Disclaimer: I hereby do proclaim my disclaim of the claim of me owning Pokémon. XD
Erm ... Ok, you will notice the title change if you think I've quickly made a new fic. This was formerly known as "A Year in the Life of AAML", but is now known as:
How Much Can Happen In A Year?
Misty sat on the bed, legs tucked up under her chin, rocking herself backwards and forwards. The tears had run their course down her face, collecting and dripping off under her chin. How could so much go wrong in only one day?
... ... ...
"Good morning," Ash greeted as Misty opened her sleepy eyes.
"Hi," Misty whispered out. Wishing she were still asleep, she closed her eyes and tried to settle back down.
"Hey, no sleeping," Ash said, waking her up. He kissed her forehead.
"I wanna sleep," Misty moaned.
"I wanna make sure you're ok," he said, separating from her and standing up.
"I'm fine," Misty said, sitting up in the bed.
"You sure?" Ash asked concerned, holding onto her free hand and helping her crawl across the bed and stand up.
"Yes," she reassured him, kissing him. Pulling away, she looked down at the clothes they were wearing. "I think we need to get changed."
"And I need the bathroom," Ash said, pulling away. "Be right back." He closed the door as she got changed.
After breakfast, Ash and Misty sat together on the sofa watching the television. Brock was sat in the armchair, reading the brand new edition of "Breeders Digest". Professor Oak and Tracey, had last night nabbed Pikachu and Togepi to study at the lab, leaving Ash and Misty free to "smooch" as Misty put it. It was a complete mirror of yesterday afternoon, except this time it was 10 in the morning, and they were watching the famous soap opera, "Peanuts, Poké balls and Pokémon".
"Come on!" Misty shouted, riveted on the complicated plot line. "Tell her!" She leaned forwards on the sofa.
"Tell her what?" Brock asked, disturbed from his article about the controversial Day Care Breeding Scandal.
"Are you blind!?" Misty almost screamed at him. "Molly's Mantine is in love with Martin's Mantine, but they can't see it! What makes it worse is that Molly's gonna marry Mark because she loves him and at the same time his Mantine likes her Mantine, while Mark is gay and just happens to be falling in love with Martin! And after all that, Martin is secretly Molly's cousin, but they don't know that, and Martin is in love with Molly! Classic love triangle!"
"Huh?" Brock asked, not having clearly heard one word Misty had said at break-neck speed.
"ARE YOU NOT LISTENING!?" Misty screamed, standing up and glaring menacingly at Brock. Ash simply looked at her in disbelief, not sure what to do.
"Misty, calm down," Brock tried to assure her.
"Calm down? You didn't listen to a word I said!" Ash stood up behind her.
"Misty," he said as he placed his hands on her arms, "I do think you need to calm down."
Misty, extremely angry, turned round to face Ash. Ash gulped nervously, not sure what she would do to him. Then she did the last thing he expected. She burst out crying.
"What's going on?" Delia asked, disturbed from her gardening by all the shouting. Seeing Misty crying, she pushed her way past a now standing Brock and pulled her to her, hugging her.
"Misty?" Ash asked cautiously.
"Not now Ash," Delia said. "I don't know what you did or said, but she is obviously distraught." Having said that, she led Misty upstairs.
"But ... I didn't do anything!" he moaned, turning to Brock. "Neither of us did."
"Ash, it's hormones," Brock said, picking up the article again. "All girls go through this. Just sit down and let your mother calm her down."
"Ok," Ash reluctantly agreed. He sat back down and continued watching the TV, Misty still on his mind.
"Come on dear, you can tell me what's wrong," Delia comforted, sitting on her bed and rocking a still crying Misty. "Did Ash do something to upset you?"
"That's just it," Misty said sadly. "They didn't do anything. I just ... shouted for no reason, and then started crying." She sat up and wiped her eyes. "It was weird. I went from being angry to devastated in a few seconds."
"Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were having mood swings," Delia said, taking her hand in her own. "If you don't mind me asking, is it "that time of the month"?"
Misty smiled at her, but shook her head. "No," she said. "Actually ... I haven't been that regular recently."
"Oh?" Delia asked.
Misty, slightly embarrassed, looked down at her fingers. "The last one was about 3 months ago. Before that, the last one was ... I think a week or so before Christmas."
"That doesn't sound right," Delia said, raising her free hand to Misty's forehead. "I hope you're not sick."
"Well, I was last night," she told her.
"Misty dear, you need to see the doctor," Delia said. "I'll call her right now, I've got her home number."
"Delia, I don't want you to go to all that trouble," Misty said as she picked up the phone.
"She's a friend," Delia told her, smiling. "And if I offer her some homemade cake, she'll be over in a jiffy." Misty just looked on and smiled as she began dialling and talking on the phone.
"Hmmmmm," she said, flicking the pen between her fingers.
"What?" Misty asked, sitting up and looking at Doctor Mary Wilson, who was examining her in Delia's bedroom.
"Well, your stomach area is slightly swollen," she informed her. "You said you've been sick, Delia said you were a little emotional this morning ... " she faded off, reaching into her bag and taking out a beaker.
"Well? Am I sick?" Misty asked worriedly.
"I don't think so," the doctor said, handing her the beaker. "But I want to be sure. Can you fill me up a sample please?"
"Uh," Misty hesitated, standing up. "Ok."
"Just turn the tap on if you have trouble," she said cheerily, picking up a tube of liquid out of her bag.
Misty came back in 5 minutes later, holding the beaker of urine out to the doctor. "Is that ok?" she asked.
"It's fine," she replied, taking it off of her. She opened the tube and poured some of the liquid from it into the beaker. Closing the tube, she swirled the mixture round.
"What are you looking for?" Misty asked sitting down next to her, confused.
"A colour change," she replied.
"What colour?" Misty asked, worried that her life was on the line, as the mixture began to change.
"Well, before I say, can you answer me one question?" she asked turning to look at a nodding Misty. "Have you had sexual relations with anyone in the last, say ... few months?"
"Yes, at New Years ... " Misty faded off. "I've caught something, haven't I?" she asked.
"Not a disease, no," she said. The liquid was now a blue colour and Mary held it out to her.
"Well, what does this mean?" Misty panicked, looking at the blue substance. "What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing's wrong with you Misty ... You're pregnant."
Misty felt like a train had just hit her. She was speechless and felt numb. "Pre ... pregnant?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," the doctor said, placing a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "And if it was conceived at New Years, then the foetus will be about four months old now."
"I'm gonna have a baby?" Misty whispered in disbelief, placing a hand on her stomach.
"Do you want me to call anyone?" Mary asked. "Your parents?"
"My parents are dead," Misty told her. "I've got three sisters in Cerulean, but ... don't call them. They wouldn't understand."
"Ok. Then ... how about the father? It's best that we contact him, so we can make sure the baby is alright," she said. "Delia mentioned you had just begun seeing Ash, so I assume that it's someone else?"
"No," Misty said, shaking her head. "Ash is the father."
At that, Doctor Wilson sighed and shook her head in disbelief. "Who'd have thought it? Little Ashy being a father at his age. I can still remember him at four years old, running around with Gary Oak and playing with the Pokémon." She smiled to herself.
"Oh, Delia," Misty thought out loud, removing the hand from her stomach and placing it over her mouth. "What will she say? She's gonna hate me so much," Misty gasped.
"Hey," Mary said, seeing the tears in her eyes. "Delia will only love you more. She's like that. Explain things to her, and she'll understand."
"Brock never really understood why we did it, so why should she?"
"Because Delia loves kids, and now she's gonna be a grandma," she said, separating from Misty and placing her things back in her bag, putting a lid on the urine sample. "Now, I'll arrange for an ultrasound scan at the clinic on Thursday. 2 o'clock okay for you?"
"Yeah," Misty said, standing up.
"Good luck," Mary offered as she went out the door and downstairs to Delia's cake. Misty followed in a slight daze, taking her time to look at all the pictures on the walls of the stairs.
Pictures of Delia when she was a small child ... Pictures of Delia and a man looking like Ash when they were both young ... Pictures of Delia, that man, whom she assumed to be Ash's father, and a baby Ash, all smiling ... Pictures of Delia and Ash going up through the years ... A picture of a toasted Ash with Pikachu in his arms, outside Prof. Oak's lab ... A picture of all of them, taken at the Indigo League Stadium ... And a more recent one taken at the Hoenn League Finals. Ash, Brock, a girl and a young boy stood besides him, Ash holding the 2nd place trophy.
"Ash looks so young ... carefree ... " Misty thought to herself as she stared at the Indigo League picture, herself standing next to a forcefully-smiling Ash. "And me ... I was happy, excited, and mad about a wannabe master ... "
"Now you'll never be a master," she whispered out loud, her gaze flicking back to the Hoenn League picture. "And you were so close ... "
"Misty?" a voice asked quietly, making her flinch. She turned to see Brock at the top of the stairs. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she lied, putting on a fake smile. "Doctor Wilson is finished with me now. She's in the kitchen eating all the cake."
"What did she say?" he asked, walking down to join her. Together they both reached the bottom and moved to sit on the sofa in the lounge.
"I'm not sick," Misty told him.
"So what then?" he asked, nervously.
"I ... I wanna talk to Ash first," she said, turning to look at him. "I wanna tell you Brock, but-"
"No, it's okay," Brock told her. "I understand." He picked up her hand in his and squeezed it. "Just tell me if it's serious."
Misty thought before answering. "No," she said, squeezing it back. "It's not serious."
Brock smiled and let go of her hand, standing up. "I'm gonna go grab some cake. You want any?" he asked her.
"I'm not hungry. Actually, I'm gonna go for a walk," Misty said, standing up herself and heading to the front door. "But save me a slice!" she called as she shut the door behind her.
Now outside, Misty breathed a huge sigh, as she set off along the road. Pregnant ... it still didn't seem real. They were both 17, their whole lives ahead of them, years and years to start a family ... But no. Life had to push yet another surprise onto Misty Williams, and she had to, again, deal with it. As she walked along the road to Professor Oak's lab, her mind wandered to her parents ...
She had been five years old when they had died. One night in March, Officer Jenny had woken up the four Williams sisters in the middle of the night. She had sat all of them down in the kitchen, and told them how there had been an accident between Celadon and Saffron Cities, a huge pile-up on the main road. Her parents had been caught in it, and had died. Misty still remembered the tears, the hugs, the relentless crying for their parents to come back to them. Then there had been the funeral, and afterwards, the Pokémon League to deal with. Who would run the Gym? After backing from Nurse Joy, the four sisters had managed to keep the Gym, but Misty couldn't stand her sisters snobby attitude that "now they were Gym Leaders they could do whatever they wanted". That's why she had run away when she was 10. That's how she had met Ash ...
"Hey," another voice said in front of her on the road. She looked up, not realising she had been staring down at the road, into the eyes of Ash.
"I was just coming to see you," she replied. "I need to talk to you."
"Has the doctor finished?" Ash asked her. Receiving a nod, he continued. "Well what did she say? Are you sick?"
"I'm not sick," she said. Relieved, Ash pulled her into a hug, both wrapping their arms around each other.
"That's great!" They separated and held each other's hand, heading back the short distance to Ash's house.
"But ... there is something else," Misty told him after a while. She stopped speaking, not knowing how to break the news to him.
"What is it?" Ash asked again, turning his head to look at her.
"She said I had a swollen stomach, mood swings, sickness," Misty listed to him. "She took a urine sample and she tested it with a chemical."
"Tested it for what?" Ash asked as they stopped outside his house. His adrenaline level had been rising and he was wishing she would get it over with and tell him what was wrong.
Misty let go of his hand. "Before I say, Ash this isn't your fault," she said quickly.
"What isn't my fault? Misty, just tell me!" he said loudly, the tension getting to him. "Are you sick or not!?"
"I'm pregnant!" she shouted at him. Relief at telling him turned to worry when his face turned neutral and blank.
"W ... what?" he whispered.
"I'm ... pregnant," Misty repeated quietly. She waited for a reply, hearing only silence from Ash. "Ash?" she asked cautiously.
"I ... I gotta ... go," he said shakily, turning away from her and walking off down the road in the opposite direction they had just come from.
"Ash!" Misty called, unable to move. Instead the tears gathered in her eyes as she watched him walk away. "ASH!" As he began to run so did she, inside the house and up the stairs, flopping down on her bed and crying her eyes out.
She heard footsteps come up the stairs, so she quickly locked the door. Seconds later, she heard a knocking. "Misty?" a voice ventured.
"Delia, leave me alone, please," Misty asked her.
"Is this to do with Doctor Wilson?" Delia asked her.
"She told you!?" Misty shouted, not believing she broke so-called "doctor-patient confidentiality".
"She said nothing, she's not allowed to," Delia told her. "Anyway, she's gone now, on an emergency. Dear, let me in."
"Just ... let me be alone," Misty said.
"Misty-"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed. Delia, knowing when someone meant it, went back downstairs, probably to talk to Brock. Feeling guilt for shouting at the person who was just like a mother to her, Misty flopped her head onto her pillow, crying her heart out.
... ... ...
It had been about 30 minutes since Delia had gone downstairs, when Misty heard more footsteps on the stairs. She pushed herself into a sitting position from lying down face in her pillow, when another knock came on the door. "Misty?"
"Brock," Misty choked out. "I wanna be alone."
"And I wanna see if you're alright," he argued gently. "Please Misty, let me in."
Misty thought about it, before standing up and opening the door. As soon as she saw Brock she fell against him, the tears pouring out again. "Oh Brock!" she cried out.
"Shhh," he comforted, putting his arms round her and rubbing her back gently. "Calm down."
"Ash," she sobbed into him. "He just ... just ... "
"What happened?" Brock asked her, leading her to sit down on the bed. He left his arm rubbing her back, as Misty tried to calm down.
"I'm ... I'm pregnant, Brock," she told him quietly. "I'm sorry!"
"Oh no ... " he sighed in disbelief. "I can't believe this," he said quietly. He stood up and began pacing across the room, hand rubbing his head.
"I'm 17, I'm having a baby, and I'm gonna have to do this by myself," Misty murmured mainly to herself.
Brock turned to look at her. "What?"
"Ash ... ran. I told him, and ... he just left me!" Misty began to cry again and looked up to Brock, seeing anger in his eyes.
"The hell is he running away from this," he mumbled as he marched out the room. Misty stood up and followed him, unable to keep up with him as he rushed down the stairs and out the door.
"Brock!" Misty shouted, too late as he had ran off down the street.
"What was that about?" Delia asked as Misty turned around to face her, wiping the tears away quickly.
"Delia ... everything's gone wrong," Misty told her. Delia held her arms out and Misty walked into them.
"You're over-reacting," Delia told her. "Everything will sort itself out. Ash is just shocked, that's all. It's not everyday you find out you're going to be a Daddy."
Misty pulled away a little to look at her. "How did you know?"
"I'm a mother," she told her. "And at one point I trained to be a Midwife. Bet you didn't know that, did you?"
Misty shook her head. "You're not angry? Upset?"
"I'm angry you let me thing that the two of you were a recent thing," Delia told her lightly. "But," she continued, placing a hand on Misty's small bump, "I'm gonna be a Grandma. How can I be angry and upset at that?" She smiled, making Misty smile.
"I'm sorry. It's just that we didn't know how you'd react," Misty apologised.
"None of that matters now," Delia told her. "I'm more worried what Brock will do when he finds Ash."
"Brock's protective. After he found out about me and Ash, he warned him not to mess me around."
"Well, he does have a large family. Protectiveness must come second nature to him." Delia let go of Misty. "Now young lady, we have some things to discuss."
Catching on to what she was implying, Misty smiled. "From the beginning?"
"Yes, but also what to expect from now on. This won't be easy," Delia warned. She led Misty into the kitchen to begin their talk.
Splash ... Plop ... Splash ... Plop ... Plop ... Splash ...
Ash sighed, tired of throwing the stones, and dropped down onto the dirt ground. Now it was 2 o'clock and having missed lunch, his stomach rumbled. He ignored it though, having more important things on his mind. Pregnant ... He had gotten Misty pregnant. When she had told him, he had felt like he had failed her. They had all the time in the world to begin a family, but why now? They were young ... too young ...
He sighed again, and looked out at the river. Despite his predicament, he smiled as he sat at the exact same spot he had met Misty all those years ago ...
'Nah, it's just a kid. Oh, and a Pokémon! Awww, are you ok?"
The young kid was touched that the girl was that worried about him. Smiling, he replied. "I'm alright."
The girl turned angry quickly. "Not you!" Then, just as fast, she became concerned about the creature in the boy's arms. "Is it breathing?"
The boy turned his attention back to the Pokémon in his arms, a Pikachu. "I think so."
"Don't just stand there!" the girl screamed, having turned angry again. "You need to get it to a hospital!"
"Hospital?" the boy asked, confused.
"Yes, for Pokémon! There's a medical centre not far from here."
Then a cry of angry Pokémon filled the air. The boy was filled with dread and fear, knowing they were chasing him because of his earlier mistake. "They're coming back! Run!" He jumped up and ran over to a nearby bike. He put the Pikachu in the front basket and jumped on the bike.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?" the girl screamed as he began to pedal. "That's my bike!"
"I'll bring it back someday!" the boy called as the rain began to fall.
"Oh, you!!!" she screamed as he rode into the distance ...
Ash chuckled to himself as he remembered. Then the seriousness of the situation hit home, and he was instantly depressed. Deep down inside he wanted to refuse this was real. A small part of him even wanted to blame Misty for everything. But he knew that wasn't true.
Then he heard a rustling in the bushes. He stood up and turned to face the sound, hoping it wasn't a wild Pokémon. He was surprised when Brock emerged, not looking too happy.
"Brock?" Ash asked, wondering why he was here, and also wondering how he knew he was here. "What's ha-" he began, before he fell to the ground. An enormous pain was focused on his left cheek and he held his hand to it, looking up at Brock staring down at him with his right fist outstretched. Had Brock just hit him?
"You needed that," Brock said angrily as Ash picked himself up off the floor. "I warned you Ash! I warned you not to mess around with her!"
"I haven't!" Ash protested, speaking through the pain.
"You ran," Brock reminded him. "When she needed you more than ever, you ran away from her! She's having your child Ash, and she needs you there with her! She thinks she has to do this on her own, for crying out loud!"
"I'd never let her do that!" Ash cried.
"She doesn't know that, does she!? You never said anything Ash! You turned your back and walked away from her! Away from them!"
"What would you have done Brock!?" Ash shouted, needing to defend himself again. "Don't say "I'd have stayed and talked" because you wouldn't have! You'd have panicked! I panicked! I didn't want to run away, but it just happened, without thinking!"
"Well what about Misty!? Didn't you think how she felt!? She's gotta go through it all! Morning sickness, cravings, doubling in size ... birth! And what have you got to do Ash? All you need to do is be with her, support her!" Brock fought.
"That's not all Brock!" Ash tried to remind him. "I've barely finished growing up, and now I have to help a new life grow! We had years ahead of us for all this!"
"Well you took the risk when you slept with her Ash," Brock told him.
"Don't patronise me Brock," he warned slightly. "You have no idea what this is like!"
"I had to look after my entire family when I was younger than you Ash!" Brock reminded him angrily. "Some of them were babies then, as well as toddlers! I had a harder time than you're gonna have!"
"But," Ash began, sighing as the tears threatened in his eyes, "I have no idea what to do! I have to teach this baby things, lead by example ... What can I give a baby?"
"Love, Ash," he said. "As corny as it may sound, love is what the baby, is what Misty needs right now." Finished saying what he had to say, Brock began to walk back, but stopped and turned back to face him. "You told me at Snowela that you and Misty slept together because you loved each other. Well, Misty's now carrying a symbol of your love. Did you ever think of that?" Brock, leaving him with the unanswered question, walked off into the forest.
Ash stood watching Brock leave, thinking about what he had said. Inside, he was kicking himself, feeling the delayed guilt of leaving Misty standing there.
"I have to get back," he said to the empty surroundings. He began to run as fast as he could back to Pallet Town, planning what to say to Misty when he got there.
"And then," Misty paused, placing her hand on her stomach, "this was created."
"I have to hand it to Ash, he sure was romantic," Delia commented, taking a sip of her tea. "Anyway, do you feel any better for talking about it?"
"I'm a little worried, but, yeah," Misty said. "I know a little of what to expect."
"And don't worry. I'll be here for you, and I'm sure Ash will be too," Delia comforted.
Tears gathered in Misty's eyes as she remembered her earlier "conversation" with Ash. "If he ever comes back," she sighed.
"Don't say that," Delia suggested.
"Yeah, don't say that," a voice said from outside the open kitchen door.
"Ash Ketchum, get in here now!" Delia said firmly. Ash drifted in and leaned against the doorframe, like he didn't have a care in the world.
"Hey," he greeted Misty. Although she was angry with him, she couldn't help but smile at his playfulness. She quickly replaced the smile with Ash's deserved frown.
"I believe you two have things to talk about, so I'll leave you to it." Delia stood up and walked into the lounge, shutting the door behind her.
Ash walked over to Misty sitting on a chair, and kneeled down to look at her. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Sorry's don't make everything better," Misty said coldly, secretly wanting to give into him, deciding to let him squirm. After all, it was what he deserved for abandoning her.
"How about I love you?" he asked, moving his face closer to hers.
"I love you's don't make the pain go away," she reminded him sadly, staring into the eyes that were staring into hers, trying not to give in to him.
"How about this?" he asked, kissing her gently. He lit up inside when she responded to him, placing her hands on the back of his head. He winced when she touched his injured cheek, and broke the kiss, rubbing it gently.
"What happened?" Misty asked, turning his face to the side and looking at the appearing bruise.
"Your "almighty protector Brock" happened," Ash jokily said. "I think he decided to physically knock some sense into me. I really did need it though."
"Good," Misty agreed, stroking her hand through his hair. At the same time, Ash placed his hand on her belly, where it had begun to swell slightly.
"I can't believe I ran away from this," he said in awe, his attention fully focused on the growing life, unseen inside of her.
"Let's face it, I didn't exactly break it gently to you, did I?" she asked, smiling at him.
"We're gonna be parents," he said quietly, moving closer to her stomach. Misty leaned back slightly, allowing him to reach better. He placed a kiss on her stomach and leaned against it, wrapping his arms around Misty. Misty reached and placed her arms on his back, and together they hugged each other.
"We can do this," Misty whispered to Ash.
"I know," Ash replied.
*~*
END PART THREE
Yikes ... Misty pregnant ...
The main base for the story has been set! What could possible happen to everyone next?
Go to part four and find out!