Hey guys! Another chapter for you all. Hooray for quick updates ^^

So, at the end of last chapter, Ash finally learned that Misty was having the baby. Only problem is...no one knows where she is still. So, Ash is gonna have to find that out? How will he do that? Let's find out.

Ash could feel his heart beating in his throat. He was still holding his phone against the side of his head, and May was still yelling at him from the other end. Ash was aware of all of this, but he couldn't do anything about it.

It was as if all of the feeling in his body had just disappeared.

Every nerve was numb; every breath taken was long, difficult, and shallow. His eyes were going out of focus, and it felt as though a giant weight had been dropped on his shoulders. It wasn't until May screamed his name so loudly through the phone that it shook Ash's core that he could even think to respond.

"I…I'm coming back now…just wait…"

Ash slowly lowered the phone and disconnected the call. After that, he stopped moving once again. He just stared at the screen of the phone that rested in his palm, suddenly feeling quite nauseous and lightheaded.

"Come on Ash!"

A swift smack against the cheek is what really brought Ash back to reality. He snapped his head up in shock, eyes locking with the narrowed ones of his childhood rival.

"Gary, what the…"

"Misty is in labor," Gary hissed, as if Ash hadn't heard May the first time. "We have to go back. Now."

"I…I know…" Ash stammered.

Aiden, meanwhile, was simply looking between the three adults, confused as to what was going on.

"Daddy, what's wrong with Mommy? Is she sick?"

"N…no, little buddy," Ash slowly shook his head. "She's not."

"What's labor?" Aiden scrunched his nose up. The word sounded weird, and he had absolutely no idea what it meant. He wondered if it was bad. All the grownups seemed to be getting kind of nervous.

Ash couldn't find the courage to answer, so Drew decided to take it upon himself and explain the term to the young boy. Kneeling down, he clarified, "Aiden, what that means is, well, your Mommy is going to have the baby very soon."

"But Mommy said the baby wasn't coming until a few more weeks," Aiden argued. She knew best, after all. There was no way the baby was going to be born now.

"I know, little guy, but sometimes the baby has other plans," Drew smiled gently at the child. "She doesn't care when she was supposed to come out. She wants out now."

"Daddy, we have to go help Mommy!" Aiden turned around and called out to his father.

"Ri…right…" Ash trembled. He tried to move, but he couldn't. It was as if his feet were glued to the forest ground.

"Ash, for the love of Arceus, LET'S GO!" Gary barked.

The gears in Ash's brain slowly began to turn, and all of a sudden, the situation he was now finding himself in seemed much more real. Adrenaline began to rush through his veins, reinvigorating his system and causing his eyes to snap open wide. Without a warning, Ash turned on a heel and bolted from the clearing, running back towards the house as fast as his legs would take him.

Gary, Drew, and Aiden watched in surprise, but their calm stupor didn't last for long. They were soon following behind, although Aiden was not running along with the adults, but rather squirming and vehemently protesting from Drew's arms.

"Sorry, little guy, but you can't run as fast as us," Drew chuckled.

"Can too!" Aiden retorted.

"That kid is just like his father," Gary laughed. "Feisty and impatient."

"Yeah, and it looks like this new kid may be just like him too," Drew frowned, wondering if they would be able to get back in time to help Misty.

XXX

When it came time to give birth to her daughter, Misty expected to be in a creepy, dauntingly gross hospital room, sitting on an uncomfortable bed, and suffering from unimaginable pain.

What she didn't expect, however, was to be all alone in that miserable room, with no one there to hold her hand from the awful bed and help her through the terrible pain.

Misty also didn't think she'd be crying like a lost little girl, sobbing uncontrollably as she repeatedly muttered to herself, "I want Ash."

As Misty sat there, wallowing in her own pain and misery, the door to her room made a creaking sound and began to open. Her heart leapt at the simple noise, a faint hope rising in her mind that it would be Ash emerging from behind the door.

Unfortunately for the gym leader, it was not her handsome husband, but rather Scott, who had an extremely hesitant look on his face.

"What?" Misty hiccupped, raising a hand to rub at her eyes and try to clear some tears away.

"I was just checking on you," Scott replied nervously. "I didn't want to do it while the doctor was looking at you."

"He hasn't come in here yet," Misty huffed. "Just a bunch of…stupid nurses."

"Still in pain, huh?" Scott smiled despite himself.

"Well, it's not going to go away just like that," Misty grumbled. As if on cue, another contraction hit her, and Misty let out a heart wrenching cry.

"Oh…okay…well then," Scott nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm just gonna…go back into the waiting room now…"

"S…Scott…" Misty whimpered, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"What is it?" Scott tried to back away a little bit.

"D…don't leave…" Misty sobbed.

Scott was shocked by Misty's plea. Even Misty wasn't sure what she was doing. She was used to being alone. Misty had practically grown up alone. And even though she thought she could go through this whole having a baby thing on her own…she just couldn't.

"Misty…I don't know how to help you," Scott blinked behind his dark sunglasses. He was panicking on the inside. Being stuck alone with Misty, who usually wanted to hit him even without he intense labor pains, was not an ideal situation for Scott to be in.

"Just hold my hand…please…" Misty begged.

Biting his lip, Scott began to move forward, his fingers nervously flexing as he approached the bed. Misty just watched him with dull and frightened eyes, wanting nothing more than a hand to hold onto and someone to help her feel better.

Ending up at Misty's side, Scott held out a trembling hand, which Misty quickly took and began to squeeze the life out of as she finished weathering the contraction.

"OUCH!" Scott cried, trying to pull his hand away. Misty's grip was far too tight, however, and it remained in her grasp. "Oooh, I think my hand is broken!"

"Suck it up," Misty panted. She let go of Scott, and he quickly began to examine his hand for any apparent injury. "I'm going to need that back when another contraction comes along."

"I don't think so!" Scott shook his head feverously. "I'm surprised I don't have any bruises forming yet!"

"I'm preparing to give birth to a human being," Misty rolled her eyes. "You can take a sore hand."

"I don't think I can…" Scott whimpered. "Now I see why Ash was complaining so much the first time around!"

The mention of Ash's name sent Misty's hormones into overdrive. She burst back into tears, covering her eyes with her hands as she cried. Scott didn't understand why Misty had just broken out into uncontrollable sobs. Had he said something? Done something? He couldn't be sure. The gym leader was a very volatile woman.

"Is everything okay?" Scott asked quietly.

"N…no," Misty shook her head. "I…I want Ash. I don't know where Ash is, and I want him!"

"Oh…uh…don't cry, Misty!" Scott tried to soothe the gym leader by stroking her hair with his undamaged hand. "I'm sure Ash will find us eventually-"

"No he won't!" Misty sobbed. "He has no idea where I am! He doesn't even know that the baby is coming! Ash is going to miss his daughter's birth, and…and…it's not fair!"

Misty's wails increased, and Scott began to run out of ideas on how to comfort her. Suddenly, he got an idea, one that he was mentally smacking himself over for not thinking of earlier.

"Misty, what if I call Ash?" Scott asked her. Misty sniffled and looked up at her husband's manager, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "I can call him and tell him where we are. And then he'll know to come here. How about that?"

Misty slowly nodded her head, and as Scott reached for his cell phone, Misty croaked, "don't leave me."

"I'm not going to leave you, dear," Scott reassured the tired red head. Dialing Ash's number, Scott raised the phone to his ear and silently prayed for the Pokémon master to pick up.

XXX

"This is ridiculous. She's in labor. There's no way Misty could've gotten that far!"

Delia and Michelle watched as Ash flew around the backyard, searching behind every possible place that could've been used as a barrier to hide Misty. While running around, Ash hadn't seen a stray napkin on the ground, and he ended up slipping on it. Delia gasped, and Michelle ran forward, kneeling down in front of her father.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Michelle frowned.

Ash grunted, but couldn't formulate a proper response. He looked up from the ground, desperately wanting to know where in the world his wife could have gone. Was she okay? Was the baby okay? How could he do this to them? He felt like an awful husband and father at the moment.

"I don't know, baby," Ash sighed, burying his face in his hands. Michelle crawled forward and attached herself to Ash's side, nestling her head against his chest. Ash moved his hand to the back of Michelle's head and stroked it gently, taking comfort in the little girl's presence.

As Ash sat in this sad and sullen position, his cell phone began to ring from inside his pocket. Sitting up, while still keeping Michelle close to him, Ash pulled the phone out of his pocket and raised a curious eyebrow when he saw it was Scott.

Answering the call, Ash raised the phone and sighed, "Scott, now really isn't a good time. We're having a little bit of a problem here, and-"

"You're looking for Misty."

Ash's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"Just a feeling."

"Scott, this is serious! She's in-"

"Labor. I know that too."

"Okay, you're starting to freak me out," Ash shifted his eyes back and forth. "Are you secretly a psychic type Pokémon or something?"

"Hardly. And you don't have to be concerned. I have Misty right next to me."

"Right next to you?" Ash repeated in disbelief. "Where are you?"

"At the hospital."

"But how did you…get there?"

"My car. I found Misty on the floor of your kitchen, in pain and crying and all that. She asked me to take her to the hospital, and I did."

"Oh my…is she okay? What about the baby?"

"I know nothing about your baby. Misty is fine, though. I mean, she's in a lot of pain, but that's normal, right? Either way, she's yelling at me and giving me abuse, so she must be okay."

"Does she want me?" Ash asked.

"Of course she wants you, don't be stupid!"

"Ouch," Ash pulled the phone away from his ear before carefully putting it back. "Not so loud, Scott."

"Just get over here. Before she breaks all of my fingers."

"Yeah, sure thing," Ash disconnected the call and put the phone back in his pocket. Normally, he would've given Scott a snide response, but now really wasn't the time for that.

"Did you find Mommy?" Michelle blinked.

"Yes, Scott took her to the hospital," Ash nodded. "We're going to go there now so I can go keep Mommy company."

"Can I keep her company too, Daddy?" Michelle pleaded.

"Err…that might not be the best idea, princess," Ash chuckled quietly. Patting Michelle's head, he stood up and ran into the center of the yard, looking around at all his family and friends who were busy searching for the seemingly missing Misty.

"HEY!" Ash yelled, hoping to get everyone's attention. He didn't mean to be so abrupt, but this was an emergency. It worked like a charm, as everyone stopped what they were doing and set their eyes on Ash.

"Ash, dear, are you alright?" Delia frowned. "We're trying to find Misty, but-"

"I know where she is," Ash cut her off.

"You found her?" Delia's russet eyes were shining.

"Well, I didn't find her, but Scott called me. He found her inside; she was in pain, so he took her to the hospital. And that's where she is now."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Dawn beamed. "Let's go!"

"Wait…you all want to come and wait around in the hospital?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Of course we do!" Iris retorted. "Your little kid decided to show up during her own party, so now we'll just have to situate ourselves over there!"

"I don't know if Misty will like this…" Ash murmured.

"Ash, are you really worrying about Misty's approval right now?" Drew cried from behind the Pokémon master. Turning around, Ash realized that he and Gary had finally caught up, and that Aiden was still squirming in Drew's arms. "We have to get to the hospital. Now. You can't leave your wife there alone! That certainly isn't going to make her happy."

"Look at my husband, using his head for once," May smirked.

"Hey!" Drew frowned.

"Alright, let's go," Ash shook his head and sent Charizard out of his poke ball without even announcing the Pokémon. Climbing onto the fire type's back, Ash alerted everyone, "I've gotta go fast. I'll see you all there."

"But Daddy!" Aiden wailed, still struggling to escape from Drew's grasp.

"Aiden, I already told Michelle, you can't come with me," Ash shook his head.

"That's not fair!" Aiden screamed. "Mommy needs me!"

"Aiden…" Ash sighed, really wanting to get going.

"Come on little guy," Brock comforted the young boy, taking him out of Drew's hold and instead placing him down by his feet. "You're going to hang with me, okay? Mommy told me awhile ago that when it came time for the baby to be born, she wanted you and your sister to stay with me. So I have to listen to her. Is that okay?"

"I guess," Aiden grumbled. He still wasn't happy with the whole situation.

"Great, thanks Brocko," Ash nodded. Patting Charizard, the orange dragon flew up into the air and flew off, Ash narrowing his eyes in determination.

XXX

"I WANT ASH AND I WANT HIM NOW!"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Scott breathed in and out rather sharply, trying to wiggle his fingers to make sure he still had movement in his hand. It was concerning him that it was rather hard to move them. "Mi….Misty…I know you want your husband so he can help you through this-"

"So he can help me?" Misty stormed, no longer yelling but her tone becoming angrier. "Oh no. I want him here so I can KILL HIM! He did this to me, so he's going to pay!"

"And at this point, I am not at all against you doing that," Scott agreed. "Although I must admit, I feel more sympathy for him than I did last time."

Misty screamed again, and once again began squeezing Scott's hand, causing the manager to choke slightly and his face to turn completely pale.

In the middle of this contraction, the door opened slowly, and Ash's shaky figure poked his head in through the doorway.

"Oh, Misty!" Ash smiled upon seeing his wife. Realizing she was in agonizing pain, however, Ash's smile quickly faded, and he hurried over to the bed. "Misty, it's okay. I'm here now! I would've gotten here more quickly if I had actually known what room was yours. I literally walked in on like…five different women. It was so bad! Do you want to hold my hand so Scott can-OWW!"

Ash's offer was cut off when Misty grabbed both of his hands and clutched them with more force than Ash thought was ever possible. Scott shrunk to the floor, whimpering quietly as he nursed his injured hand, while Ash was now the one groaning in pain as Misty crushed his bones.

After another minute or so, the contraction ended, and Misty stopped gripping Ash's hands so tightly. She still held them, however, and when she noticed that he was doubled over in pain, she cooed softly and began to stroke his hands.

"Poor Ashy, I'm sorry," Misty nuzzled her cheek against his fingers.

"I…it's okay…" Ash stammered, trying not to show his wife that his eyes were watering. "You're in a lot more pain than I am."

These words seemed to resonate with Misty. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at Ash and let go off his hands, instead choosing to grab at the collar of his shirt and pull the dark haired man down to her level.

"Whoa!" Ash gasped. "What's-"

"What the hell do you think you were doing, Ash Ketchum?" Misty stormed. "Where did you go?"

"Wh…what do you mean, angel?" Ash quivered slightly.

"I started getting these stupid pains during the party, and I couldn't find you anywhere!" Misty cried. "That's part of the reason I went into the house! I thought maybe you were there…but you weren't! Where the hell did you go, huh?"

"Um…well…Gary and I were having a Pokémon battle in the-"

"YOU MORON!" Misty began to hit Ash over the head. "YOU were the one who wanted to give me the damn party in the first place, and then you RUN OFF? To have a POKÉMON BATTLE? What the hell is WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Ow! Misty…ow!" Ash tried to back away, but Misty's hold on his shirt was too strong. Instead, he raised his arms over his head and begged, "stop hitting me!"

"No way!" Misty bit, still whacking Ash. "What you did was HORRIBLE, Ash! What if…what if…" Misty sniffled, and tears soon made their way down her cheeks. "What if you had missed the birth of our daughter?"

"Oh sweetheart," Ash sighed, realizing that this was the heart of Misty's problem. He bent down at the knees, gently stroking Misty's damp cheek as he rested his head by her own. "I would never miss witnessing our daughter's birth. No matter what it took, or how I found out you were here, I would've made it."

"Ash…" Misty smiled tearfully. Ash could see the regret in her eyes from when she had just lashed out at him, but he didn't feel the need to make her apologize aloud. She was hurting, and if she really wanted to yell at him, then Ash was fine with that. If it made her feel better, then Ash would weather the storm.

The two pressed their lips together and began to kiss rather passionately, which Scott managed to pop up in time to see.

"Ugh, you two are sickeningly sweet," Scott folded his arms. He was unsure if the couple heard him, and were just trying to irritate him at this point, but Ash and Misty were soon deepening the kiss even further, until it could be deemed a full on make out session.

"Alright, that's enough of this," Scott deadpanned. Noticing Misty's hand slipping up Ash's shirt, the Pokémon master's manager rolled his eyes behind his dark sunglasses and muttered something incoherent as he left the room.

"I love you, sweetie," Misty whispered against Ash's lips when they took a break for air.

"I love you too, beautiful," Ash replied, his lips bending up into a smirk.

And then they continued their zealous lip lock without interruption.

XXX

The party goers had arrived at the hospital at approximately 2 o'clock in the afternoon. It was now nearing 5 o'clock, which meant Misty had been in labor for roughly three hours.

There had been literally no updates from anyone. Ash hadn't been out of the room to visit them, and no doctor had informed them of Misty's condition.

"Oh, what do you think is taking so long?" Daisy frowned.

"Babies take time, Daisy," Tracey smiled reassuringly at his wife. "You should know that, dear!"

"I know…" Daisy looked down at her hands, "but I just can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. I don't know why, but I'm just worried about my baby sister."

"Everything seemed fine with her, though," Violet tried to reason with her older sister. "Misty had a lot of problems with Aiden and Michelle, but this time, not so much."

"Maybe that's why Daisy has a bad feeling," Lily concluded, leaning back against her chair. "Because everything's been okay. She is superstitious, after all."

"I can't just sit here for another few hours, I need to go somewhere," Daisy huffed as she jumped to her feet. Looking down at Tracey, she informed him, "I'm going down to the cafeteria. I need some coffee or something. Do you want to come?"

"No, I think I'm okay here," Tracey slowly shook his head. He was too nervous to get up. Tracey was the kind of guy that, when he was nervous, it was better for him to just sit still rather than pace around.

"Violet, Lily, what about you two?" Daisy turned her sea green eyes onto her two younger sisters.

"No thanks," Violet replied blankly.

"Yeah, I don't want to go anywhere," Lily chimed in. "You know, just in case something happens."

"I don't want to go by myself," Daisy groaned. Glaring at her husband, she bit, "you really can't come with me? For fifteen minutes?"

"Daisy…" Tracey frowned.

"I'll come with you, Daisy," Dorian, Lily's husband, got up from his seat.

"Aww, thanks Dorian!" Daisy giggled. Turning an angry gaze back on Tracey, she drawled, "see? Why can't you be accommodating like Dorian?"

"Sorry dear," Tracey rolled his eyes. "I thought I gave into you enough."

"No, of course not," Daisy huffed. "Come along, Dorian."

The two walked towards the elevator, passing by May, Drew, Dawn, Kenny, Iris, and Cilan as they went.

"I feel so bad for not listening to Misty before," May frowned. "I should've been able to tell that she was in pain! I'm such a bad friend."

"You couldn't have known, May," Dawn comforted her fellow coordinator.

"Yeah, Misty is way too tough," Iris shook her head. "She never would have admitted any of this to us. Besides, Scott managed to get her here safe and sound. Everything is going to be just fine!"

"That's true," May smiled gently. Suddenly, her unhappy disposition returned, and she snapped, "if anything, Drew is the one to blame here!"

"Huh?" Drew snapped his head up. "What did I do?"

"You let Ash and Gary run off and have that stupid battle," May planted her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "He would've been around and known sooner that Misty was in labor if you hadn't endorsed their childish antics!"

"Ash was bored out of his mind at your lame party," Drew rolled his bright green eyes. "Besides, I'm not his keeper. What was I supposed to tell him? That he couldn't go out and do what he wants? He's a grown man, May. In charge of his own life."

"It was still dumb of you," May scoffed.

Deciding she was bored of watching May and Drew's squabble, Dawn grabbed onto her husband's arm and squealed, "Ooh, Kenny, aren't you just so excited to see the little baby?"

"Uh, yeah…sure…" Kenny chuckled nervously, having been startled by his wife's sudden action.

"You don't sound so sure," Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Ash and Misty make such cute babies!"

"Yeah, I know that," Kenny blushed slightly. "Aiden and Michelle are really adorable. I love watching them."

"So why aren't you excited?" Dawn shrieked yet again. She always expected Kenny to be just as excited as her over most things, and two of their best friends having another baby certainly fell under that category.

"Dawn, I need you to promise me something," Kenny furrowed his brow slightly. Dawn squeaked quietly and backed off, confused by her husband's serious demeanor.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I know that the baby is going to be absolutely precious, and wonderful, and you're going to be gushing over her like nothing else in the world," Kenny reasoned. "But I also know that it's going to put ideas into your head."

"Like what?" Dawn batted her eyelashes at the brown haired young man.

"You know what I'm talking about," Kenny sighed. Dawn didn't reply, but simply kept fluttering her long, black lashes. Groaning, Kenny continued, "I want to have children with you eventually, Dawn. But I'm not ready for it yet. We just got married."

"So, what does this have to do with anything?" Dawn scrunched her nose up.

"Please don't go begging me to start making babies after we see Ash and Misty's daughter," Kenny smacked his forehead, clearly giving up in trying to be subtle. "I'm just not ready yet. And I know that when you want something, you don't stop until you charm your way into getting it out of me."

"What?" Dawn cried as she covered her heart with her hand. "That is so not true!"

"Yes it is!"

"NO WAY!" Dawn cried in horror. Her shrill yelp caught the attention of almost everyone else in the waiting room, be it guests of the baby shower or not.

"Dawn…" Kenny covered his face, embarrassed by his wife's actions.

The quiet in the room that had been brought on after Dawn's shout was soon pierced by the sound of a grumbling stomach. It was so loud that it sounded more beast like than anything, and May had to check by her feet to make sure that Munchlax hadn't gotten out of his poke ball.

Brock was the only person in the room not alarmed by the sudden noise. Instead, he simply glanced down at Aiden, who sat beside the older man and was busily studying his shoes as if they were the most interesting things he'd ever seen.

"Aiden," Brock smirked.

"What?" Aiden murmured.

"Was that your belly?"

"No."

"Aiden," Brock chuckled.

"It wasn't me, Brock."

"Buddy…"

"It wasn't me!" Aiden cried, smacking his hands down on the chair. Seconds later, his stomach sounded off again, and this time, Aiden blushed at the noise.

"Wanna convince me again that it's not you?" Brock folded his arms and laughed softly.

"I can't eat," Aiden looked up at the older man with such a prominent frown that it nearly broke Brock's heart.

"Well, that's a first if I ever heard one," Delia giggled gently. Walking over to where Brock and the twins sat, Delia took a seat next to her grandson and asked, "why can't you eat, baby?"

"I can't leave, Grammy," Aiden shook his head. "I won't. Because that means I'm leaving Mommy. I can't leave her."

"But sweetheart, your Mommy is just fine," Delia stroked the boy's soft black hair. "She would definitely want you to go eat something!"

"I'm not eating until I know Mommy is okay," Aiden huffed, folding his arms as he looked away.

"That's strange," Delia murmured to herself. "I've never seen Aiden so possessive before!"

"Aiden, buddy, you're going to have to have dinner at some point," Brock tried reasoning with the child.

"No!" Aiden refused. "I won't! I can't leave Mommy!"

Delia bit her lip. Aiden was genuinely upset over this. Simply telling him that Misty was fine clearly wasn't going to cut it. It was as if Aiden had to see her himself just to prove that she was okay. This gave Delia an idea, although she wasn't sure it was the best one. She would check, to see what she could do.

"I'll be back in a minute," Delia told Brock. He raised a bewildered eyebrow, but nodded none the less. She pulled Aiden's head forward and kissed his cheek before standing up and heading down the long hallway that led to the rooms.

What's Delia's plan? I know, of course. But I'm not going to tell you, teehee :P And yes, the baby still hasn't been born yet. I told you it was going to be an adventure! There's still more fun (or not, depends on how you look at it) to be had! Also, wasn't Scott SO much nicer this chapter? I made him more compassionate for the time being :P

Sooo, guys, we're at 245 reviews! 5 more until 250 and another dedication is given out! So remember to leave your thoughts, reviews, all of that fun stuff. I love reading everyone's guesses about what's going to happen next! They're so much fun :P