Yeah, I updated. Look (squashes a thing labeled writer's block), I was actually able to do this for the fic... and you got this chapter.
Note: Thanks to all the people that emailed me to get my but into gear and write, the email I got a few days ago asking for this really helped. It got me out of writers block enough to write this chapter for all of you.
Eyes of a Child
By: Firehedgehog
Chapter Seventeen
"Everyone ready?" a doctor asked, everyone nodded and started the procedure.
The steady sound of beeping told everyone that his heart rate was normal, even though this was eye surgery this treatment was experimental so they had to be ready for anything.
'Soon little boy, you'll be seeing again' the main doctor thought.
***
Ash was dreaming; it wasn't a normal dream either.
It was a memory.
Ash found himself in a house that he hadn't seen since he was just a toddler. It was a simple house with simple pleasures, but he did see a television and a videophone.
Not knowing why, the amber eyed teen looked down at himself, he gasped in shock.
He wasn't a teenager anymore, he found himself in the body of a teenager.
Looking around he spotted a mirror, walking at it he took a look at his reflection. A very small child stood there, he had messy black hair and amber eyes like always, but the bright blue shirt and corduroy pants... normal childhood clothing for such a young child.
"Toshi, Satoshi!" A child's voice cried. Startled Ash spun around. Running into the room was a very young Gary, or should he say Shigeru.
Then suddenly he was no longer in control of his dream body; he was now just a passenger along for the ride.
"Geru?" Satoshi asked, Shigeru giggled and took Satoshi's small form.
"Come on, May is waiting for us outside," Gary said, giggling the two siblings rushed outside into the bright warm sunlight.
"Bout time" May called smiling, in her hands she held a small plush ball that they would be playing with.
"Yeah, ball," Satoshi cried, laughing the siblings began to play never knowing of the darkness that would separate them in the future.
The dream/memory faded away into light...
***
"He's coming too," a voice said.
"Put him back to sleep, he can't wake up now," another voice said.
Ash felt a prick of something sharp upon his skin, once again he fell into the darkness of sleep.
***
Once again a dream: also a memory.
He was curled up in a corner of a dark room crying; he could feel it on his cheeks and his eyes hurt from crying for so long.
Suddenly he felt someone enter the room, tears still slipping down his face he opened his amber eyes and looked up.
A kind brown haired woman stood there, she looked down at his curled up from with gentle brown eyes.
"Hello little one," she said, Satoshi sniffed and got up enough so he was sitting instead of curled up in a laying position.
"Hello pretty lady," Satoshi replied, the woman smiled and sat down in front of him.
"What's you name?" she asked, Satoshi blinked. Even though he was quite upset, he was still very curious of the nice looking lady.
"Satoshi," he sniffed, she smiled and pulled hankie out. She then proceeded to dry and clean his wet face; he looked at her for none of the other strange adults at this orphanage had done anything so nice for him before.
"My name is Delila Ketchum, why are you crying Satoshi?" she asked gently, Satoshi sniffed and looked to the floor.
"Mommy and daddy didn't want me anymore, daddy hate's me cuz my eyes are funny, and mommy don't think she cares," Satoshi whispered dejectedly.
There was silence until he felt slim warm fingers pull his chin up softly, soon he found the woman gazing into his eyes. He waited for rejection, hate, a slap... many other people had reacted like that to his amber eyes.
"They're beautiful," she whispered, and Satoshi knew she wasn't lying. She was telling the truth, with that he flung himself into her arms and cried happily... finally someone who liked him.
"That's right, everything will be okay Satoshi," Delila whispered gently and rubbed his back.
A little while later she adopted him, and he began his new life forgetting his one as Satoshi.
***
It was almost midnight when the doctors finished; Gary who had been sleeping in the operating waiting room had fallen into a light doze by then. His position was half on and half off the chair, not a good description, but we all know the position.
It was about midnight when the light above the operating room went off; softly a doctor walked out of the room the metal door sliding close behind him.
Gary woke up from his doze when Mrs. Ketchum shook him lightly, blinking and yawning he pulled himself to a more comfortable position.
He stretched also getting as many painful cramps out of his arms and legs as possible, he made a promise never to fall asleep in that position again.
"I'm glad to see you awake," the doctor said, Gary brightened some knowing that since the doctor was smiling the surgery must have gone well.
"How is he?" Mrs. Ketchum asked with worry, the Doctor smiled.
"He's fine and in a stable condition: we just finished and he'll sleep till late morning due to the medicine inside him," the Doctor replied, hearing that all sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness," Professor Oak said, Gary could only agree... his little brother was okay.
"Can we see him?" Mrs. Ketchum asked; the Doctor frowned.
"Not till morning and visitor hours begin, now you should all head to where you're staying and get some rest... you won't do any good exhausted," the doctor pointed out, everyone frowned.
"But I promised to stay with him till he woke!" Gary protested.
The doctor looked slightly startled and mused a bit, but he turned to Mrs. Ketchum and his grandfather.
"If it would be alright wit you two, I think I can arrange for Mr. Oak to stay the night... as long as he stays in the room with Mr. Ketchum?" The doctor asked; his grandfathers and Ash's adoptive mother conversed a bit before turning to the doctor.
"As long, as someone calls us as soon as Ash wakes," Mrs. Ketchum said; the doctor nodded.
"Good enough, now you should all head home while we get Ash settled into his room and Mr. Oak in the bed next to him," the doctor said, everyone nodded and headed off.
No one would be able to see Ash till visiting hours anyway, but they knew that with Gary there all night Ash wouldn't be nervous waking up alone after his surgery.
~
Half an hour later Gary found himself walking into Ash's hospital room again, he smiled as he spotted Ash's sleeping form on the bed. There were no bandages on the younger boy's face, in fact you couldn't even tell that he had surgery, that was some treatment.
"Goodnight Ash," Gary whispered; as he crawled into the hospital bed the Doctor's were letting his use for the night.
The last thing he remembered; as he fell asleep was the soft sound of Ash breathing and the sound of the rain pounding against the window.
***
The suns light was shining on his face, with a frown he reached out from his bed to pull closed the curtains.
His frown grew, as his hand encountered no fabric, he reached out again... maybe he was laying on the wrong side. His mostly still asleep, mind and body turned and reached out.
'Still nothing' Gary's sleep filled mind said, as he encountered no curtains.
'Did I fall asleep somewhere weird?" Gary thought confused, maybe he had fallen asleep on one of the small pallets in his grandfathers labs... the were always there in case a experiment went late at night and his grandfather was too tired to get to his room.
"Wait... Hospital... Satoshi," Gary said sitting straight up in the hospital bed, his mind had finally woken up and reminded him what was going on.
Quickly he turned and looked at the other bed in the hospital room, he sighed in relief seeing his brother's form still sleeping soundly.
He gave a yawn and a stretch still tired, looking to the window he saw that the sun was just barely out... that meant it was still quite early in the morning.
At least a couple hours till visiting hours began.
Looking at his watch, which he had forgotten to take off last night, he saw that it was at least five hours till visiting hours began. He hadn't realized the sun rose so early here.
'Too early' Gary thought with as yawn, he climbed out of bed and pulled his knapsack over (he had put it by a table the night before) and pulled out some snack bars.
They would have to hold him over till Ash woke, or he could ask a nurse if she or he could get something for him.
After he cleaned himself up a bit in the room's small bathroom, Gary sat down on his bed, which he had straightened after eating his snacks.
Time seemed to slowly go by, mostly at a snails pace.
Soon normal Hospital sounds filled the air, looking at his watch he saw that only an hour had passed... it had seemed like more.
Finally, after eternity it seemed. Gary heard a low sleep filled moan fill the air, he turned and walked softly to the other bed.
Ash had a frown on his still sleeping face; then slowly his position shifted enough.
This was all Gary needed to know to realize that Ash was waking up.
"Ash..." he whispered, Ash's face crinkled a bit in his still sleep filled body.
"Satoshi, its me Shigeru... you know Gary," Gary whispered, he waited for a response. He has promised to be there when Ash woke up and here he was, in fact he would have found a way to be here even without a promise.
That's what brothers did.
"Gary," a voice suddenly whispered, a yawn followed.
"Yeah, its me. You going to wake up now?" Gary asked his brother; in a teasing voice, Ash smiled.
Slowly but surely Ash opened his amber eyes, with the light from the window they looked like beautiful gems of some type.
Gary waited for ant action, something to tell him the verdict...
Could Ash see, or was he going to be blind still.
What he didn't expect was to see Ash break out into tears and laughing, before he could ask his brother what was wrong he found himself in a hug.
"Satoshi?" Gary asked softly.
"I can see Geru, I can see," Ash said happily between laughs and tears.
Gary could only laugh and cry in happiness also.
TBC
Next time it's the epilogue, sorry if the chapter wasn't that good but I was working with a rather large headache and shifts at work. Blah: work. Anyway I have decided to bring this story to an end, there not much more to do, if I do too much it will just ruin all the hard work I put into it.
Ja ne