"How's our patient doing?" smiled Professor Oak as he knocked on the door to the apartment over the lab.
"The doctor's with him now," smiled Misty, nodding in the direction of the bed where her husband lay. Perched on the bed next to him was Sami, who was busy listening to her brother's heart and examining his eyes at the same time.
"He's okay, Daddy. I'm giving him a checkup right now," Sami announced, turning her attention to her brother's ears. "Ewww…he's got lots of gunky wax in there. It's really icky. Want to look?" She handed her father the instrument in her hands.
"That's all right, Sami. I'm sure the doctors and nurses at the hospital…hey, isn't this my otoscope? And what are you doing with my stethoscope?"
"Well, since you use these to give Pokémon checkups, I figured they'd work for giving Ash a checkup too," Sami said.
Professor Oak's gaze fell on the thermometer that was dangling out of Ash's mouth. "Sami, is that the thermometer I use on the Pokémon?"
Ash spat out the thermometer, which flew across the room and landed at Professor Oak's feet. Sami chased after it, picked it up, and handed it back to her father.
"It's okay, Daddy," Sami said happily. "He doesn't have a fever."
"Sami, if you want to help me give someone a checkup, I think Muk is due for his annual physical," Professor Oak said, ushering his daughter out of the room. "Ash needs to rest now."
Ash was busy wiping his mouth on his pillow when there was another knock at the door.
"Misty, if that's Sami again, tell her that I don't need another physical!"
"How's he doing, Misty?" Delia asked as Misty opened the door. "I brought him some nice hot soup."
"He was doing well until his sister checked his temperature with the Pokémon thermometer," Misty said, stifling a giggle. Ash grimaced.
"Hey, Mom," Ash said, attempting to sit up in bed. "More chicken noodle soup, huh?"
"And you need to eat every bit of that so you can get your strength back and go on your honeymoon," Delia said, placing the tray on her son's lap. "Speaking of which, I talked to Brock earlier and he said that he changed your reservations for the resort on Sunset Island to next week."
"How's the new dad doing?" Ash asked, slurping a spoonful of soup.
"He looked pretty tired, but he loves taking care of the babies," Delia smiled.
"He should, after all the practice he's had taking care of us and his brothers and sisters," Misty said.
"Oh, I miss having a baby to take care of again," Delia said wistfully. "I offered to babysit the twins so Brock and Violet could get some rest."
"Don't worry, Mom," Ash said. "With Sami, Brock's kids, and May having a baby soon, you'll have plenty of kids to take care of."
"And that includes you, too," Delia said, tucking a napkin under her son's chin. "Even though you're grown up and married, you'll always be my little boy. Now you eat every bit of that soup and get some rest." Delia headed back downstairs.
"She's right, Ash," Misty said, feeding her husband a spoonful of soup. "You need to get better so we can go to Sunset Island."
"Yeah, spending our wedding night in the hospital and our honeymoon in the apartment above the lab isn't exactly my idea of romantic."
"Well, finish eating your soup so that you can get your strength back." Misty smiled seductively and began to remove her shirt. "And then we can play doctor."
"Daddy, I left your stethoscope in Ash and Misty's room!" Sami said, dragging her father back down the hallway. The girl stopped outside the door to the apartment and smiled when she heard the sound of giggling. "Oh, listen, Daddy! Sounds like Ash and Misty are happy about something. Just like you and Mommy were the morning of the wedding."
Professor Oak's face turned bright red. "Um, Sami…why don't we let Ash and Misty have some privacy?"
"I wanna see what's so funny," Sami said, reaching for the doorknob.
Professor Oak quickly grabbed his daughter's hand. "Uh, I'll let your mother explain that to you when you're older. Right now, let's go give Muk his physical."
To be continued…