. Are you okay?" Angelica apologized.
"Yeah. I didn't mean to startle you. I wasn't really thinking." Gary admitted.
"Thank you." Angelica said suddenly.
"For what?"
"Thanks to all of you for praying for Ash and Brock's situation. I really appreciate it."
"Uh. You're welcome. But I don't understand how in the world you knew that." Gary said in confusion.
"Women's intuition, I suppose. I don't really know." Angelica admitted.
"Okay, if you say so. Listen, the reason I came by was to see if you wanted to come down to the cafeteria with us to get something to eat. You've got to be hungry."
"No thanks. Dr. Adams said that Brock will come to sometime today and I really want to be here when he wakes up. You can bring me something if you want but you don't have to."
"I'll bring you something to eat and some juice. You haven't eaten in almost two days so I know you have to be starving." Gary insisted.
"Thanks, Gary." Angelica smiled gratefully.
"No problem. See you later."
Angelica smiled at Gary as he turned and walked out to join the others but remained by Brock's side.
* * * * *
"Hey, Gary. Is Angelica going to come to eat with us?" Misty asked.
"No. She said that she wanted to stay so she can be there in case Brock wakes up." Gary said.
"I understand how she feels. It's probably best for her to be there for Brock when he does wake up. We can bring her something to eat." Delia reasoned.
"Yeah. I told her that I'd bring her something to eat and some juice. It's been almost two days since she's eaten anything."
"That was very thoughtful." Professor Oak smiled as his grandson.
"You sure have changed a lot from the guy I used to know, Gary. Of course I mean that in a good way." Tracey said.
"It's like I told you the other day. I was young and stupid back when you knew me before. I realized the error in that a long time ago." Gary smiled.
"Well, here we are. Let's get something to eat. I don't know about you guys but I'm really hungry." Carla said.
"I'll agree with that." Tracey agreed as they went and got some breakfast.
* * * * *
A short time later the group had finished breakfast and went back to check up on their friends and Misty immediately returned to Ash's side. Before Gary returned to the waiting room with the others, he made a stop by Brock's room to give Angelica the donuts and juice that he had picked up for her to eat.
"Hey, Angelica. I brought you a couple of donuts and some orange juice. How's Brock doing?" Gary spoke up as he entered the room. He wasn't about to make the same mistake he had before.
"Hi, Gary. Thanks for the breakfast. It'll probably make me feel a little better. I hope Brock wakes up soon." Angelica whispered as she took the food and juice from Gary and started to nibble on it.
"I hope so too, for the sake of both of you."
"I really appreciate it."
"Well, I'm going to go back with the others now. Make sure you let us know if something changes." Gary said.
"I will." Angelica smiled as Gary turned and walked from the room.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, back in Ash's room, Misty walked in the door and was greeted by an unusually quiet Pikachu, who was seated by his friend's side, keeping a silent vigil.
"Hi there, Pikachu. Everything okay here?" Misty asked.
"Pi pika ka chu ka pi, Pikachupi. Pikachu pika." (As well as they can be, Misty. Nothing's different.) Pikachu answered.
"Thanks for staying here and watching over Ash while I went and got something to eat. It really helped. Here, I brought you some Pokemon food."
"Pi pikachu. Pikapi chu pi pika ka chu Pikachu." (You're welcome. Ash would have done it for me.)
Misty just smiled at this and patted the small Pokemon on the head in appreciation as he munched the food hungrily. She also noticed that even though she had returned, Pikachu still refused to leave Ash. It was almost as if Pikachu thought that if he left Ash's side for a moment, something terrible would happen. Obviously the Pokemon felt for Ash and wanted him to wake up just as much as Misty did.
* * * * *
About an hour later, Angelica was keeping vigil at Brock's side when she felt him squeeze her hand. When she noticed this, Angelica gasped and immediately slammed her hand on the nurse call button. Then she turned back to Brock and took his hand again as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Angelica? Where am I?" Brock asked sleepily, looking around the room trying to get himself reoriented.
"I'm right here, sweetheart. You're in the hospital and you just woke up from surgery. Just try and rest."
"Hospital? Surgery?" Brock was confused for a moment and then it all came back to him and he remembered why he was in the hospital. "Oh yeah. How's Ash?"
"He's holding up all right. I talked to Misty a few hours ago. He's still unconscious though. Dr. Adams told her that Ash won't wake up until probably tomorrow." Angelica whispered. Just then the door opened and Dr. Adams walked in.
"Hi, Brock. Welcome back. How are you feeling?"
"Like I just got run over by a herd of rampaging Tauros." Brock said. When he said this Angelica got an uncomfortable look on her face but Dr. Adams, who caught the slight humor in Brock's comment, only laughed.
"You seem to be doing very well. Things couldn't have gone any better. That was a heroic thing you did." Dr. Adams smiled.
"Did it work? Is Ash going to come through all right?"
"Of course. He'll regain consciousness sometime tomorrow and it'll take some time for him to fully recover but he's going to be just fine." Dr. Adams said reassuringly as Brock flinched in pain. "Oh. Would you like me to get you something for that?"
"Yeah. If it's not too much trouble."
"No trouble at all. Let me get over here to the call button and I'll have a nurse bring something."
Angelica cautiously got out of the way momentarily to allow Dr. Adams to reach the call button. Then she retook her position at Brock's side. A few minutes later, a nurse arrived with something to ease some of Brock's pain. As Dr. Adams gave the injection, Brock noticed that Angelica didn't take her eyes away from the man for a second. She seemed to be watching him like a hawk.
"There we go. That'll take the edge off of the pain that you're feeling. The only down side to it is that it may make you a little sleepy. I'll leave you now so you can get some rest. I'll come by to look in on you a little later."
"Could you do a favor for me?" Angelica asked.
"I'll do what I can."
"Can you please let our friends know that Brock is awake? They're all very concerned."
"Sure. I'll do that." Dr. Adams smiled as he left the room.
"Honey, can I ask you a question?" Brock asked.
"Of course. What is it?"
"Why were you looking so suspicious of the doctor just now. He saved Ash and made it where we both came through okay."
"It's a long story. I just had a really bad feeling and it made me a little suspicious." Angelica explained.
"Oh. It's okay. I understand." Brock said tiredly.
"Are you feeling any better?" Angelica asked.
"Yeah. The pain is gone but I am feeling a little tired."
"Well, if you're tired why don't you try to take a nap? It may make you feel better." Angelica suggested.
"Sounds like a nice idea. I think I will take a little rest." Brock agreed as his eyes began to droop a little.
Angelica stayed right by Brock's side and held his hand as he closed his eyes and slid into a sound sleep.
* * * * *
In the waiting room, the others were trying to find ways of keeping their minds off of what was going on. Tracey, Carla and Gary were playing cards while Delia and Professor Oak were talking about happier things. When Dr. Adams walked into the room, everyone stopped right in the middle of what they were doing and turned their attention to him.
"What's going on?" Delia asked nervously.
"First of all let me say that nothing is wrong. The reason I came by here is because Brock is awake and Angelica asked me if I would come and tell you."
"That's wonderful news!" Professor Oak said.
"I agree." Tracey smiled.
"Me too. Things are getting better." Carla observed.
"Can we see him yet?" Gary asked.
"Not yet. He needs to try and rest a little right now. Wait about thirty minutes." Dr. Adams explained.
"Okay."
"Well, I'm going to go on with my rounds now. Let me know if you have any questions or need anything." Dr. Adams said as he turned to leave.
"I'm going to go and tell Misty. I'm sure she'll want to know." Tracey said as he took his leave and left the room as well.
* * * * *
Misty had just finished taking a little nap as she was awakened by the sound of approaching footsteps. She looked up just in time to see Tracey walk in the door.
"Hi, Misty." Tracey smiled.
"What's going on, Tracey? Is something wrong?" Misty suddenly looked startled.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Nothing bad happened. I came here to tell you that Brock's awake. Dr. Adams just came and told us. I thought you'd like to know."
"That's great! I'll need to go and see him later!" Misty exclaimed.
"How's Ash?"
"Nothing's really changed yet. The one thing that I'm afraid of is that when Ash wakes up he's going to be in a lot of pain."
"Well, I'm sure the doctor and nurses can help out with that. But just think of it this way. Ash has a wonderful surprise ahead of him when he wakes up." Tracey reasoned.
"You're right. I can't wait to tell Ash." Misty smiled.
"You seemed a little disoriented when I came in. Are you okay?" Tracey asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I took a nap a little while ago because I was tired and I had just woke up when you came in. That's why I was so disoriented."
"Oh, okay. I was just a little concerned because I thought something might have been wrong. I did promise Ash that I would look after you while this was going on."
"I really appreciate it, Tracey. And I know that our little unseen one appreciates you looking after him or her too." Misty smiled.
"You're both welcome. I'm going to leave you alone now so you can get some rest. I think it would be a good idea for you to check up on Brock later. That would help Angelica too."
"Okay. Thank you, Tracey. I appreciate the news. I'll go and look in on Brock here in a few minutes."
"Bye. Make sure to holler if anything changes."
"Sure. Bye."
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes later, Angelica was keeping watch over Brock when a friendly voice caused her to turn her head.
"Hi, Misty. How's Ash doing?"
"Hey. Nothing's really changed. I left Pikachu to stay with Ash and I came to check on Brock. I heard that he woke up earlier." Misty said.
"Yeah. He did wake up about an hour ago but the doctor gave him something to take the edge off his pain and it made him sleepy. I figure a nap will do him some good." Angelica answered as Misty gave her a hug.
"I'm so glad to hear that Brock woke up. Things are starting to get a little bit back to normal."
Just then Brock opened his eyes with a small yawn and smiled when he saw Misty talking to Angelica.
"Hi, Misty." Brock whispered.
"Hey, Brock. I'm really glad that you're awake. I was concerned about you." Misty smiled as she approached her dear friend and took him by the hand.
"Is Ash doing any better?"
"He's still unconscious. I've been told that he'll wake up tomorrow sometime. Pikachu is with Ash watching over him while I'm here. I wish Ash would wake up because I have a surprise for him."
"Are you feeling any better, Brock?" Angelica asked with concern.
"Yeah. I'm not hurting as badly right now and taking a little rest really helped too." Brock kissed Angelica's cheek and turned back to Misty. "Misty, if you don't mind my asking. What is this surprise that you have for Ash when he wakes up?"
"Well, I suppose I could tell you. Something happened while you two were still in surgery and it revealed a little something. The surprise I have is that Ash is going to be a daddy." Misty grinned.
"You're pregnant! Wow. I get put out of it for a little bit and I miss a lot with you guys." Brock joked.
"Well, things do tend to happen fast around here. I know Ash will be excited when I get to tell him. I'm excited just thinking about it." Misty laughed
"How did you find out?" Brock asked.
"Yesterday when we had gone to get some lunch I started to feel a little dizzy and I was hungry but I couldn't eat. At first I thought it was stress related until we were walking back to the waiting room and I fainted. When I woke up I found out that they had run a blood test and a doctor came and told me the reason I felt like that wasn't because of stress but because I'm pregnant. I was shocked to say the least." Misty explained.
"We were all concerned about Misty but we were shocked and excited to hear that Misty is expecting." Angelica smiled.
"That is some good news."
"Brock. I know you've heard this probably more than you want to but I'm going to say it again. I want to thank you for what you did. I know it wasn't an easy thing to do but it gave Ash a new lease on life. If you hadn't been willing to make such a sacrifice I don't even want to think about what might have happened." Misty said.
"If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have done anything different. It wasn't a hard decision really because I know that if it was me in Ash's situation then he would have done exactly what I did." Brock smiled.
"You're right. He would have. I just want you to know how much I appreciate what you did. Even more now than before considering that I have someone else in the equation now."
"It's okay. You're very welcome. Like I said before, I consider you and Ash like family."
"I appreciate that. We consider you like family too. I'm going to go now so you and Angelica can spend some time together. Besides I need to get back to Ash." Misty smiled.
"Ok. Thanks for coming by Misty. I really appreciate your concern. Let us know if anything changes with Ash." Brock said.
"I will. I'll see you guys a little later."
After Misty was gone, Angelica went to Brock and sat down beside him. She was immensely relieved that he was awake and doing a little better.
"You okay? You seem a little quiet."
"I'm fine. I'm just so glad that you're finally awake. It makes me feel so much better. You have no idea how worried I was. Gary came in here this morning and startled me and I swung at him. Luckily I missed. Normally I never would have reacted like that. It really scared me." Angelica admitted a little shakily.
"It's okay. Everything's fine now. I understand that you were stressed out. If I were in your position I probably would have been a nervous wreck too. The only thing different is if I had swung at someone I probably wouldn't have missed." Brock said causing Angelica to giggle a bit. "Ah. I knew that would bring out that pretty smile."
"You always seem to know how to bring out the best in me." Angelica said.
"That's because I love you so much. You bring out the best in me too. I will always love you."
"I love you too. I kept my promise you know. I told you that I wasn't going to leave your side and I didn't. Not for a second. Gary asked if I wanted to come with them to eat earlier and I turned him down because I was afraid if I left then I wouldn't be here for you when you woke up."
"I knew you would keep that promise. Did you eat anything this morning?"
"Oh yeah. Gary brought me some donuts and juice from the cafeteria. Until this morning it had been nearly two days since I'd eaten." Angelica reassured Brock quietly.
"I'll have to thank Gary for taking such good care of you. It makes me feel better to know that you had someone there for you when I couldn't be." Brock whispered.
"You were there for me the whole time." Angelica smiled as Brock pulled her close and kissed her lips.
* * * * *
Forty-five minutes later, Gary decided that he was going to take a leave from the others so that he could go and talk to Brock. He knew now that Brock would want the engagement ring that he had been holding onto since this whole thing started.
"Hey, guys. I'll be back. It's been over thirty minutes since Dr. Adams was here and I need to talk to Brock about something. I can't explain why just now but I have to go alone. I'll try not to be long."
"Okay. Tell Brock that we're all glad that he's awake and doing okay." Professor Oak said.
"I will Grandpa. See you guys later." Gary called back over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
* * * * *
When Gary arrived outside Brock's room, he first checked his pocket to make sure he still had the ring box. After assuring that he still had it, Gary opened the door and walked in the room.
"Oh, sorry. I can come back." Gary stuttered as he realized he had just walked in on Brock and Angelica kissing.
"No. It's okay. Come on in, Gary." Brock smiled as Gary approached.
"My grandpa said to tell you that everyone is glad that you're awake and doing better. It is good to see that you've returned to the land of the living."
"Thanks. I really appreciate that." Brock said and then, noticing the look in Gary's eyes, turned momentarily to Angelica.
"Babe, can I get you to do me a favor? I'm a little thirsty but I don't know if I can drink anything. Could you go and find out about that for me?" Brock asked.
"Are you sure you'll be okay while I'm gone?"
"Sure. Besides, Gary can keep me company while you're gone." Brock said.
"Okay. I'll be right back." Angelica said as she left the room.
"Are you really thirsty, Brock? I could have done that for you." Gary asked as soon as Angelica had gone.
"Not really. I just used that to get Angelica out of the room so you and I can talk for a minute. Did you do that favor that I asked?"
"Sure did. I have the ring right here." Gary smiled as he handed the small box back to Brock.
"Thanks. I really appreciate it. I'm going to ask her as soon as she gets back." Brock smiled in appreciation.
A few minutes later the two boys heard the door opening and Brock hid the ring box under the covers just as Angelica entered the room again.
"I finally found a nurse and she said that if you want something to drink I can get you something."
"That's okay, love. I'm not really thirsty anymore. I appreciate you finding that out though."
"Uh. Okay. I'm glad I don't have to leave again." Angelica said with a bit of confusion.
"Hey, I'm going to leave you two alone now. You'll probably have some more visitors later." Gary said.
"Ok. Thanks for taking care of Angelica for me." Brock smiled.
"No problem. Later."
When Gary had left the room Brock turned to Angelica and motioned her to come and sit next to him. She did this and Brock took her hand and gazed into her eyes.
"Is something wrong, Brock?" Angelica was concerned about Brock's sudden change in behavior.
"No. Nothing's wrong. There's just something that I need to talk to you about."
"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"
"Well it has to do with you and me and it's a good thing. When I found out that I was a liver match for Ash, I started thinking about some things. I started thinking how important you are to me and how wonderful it is having you in my life. Then I wondered what I should do about this. I knew that it was time to do something that I was trying to work up the nerve to do for some time now." Brock explained.
"What are you saying, Brock?" Angelica asked and then let out a loud gasp when Brock pulled the ring box out from under the blankets.
"I'm saying that I have a very important question to ask you. Angelica, would you be my wife? Will you marry me?"
"Oh my gosh. Yes! I will marry you!" Angelica exclaimed as she gave Brock a very careful hug when he slid the diamond on her finger.
"Whoa. That sure took a lot more out of me than I expected. It zapped my energy but it was well worth it." Brock murmured sleepily as he closed his eyes. A few minutes later his breathing grew deeper and he drifted off to sleep.
"Rest well, my hero. You deserve some sleep. I love you so much." Angelica whispered as she gave Brock a gentle kiss on the head.