A/N: Yes. It's been awhile. Another short chapter. Just more proof that this fic still lives.
Tears
by coldheart
Ash was still asleep.
Brock nearly sighed in relief, but instantly felt guilty about it.
Closing his eyes, he reached for Ash's pale hand, fingernails caked with dirt and blood. He shuddered, trying to find words that would make everything better. He knew they could never come, but he could try, because that was what he had to do to keep himself sane.
Ash's hand shook and Brock looked at his face, biting his lip when he saw the pain there.
"H-Hey…" Brock whispered, berating himself inwardly for not saying something else, anything else.
Ash instantly wrenched his hand away, moving as far from Brock as possible, his eyes widened in terror.
Brock stood up, pushing the button at the top of Ash's bed frantically.
He opened and closed his mouth, his eyes meeting the other boy's eyes for a moment, before Ash turned his face away, burying it in his pillow, shuddering.
Brock's hand fell to his side.
"Ash…" his hand moved towards his friend's shoulder, but a loud gasping sob stopped him.
'I'm sorry' he mouthed, words catching themselves in his throat, soft hiccups masking the sobs that were pushing to get free.
Even when the doctor came in, coaxing gently out of the room, he continued to utter wordless apologies.
"He's awake."
Mrs. Ketchum nodded softly, looking slightly relieved, although the tension in her arms and shoulders remained the same.
Misty stood up from the chair, pacing.
Brock fidgeted uncomfortable, as though he didn't remember how to sit down. The tiles on the waiting room floor seemed to swirl around the fog in his mind.
"-is he..?"
"Huh?" he asked distractedly, absentmindedly becoming more aware of his surrounded of Mrs. Ketchum, Ash's moth-
"How….." the words were cautious, uncertain, the mother let her arms hand limp to her sides as she clenched and unclenched her fists slowly. "How…is he?"
"Fi-" The response was automatic, but it died on his lips and his legs seemed to crumple as he slumped down on a seat across from her.
"I….don't know."
"Did he say anything?"
The voice came from the corner. Misty leaned against the wall, her back facing Brock and Mrs. Ketchum.
The voice sounded brash, almost profane in its lack of hesitation.
"N-No…H-He…." And Brock wanted-needed to say more. The firm way that Misty had cut through the silence demanded it.
Misty cut him off. "I gotta go…" Misty sighed in a way that suggested she didn't know exactly where she was going.
"Please-!" The words were quiet, but strong enough to turn Misty to the source. "Don't leave…"
The last two words were inaudible to Brock who was much closer, but somehow Misty knew and understood.
"Fine." She walked to the seat next to Mrs. Ketchum and sat down.
Misty sat with her elbows on her knees, and her face buried in her hands, but she did not cry.
Natalie ran a hand through her hair. She had seen this before, but it still didn't make anything easier. She closed her eyes, pushing back to anger that came from the thought that some sick bastard was still running free.
The doctor walked out of the hospital room, nodding softly to the officer to indicate that Ash was awake.
Natalie nodded back, and waited for a few seconds before walking into the room.
"Ash Ketchum…" she acknowledged quietly. "Can….I ask a few questions?"
The boy looked down, not answering.
Awkwardly, the policewoman pulled up a chair next to Ash's bed.
"I need your help, Ash. We can catch the person who did this and-"
"What are you doing-!" a sharp voice interrupted.
Natalie winced when she saw a young girl, a little older than Ash, standing at the doorway.
"Miss…"
"He….doesn't want to talk!" The girl cried, her voice trembling, the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. "Just….leave him alone!"
The boy's eyes widened, his hands clutching his sheets tightly. "M-Misty." He gasped softly.
The girl paled considerably, as the boy turned away from her, shaking.
Natalie closed her eyes, trying to find a way out of the solution. She had to get the boy to talk somehow, but the girl's presence was going to make that impossible.
"Can you….tell me what happened?" she asked again, quietly.
The boy turned to the girl, before nodding hesitantly.
The girl bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes as she slowly backed away until she bumped into the door.
Ash looked down, his eyes seeming to beg Natalie to do something, anything to remedy the situation that she didn't understand.
Ash's reaction seemed to break something in the girl as she quickly pulled the door open, running out and slamming it behind her.
"I'm sorry, Misty." The boy said in a voice too quiet for Natalie to hear.
"Ash…"
"I…can't. Not….now."
Natalie nodded, confused, but still understanding in a way. "Do you mind….if I come back later?"
Ash didn't answer.