Chapter 22: The Guardian And The Angel
Ash slowly awoke from his sleep and looked around at where he was. It had been a few hours since he and his friends had been teleported here to check May in with the doctors in the emergency department.
Ash had been sleeping for an hour here in the general surgery waiting room for over an hour. Just before he dozed, the doctors told him that May, who was then still unconscious, would be entering the OR so that the shrapnel in her leg could be removed.
Pikachu was sleeping on Ash's stomach, and his friends were also asleep in their chairs. Ash smiled upon seeing Drew and Dawn on a couch. Even in their sleep, Drew looked to have his arm around Dawn's shoulders, and Dawn's head was resting on his.
"Well, it looks like Drew and Dawn have gotten together. I guess that's cool…" Ash whispered to himself.
The only person missing (besides May) was Paul. Upon entering the emergency department, Paul's nosebleed was still severe, and he had several bruises on his face. Needless to say, he too had been admitted to the hospital for treatment of "facial trauma". Ash knew who was responsible, and was glad Mewtwo punished Paul for making derogatory comments about May.
May's a strong girl. I know she can pull through this!
A nurse came into the waiting room and walked up to Ash.
"Excuse me…Ash Ketchum? Were you the one who checked May Maple into the hospital?"
"Yeah, that's me. What is it?"
"I've come to inform you that Miss Maple's surgery was completed successfully, though we'll be needing to keep her here for a couple days until the stitches can be removed. If you'd like, I can take you to her room now…"
"That'd be great, thank you."
Carefully lifting the dozing Pikachu off his stomach and placing him on the seat as he got up, Ash followed the nurse around a few hallways and to the room.
The nurse spoke again. "I'm afraid that she's still asleep. Before we began, we put her under general anesthesia just to be sure she didn't wake up in mid-operation. You may go on in, but she'll probably be asleep for the next couple of hours."
"Okay. Thanks again, nurse."
The nurse smiled and walked off. Ash walked into the room and took a seat.
He was not alone in the room. Across the room were two chairs. In one chair, Mew was fast asleep. In the chair next to hers sat Mewtwo, whose closed eyes and raised hands gave the impression that he was meditating.
"How'd you get in here?" Ash asked the two Pokémon.
Without changing his pose, Mewtwo spoke.
"Let's just say the medical staff here is open to…persuasion. Mew wanted to check on the girl, and I just came along for the ride. To tell the truth, I'd rather be on my way now, seeing as my former master has been dealt with. However, Mew here is impressionable, and feels a sense of loyalty to the girl. So we've just been keeping an eye on her as she sleeps. Don't let us bother you. I know you've been waiting to see May."
With that, Mewtwo shook the sleeping Mew lightly to awaken her, and together, they headed out towards the lobby. Ash didn't know whether or not they'd be staying, and if they did, how long was anybody's guess. Not that that mattered to Ash right now. At the moment, all his thoughts were on the girl sleeping on the bed in the center of the room.
May looked like her sleep was undisturbed despite all the things about her that the hospital had done. She was still wearing her favorite bandana, though her body was now clothed in the traditional patient's gown. Beside the bed, an IV bag hung, attached to a tube that ran from the bag down into one of May's arms.
Ash moved his seat up to the bedside and looked at her face. Her face looked so peaceful. Ash could feel his face heat up as he continued to look upon her beautiful face. It was the face of an angel, or at least, that's how Ash would put it.
He placed his hand on top of May's hand, and grasped it lightly. As he listened carefully, he could hear her slow and steady breathing. It was a relaxing sound. He smiled as he felt the warmth of her hand in his.
"Hey, May," he said, knowing full well that she couldn't hear him. Nonetheless, he wanted to speak to her as if she were awake.
"The docs told me that you made through your surgery okay. I knew you could do it. Others may consider you weak, but to me, you've always been strong and willful. I consider myself lucky to have such a good friend as you around. I know that you're probably going back to Johto with Drew when you're all healed, but I just wanna say that you'll never know how happy I am to be back with you again."
At this time, the nurse came into the room to tell Ash that he'd been visiting May long enough. Ash nodded, saying he'd be out in a few seconds. Before he left, he stood up and kissed May on the forehead. She seemed almost to smile when he did.
"Take care, May. Know that I will watch over you because I will be your guardian. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow, I guess."
When Ash returned to the lobby, he found that Brock and Pikachu had awakened. They knew Ash was with May, so they didn't look too worried.
"How is she?" Brock asked.
"She's still asleep, but she's doing fine, from what I've seen."
Brock nodded in acknowledgement.
"Mew and Mewtwo came by a few minutes ago, saying that they'd take their leave for now but return until May's better," Brock added.
It was Ash's turn to nod. Meanwhile, Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder.
"Pika pichu, chapika!"
"Thanks for the encouragement, Pikachu," Ash said to the yellow mouse.
The nurse came back again. Brock, upon seeing her, was overtaken by his inner romantic.
"Oh nurse! I think I've been feeling something about us since before we met face-to-face! I need to know how I can be cured of not telling you how good you loo –"
Midway through Brock's usual romance rhetoric, Croagunk's pokéball opened, and the frog-like Pokémon jumped, grabbed Brock by the ear, and dragged him away from the confused nurse.
"I don't know what that was about, but I was going to say that visitation hours are over, so if you all want, you can come back tomorrow around eight," the nurse explained before retreating back into the hallway.
Together, Ash and Brock aroused their sleeping friends and told them all that had transpired. Everyone left the hospital together to head towards the local Pokémon center. After checking in, they ate dinner in relative silence, while at the same time excitedly congratulating each other on the day's achievements. In only one day, they'd taken down four syndicate heads and shut down their villainous plans.
Misty, Tracey and Paul (who was released from the hospital shortly before everyone left) all went to bed a few hours before the others. Misty and Tracey wanted to check in on May before heading back to their respective home towns. Paul, on the other hand, just wanted to get back to Sinnoh, seeing as there was nothing here for him (except bad memories).
As Ash lay in his bed that night, he wondered if he'd be able to tell May how he felt about her. He had a crush on her when she traveled with him, Max, and Brock in Hoenn, and now that she was back, he felt the crush return also. However, he also pondered if May's recent break-up with Drew was still weighing on her heart, and if it would be wise to "rush in" to another relationship.
I'll worry about all that when the time comes, Ash thought as he fell asleep.
Hey, sorry it's such a short chapter, but I think a lot of the stuff I'm planning to write now would fit better in later chapters. Meanwhile, I predict that there are three chapters to go before I call this tale complete (though that may change to be more or less). One more thing: for those of you who keep up with my daily postings, I'm sorry for the irregularity the past few days – homework and other stuff are keeping me tied up. But I'm determined to see this through to the end! Thanks, and don't be afraid to review!