Uncertainty

The sun shone brightly through the small motel windows. Professor Oak was the first to rise. He was used to getting up before the sun in his line of work. Not wanting to wake the others he grabbed his things and snuck into the bathroom and brewed his cup of coffee for the morning. He took a small notebook and planned out his day. He took his old worn journal and searched the pages to see what notes he had on the pokémon of the Johto region. As he peered through the worn pages of the notebook he came across some entries from the days where his work had often taken him far from home. He fondly remembered the days where most of his research was done tracing the wild pokémon in their natural habitats. Now most of his time was spent behind a desk or a lab table. He longed for those days again. To be out in the wilds, experiencing firsthand the beauty and charm of pokémon in their own habitats. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a sharp rap at the door.

"Uh Professor are you almost finished in there?"

"I'll be out in a minute."

It was about 10 in the morning when the all of the group had awaken and were finished with their morning preparations.

"Well I won't be able to spend much time with you today," commented the Professor as the group stood out in the parking lot waiting for the taxi.

"I will be meeting with Professor Cedar for most of the day. I'll be sure to swing by the hospital when I can."

A few minutes later a green car pulled up. It was a nice car, fairly new. It looked like it was kept in good condition, but it had its share of miles on it. Inside sat a short man with brown hair. He wore a small pair of spectacles on the edge of his pointed nose.

"Greetings Samuel."

"Well hello there Elijah."
"It looks like my ride is here. I'll see all of you later," said Professor Oak waving as he stepped into the car.

Shortly after Professor Oak left the group walked to the bus stop that was near the motel. They waited for about half an hour before the bus arrived. There weren't many other passengers on the bus. The ride to the hospital wasn't too long, but it was just far enough that it would take awhile by foot.

Tracey and Mrs. Ketchum walked into the lobby of the hospital. The receptionist greeted them with a warm gentle smile. Brock and Misty had stopped by the pokécenter to pick up their pokémon, and decided that they'd meet up with Mrs. Ketchum and Tracey later.

"Hello, what are you here for?"
"I'd like to see my son Ash Ketchum. He's in the ICU."
"Ok, what's your name?"
"Delilah Ketchum."

"Well it should be alright if you would just sign in here," said the receptionist handing a small clipboard to Mrs. Ketchum.

Mrs. Ketchum grabbed the clipboard and began signing her name upon the form when the receptionist interrupted, "Oh, by the way Dr. Heiner has been looking for you."

"Dr. Heiner?"
"He would like to talk with you about your son's condition, if you could just take a seat I will let him know that you're here."

"Thanks," said Mrs. Ketchum as she walked over to the row of chairs that were up against the wall. She took a seat.

"I think I'll see if I can go visit Ash while you speak with the doctor," Tracey said to her.

Mrs. Ketchum just nodded. Tracey walked up to the desk. The receptionist was still on the phone talking with Dr. Heiner.

"Excuse me would you like something," said the receptionist putting her hand over the receiver.

"I'm a friend of Ash Ketchum. I was wondering if I could go back and see him."
"One moment."

The receptionist finished her conversation with the doctor and hung up the phone.

"The doctor will be right out Mrs. Ketchum. While you're waiting I have some papers that I need you to fill out."

Mrs. Ketchum got up, walked to the desk and took another clipboard full of papers from the receptionist.

"Now let's see you would like to go back to the ICU, right?"

"Yes."

"Ok, if you could just sign in here."

Tracey signed the clipboard, and proceeded down the hall towards the ICU.

"Do you need any help?" asked the receptionist.

"No thanks, I know where it is," replied Tracey as he proceeded down the hall.

A few minutes later a man wearing a white lab coat walked into the waiting area. In his arms he carried a clipboard, upon which he was scribbling notes as he walked. He walked into the lobby and stopped abruptly.

"Excuse me are you Mrs. Ketchum" asked the doctor.

"Yes."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Ketchum, I'm Doctor Heiner. Would you come to my office? There are some things we have to discuss about your son."

Mrs. Ketchum followed the doctor back to his office.

"Have a seat. We've done some x-rays on your son. He has several broken ribs, a broken arm, and a broken leg. We have cast his arm and leg, but the ribs have caused some complications. There's some internal hemorrhaging. We have kept it under control, but we'll have to keep a close eye on him. It would also seem that your son has slipped into a coma. We will do what we can for him, but there's no saying how long it may last; days, months, possibly even years."

At these words all the color drained out of Mrs. Ketchum's face. She just stared straight ahead totally ignoring everything around her.

Brock and Misty walked into the lobby of the hospital carrying their and Ash's backpacks. During the walk from the pokécenter Misty had told Brock about her night with Mrs. Ketchum.

"I feel so sorry for her. I know that she's hurting inside, but she tries so hard to hide it."

"Did you try to comfort her?"
"Yes, but she just hid her feelings even more."
"Just give her time and she'll deal with them on her own."

"I hope you're right Brock."

As Brock and Misty walked through the sliding glass doors the smell of chemical cleaners greeted them. They walked into the lobby, but saw no signs of Tracey or Mrs. Ketchum.

"Do you think they went back to see Ash?" asked Misty.
"Maybe. We probably should wait for them here."

Misty walked up to the desk.

"Excuse me, has a Mrs. Ketchum stopped by?"

"Yes, she's with the doctor now. I'm sure she'll be out in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

Misty returned to the seats.

"She's with the doctor right now," Misty told Brock.

"He's probably telling her about Ash," replied Brock.

Misty and Brock sat patiently waiting for Mrs. Ketchum or Tracey to return.

"Mrs. Ketchum?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I just was out of it for a moment there."

"I know this might be hard for you, but we will do everything we can."

"Thank you doctor," said Mrs. Ketchum as she left the room trying to hold back the tears that loomed on the edge of her eyelids.

She walked back to the lobby where Brock and Misty sat eagerly waiting to hear the doctor's news.

"Well what did the doctor have to say?" asked Brock.

"He said that Ash's leg is broken and he has some broken ribs."

"Is there anything else?"

"They said that he's in a coma, and they don't know when…"

Mrs. Ketchum couldn't choke out the last words as the tears flowed down her cheeks. Brock walked over to her and put his arm around her reassuringly.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. We're here for you," said Misty.

"Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me."

The days went by painfully slow as Brock, Misty, and Mrs. Ketchum waited for any changes in Ash's condition. They took turns visiting him in the ICU as much as they were allowed. Mrs. Ketchum reserved a room at the motel for Brock, Tracey, and Misty so that they could be nearby. The hospital had provided Mrs. Ketchum a room of her own. Tracey was in and out of the hospital. He spent most of his time with Professor Oak, who was doing field research. Mrs. Ketchum seemed to slowly be getting better, but Ash's condition had taken its' toll on her. After a few days the doctor felt that Ash had stabilized enough to be moved to a room of his own. Mrs. Ketchum was grateful because in addition to the fact that Ash's condition was improving, it allowed her to spend more time with Ash. Mrs. Ketchum was glad to have Misty and Brock there. They comforted her in these hard times.