New chapter, new chapter! So exciting :P
This is the last one I have completely done for now, but it's pretty long and a very good one, so I think you'll all definitely enjoy it! There's alot of foreshadowing and little hidden details, so pay attention! We're going to find out Delia's plan, and the baby comes closer to being born! But we're not quite there yet...
This chapter is dedicated to Pokemonstories-crazy, who was the 250th reviewer!
Remembering which number room Misty was in, Delia held her breath out of apprehension as she gently knocked on the door.
"Come in," Ash's weary but unbroken voice called through the closed door.
Finally breathing out, Delia turned the doorknob and quietly entered the room. She first looked at Ash, who was sitting at the far side of the bed and holding onto one of Misty's hands. This brought her attention onto Misty, who was lying down in the bed and looking nearly out of it with her eyes half closed and her face completely pale.
"Hello sweetheart," Delia greeted softly, kneeling down by Misty's head. The gym leader whimpered slightly and turned her head towards Delia, her dull green eyes opening up a little more. "How are you doing?"
"Okay," Misty's weak voice replied.
"Are you in a lot of pain?" Delia caressed Misty's bright red hair.
"Not so much now," Misty shook her head.
"Misty was smart this time and took the pain medication," Ash smirked at his mother.
"Excuse me for not wanting to get a giant needle rammed into my spine last time," Misty rolled her eyes. She wanted so badly to yell at Ash, but she felt too tired and weak to do it.
"I know angel, you're afraid of needles," Ash raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "But you were in too much pain this time to care, huh?"
Misty nodded her head before closing her eyes fully.
"What brings you in here, Mom?" Ash looked up at his mother. Delia noticed that, although Ash seemed a little worn, his eyes were still shining and he still managed to smile charmingly at her.
"It probably isn't a good idea," Delia's shoulders sagged, "but I thought I would try. Just see if…maybe…"
"Maybe what?" Ash tilted his head.
"Aiden won't eat," Delia explained. "His stomach is growling like crazy, and he hasn't eaten since nearly noon. I know that he's hungry. But he simply won't leave the waiting room."
"Why not?" Ash frowned. Aiden always had an appetite; a monster one at that. You knew something was wrong with Aiden when he didn't want to eat.
"He's worried about Misty," Delia glanced down at Misty and stroked the exhausted younger woman's cheek. "And he says he won't eat or leave his seat until he knows that she's okay."
"Tell him that she's fine," Ash's lip quivered as he tried his hardest not to show how much that truly touched him.
"We've tried, Ash," Delia shook her head. "He won't listen. He doesn't care. I think the only way we can prove to Aiden that Misty is okay is if he sees her."
"That's not a great idea," Ash grimaced.
"Why not?" Misty croaked.
Ash turned his eyes onto Misty, and countered, "Misty, you can't be serious. You're lying in this bed, worn out and full of pain meds, and you think this will prove to our son that you're alright?"
"I am okay, Ash," Misty grumbled. She opened her eyes and pulled herself up with some great difficulty. Resting her back against the pillows, Misty brushed the hair out of her face and sighed before turning to face Delia. "I'm fine, Delia. Don't listen to Ash. Let me see my little boy."
"Misty!" Ash groaned.
"Misty, dear, I don't want to put you through something if you don't think you can handle it," Delia calmly cut off her son's vehement protests.
"I can handle it," Misty answered more strongly. "Please, let's just show Aiden that I'm okay."
Delia slowly nodded her head, much to Ash's chagrin. Shooting him a warning glance, the older woman stood up and left the room, hurrying down the hallway in order to fetch her young grandson. Misty may not be in pain now, but Delia knew just how fast that pain medication could wear off. She would have to bring Aiden to Misty before she started screaming her head off again.
Reaching the waiting room, Delia walked over to where Brock was sitting with the twins and beamed at all three of them.
"Why are you so happy, Grammy?" Michelle blinked her big, emerald eyes.
"Do you two want to go visit your Mommy?" Delia asked. She knew that Misty was only expecting Aiden, but it felt wrong to leave Michelle out of the visit. They were both probably concerned about their mother. Michelle just wasn't expressing her fear out loud at the moment.
"YES!" They both squealed at the same time, jumping off of their seats and right in front of their grandmother.
"We have to be quick, now," Delia informed the twins. "Your Mommy is okay, but she's very tired. She just wants to see you two before she takes a little nap."
"Okay, we'll be fast!" Aiden grinned.
"Sounds good," Delia giggled airily. "Follow me, now, little ones!"
She headed back down the hallway, this time with Aiden and Michelle following eagerly behind. Getting to Misty's room, she knocked on the door once again just to play it on the safe side.
"Come in!" This time, it was Misty's voice that beckoned to her visitors. Delia blinked as she opened the door. Just minutes ago, it didn't seem possible that Misty could even fake being that cheery.
Entering the room, Aiden and Michelle burst in, but quickly became less excited when they observed the environment. The dull, gray walls, intestinally beeping machines, and overly sterile air instantly made the twins feel threatened, and suddenly, they didn't really want to be in this room.
"I see you two!" A light voice suddenly trilled, frightening the twins to some degree.
Looking up, they realized that the source of the voice was their mother, who was peering down at them from up in the bed. She looked more pale than usual, and her eyes weren't sparkling as they almost always did, but she did have a smile on her face, and this comforted them.
"Hi Mommy," Aiden greeted meekly.
"You don't have to be so shy, honey," Misty giggled. "It's just me!"
Aiden whimpered and pulled his shoulders forward as a defense mechanism. Noticing this, Ash smiled sympathetically and stood up, walking over to the other side of the bed in order to pick up both of the twins and carry them over to the bed so they could see Misty better.
"Guys, don't be afraid," Ash hugged the children when he felt them tense up in his arms. "Look, Mommy is just fine!"
"Daddy is right," Misty nodded. "Look at me!"
"You look tired, Mommy," Michelle commented.
"I am pretty tired, little girl," Misty reached up and touched her daughter's cheek. "But that doesn't mean I'm not alright."
"Are you hurting, Mommy?" Aiden frowned.
"No, buddy, I'm not," Misty laughed. "The doctor gave me some nice medicine, and I'm doing just fine."
"That's good," Aiden murmured, still feeling rather timid.
"So, Grammy told me that your tummy was grumbling before," Misty smiled up at her young son. He nodded wordlessly. "It would make me so happy if you ate dinner, little guy!"
"I don't want to leave you," Aiden shook his head. "You'll be sad."
"Aiden, baby, I won't be sad at all! I need you to eat, and to keep doing all of the things that you normally do. Aren't you having fun with Brock and everyone else in the waiting room?"
"Yes."
"See? So you don't have to feel bad, honey! Daddy is taking the very best care of me, and I feel just fine. You believe me, right?"
"Yes."
"Awesome," Misty yawned as her eyes began to slip closed. "So why don't you go have some dinner? I'm going to be okay, sweetheart."
"Really?" Aiden asked quietly.
"Really," Misty gave a single nod before her eyes closed completely. "I really mean it, baby."
"Mommy is tired," Michelle observed once again.
"Yeah, I think we should let her take a nap now," Ash nodded. He knelt down and placed the twins on the ground, staying at eye level with them as a tiny smile grew on his face. "You guys heard Mommy. Go get something to eat, alright?"
"Yes Daddy," both children chirped.
"And behave for Brock and Grammy and everyone else. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes Daddy."
"I love you two very much," Ash smiled as he gave each child a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you guys in a little while."
Aiden and Michelle snuggled into Ash's chest, not wanting him to let go of them. When Ash tried to pull them away, he realized they were clutching his shirt in their small hands, and he chuckled as he began to pry the material out of their little fingers.
"Come on little ones, let's go get dinner," Delia called out her grandchildren. Aiden and Michelle finally separated from Ash, looking more reassured but not much happier.
"Mommy is going to be okay," Ash stroked both of their locks before standing up. "Don't worry, guys."
Aiden and Michelle both nodded and followed their grandmother out of the room, staying quiet for the entire walk.
"Aren't you two happy to see that Mommy is okay?" Delia asked.
"Yeah…" Aiden sighed.
"Oh, little guy, why don't you sound so sure?" Delia frowned down at her grandson.
"I am happy that Mommy is okay," Aiden explained. "I just feel bad for her."
"Why sweetie?"
"Because she's stuck in that scary, boring room," Aiden grumbled.
"Aiden, dear, I'm sure the room is the last thing on your Mom's mind," Delia giggled airily."As long as she's got your Daddy, then she's going to be just fine!"
"That's true…" Aiden nodded.
"Of course it is," Delia grinned. "Now let's go get Brock and find something good to eat!"
XXX
Ash smiled to himself as he looked down at his sleeping wife. She had been in this state for about an hour now, and she looked incredibly beautiful and peaceful. The nap seemed to be doing wonders for her, because even in her sleep, Misty certainly didn't look like a woman who had been in labor for 4 hours and counting.
"You're so perfect," Ash mumbled to himself, gently stroking Misty's cheek. Her eyebrow twitched, followed by her eyes slowly opening as she let out a long yawn.
"Oops," Ash frowned. "I'm sorry, honey. Did I wake you up?"
Misty shook her head.
"Are you feeling better after your nap?" Ash grinned.
"Kind of," Misty twisted her mouth.
"Kind of? That doesn't sound good," Ash leaned his arms against the bed.
"Well, Ash, I'm having a baby, I'm not going to feel one hundred percent," Misty deadpanned.
"I guess," Ash shrugged. "But is something really bothering you?"
"No. I'm just kind of uncomfortable. Did anyone come in and check on me while I was sleeping?"
"Dr. Aaron came in, just once," Ash nodded. "He gave you a little examination, but he didn't want to disturb you while you were asleep. He told me nothing serious would happen while you were out of it, and if you woke up in severe pain or anything like that, we should just call him in." Examining Misty's pretty face for a moment, Ash asked, "You're not in severe pain, are you?"
"No."
"Okay, we're good then!" Ash laughed gleefully.
Misty gave her husband a tiny smile, but still groaned and put her head back down against the pillows on the bed. Ash frowned. He felt bad for his poor wife. She was suffering, and it was pretty much his fault. They got a really nice reward out of it, but up until then, it pretty much sucked for his dear Misty.
"I love you," Ash informed Misty in a gentle, airy voice as he placed a hand atop her stomach.
"I love you too," Misty looked at her husband with curious eyes.
"Are you ready to meet our little girl?" Ash set his gaze onto Misty's very pregnant midsection.
"I've been ready for the past four hours," Misty sighed. "I've been ready for months now. But she'll be tiny, you know."
"Well, yeah. All babies are tiny."
"No, I mean she's really going to be tiny," Misty shook her head. "At least…I think so. She should've stayed in my belly for a little while longer."
"Well, she's bored in there," Ash smirked. "Let's come up with a name for her!"
"I thought we were going to wait until we saw her little face," Misty raised an eyebrow.
"I guess we could," Ash began to trace random shapes on Misty's stomach, something that he loved to do when he couldn't think of anything else to distract himself with. "But…we've got nothing else to do right now. So why don't we just throw some ideas around? Nothing has to stick."
"You've got a point," Misty agreed. The pain medication must have been working wonders, because she wasn't feeling any pain at all. Misty did find it a little strange that her contractions were slowing down, however. "Any suggestions?"
"I like the name Alyson," Ash smiled to himself.
"No more 'A' names," Misty scrunched her nose up. "Or 'M' names, for that matter."
"Fair enough." Brainstorming some other ideas, Ash beamed, "how awesome would it be for her to have bright green eyes just like you and Michelle? Then we could name her Emerald!"
"Oh my…no," Misty pressed a hand against her forehead, clearly exasperated by the idea.
"Ruby is a cute name, too," Ash mused.
"What's with all the jewel names?" Misty scoffed.
"They're pretty," Ash chuckled. "Let's see. What is August's birthstone?"
"Peridot," Misty answered before realizing where Ash was likely going with this. "Oh, we are not naming our daughter Peridot!"
"Yeah, I guess that doesn't make a very good name for a little girl," Ash consented. "I do like the name Finley, though. And it sounds really good with your name!"
"Misty and Finley…" Misty recited aloud. "It is kind of cute. I also like the name Deanna, if we want to name her after your Mom."
"You want to name her after my Mom?" Ash blinked.
"I thought about it," Misty nodded. "I love your mom. And I know how overjoyed she would be if we named the baby after her."
"Well, in that case, maybe we should name her after your mom!" Ash grinned. Without noticing Misty's unhappy expression, Ash continued muttering to himself, "Let's see…your Mom's name is Lynne. We could name her Lydia…or Lyndsey…maybe even Lynette…"
"Our daughter is not going to be named after my mother," Misty growled.
Ash was taken aback by his wife's rather angry reaction. "But Misty, she's your mom. And you're the one giving birth to the baby, so I feel like if she's named after anybody's mother, it should be yours."
"She's not a very good mother, Ash," Misty turned her head away from her husband. "Not a good enough one to warrant naming a child after her, anyway. Besides, Michelle's middle name honors my grandmother, who was more of a mom to me than my own mother. If we're naming the baby after anyone, it's going to be Delia. I had no mother figure in my life after my grandmother died until your mom came along. She actually cared for me, and gave me advice, and listened to my dreams." Thinking quietly for a few seconds, Misty decided, "Delaney might be a nice name for her. It kind of sounds like Delia."
"Yeah, it's cute," Ash mumbled absent mindedly. He hated to see Misty in such a bad place with her mother. There had to be some way he could fix it. "And if her first name is Delaney, then her middle name could start with an 'L,' like Lyla! How pretty does that sound? Delaney Lyla Ketchum? I love that."
Misty narrowed her eyes. She wished Ash would stop trying to get her to name the baby after her mother. That woman hardly deserved the honor of having her granddaughter named after her.
A dull pain spread through Misty's abdomen, causing her to wince. She rolled her head back so her eyes were staring up at the ceiling. Holding her hand out towards Ash, she demanded, "The contractions are back. Let's go."
XXX
Four hours had passed since Delia had taken Aiden and Michelle to see Misty. That meant that Misty had been in labor for 8 hours now. It was just past 10 o'clock at night, and everyone was still gathered in the waiting room, anxiously awaiting news on the baby.
But so far, nothing had come.
"What's taking this kid so long?" Iris groaned, stretching her arms out over her head.
"Iris, you can't rush a sweet, little baby!" Cilan playfully chided his wife in a sing song voice. "She will come when she's perfectly ready."
"Which is apparently never," Iris grumbled.
Next to Iris, Dawn was busy reading the latest issue of Coordinator Lately, her head buried in the magazine as a valiant attempt to ignore her flustered husband. She was still mad at him for his previous comments about her, and refused to say a word to the brown haired young man.
May and Drew were having a coffee drinking competition, to see who could drink the most cups in order to stay awake without losing their minds. Todd and Ritchie were watching the couple with wide eyes, amazed that the two managed to not only be married, but to raise two children together.
Misty's three sisters were busy talking to their respective husbands about various subjects. Mostly, they were discussing the baby. What she would look like, what Ash and Misty would name her, and most importantly to them, who would give her the best gift.
Professor Oak was sitting next to Delia, prattling on to the auburn haired woman about his latest Pokémon research. Delia was highly interested in the conversation, and kept asking the experienced professor a million questions pertaining to the subject.
Gary was busy observing Scott, who had fallen asleep in the chair next to him, and the researcher was currently resisting the urge to draw all over Scott's face like the Jigglypuff that used to follow Ash around.
Brock was still sitting between the twins, talking to the two children in order to distract them from the current situation. It didn't seem to be doing much, however. They were both still concerned about their mother, and didn't have much interest in talking about Pokémon or toys at the moment.
Everyone's attention was brought back together when Ash walked through the doors that separated the waiting room from the hallway full of patients. Before the Pokémon master could even speak, everyone began bombarding him with questions, demanding to know if the baby had been born yet, how Misty was, how he was, and all of that.
Aiden and Michelle were feeling left out. With everyone yelling at their father, he was flustered, and they were completely shut out.
Wanting attention, the twins jumped off their chairs and ran over to Ash, tightly hugging his legs and rubbing their cheeks against his knees.
"Hey there you guys," Ash smiled down at his children. They had no idea how happy their presence made him. Leaning down, he lifted both children into his arms and held them close. Slowly becoming both aggravated and a little afraid of all the adults' yelling, Aiden and Michelle both whimpered quietly and buried their heads into Ash's chest.
"Guys, relax!" Ash finally called out to his friends, silencing them all in an instant. Sighing, he continued, "Misty hasn't had the baby yet. She isn't even close to having the baby, according to the doctor."
"Not even close?" Dawn gasped. "But…it's been 8 hours!"
"How is Misty doing?" May furrowed her brow.
Not wanting Aiden or Michelle to see or hear him, Ash pressed their heads closer against his body and shook his head, causing May to frown.
"Does the doctor have any idea of when Misty is actually going to have the baby?" Cilan inquired.
"None," Ash sagged his shoulders.
Michelle moved her face away from Ash's chest and let out a soft yawn. Ash was still able to hear it, however, and this only troubled him more. It wasn't exactly fair that his two older children were still sitting in this boring old hospital, especially at 10 o'clock at night. They were still only 5 years old, after all.
"Aiden, Michelle, I think I want you two to go home," Ash gently informed the children.
"NO!" They both cried, their eyes growing wide as they protested the idea.
"But it's late," Ash bounced them up and down. "And nothing is going to happen for a little while. You can come back tomorrow morning, but for now, I'd like you two to go home and get some sleep."
"Your Daddy has a point, little ones," Brock smiled as he moved over to where Ash stood. "Why don't we go back home? You'll be more comfortable there."
Eventually, Aiden and Michelle agreed to it, although they were extremely reluctant to do so. Once the twins were out of the room, Ash was able to divulge more information to the waiting guests.
"Misty is in a lot of pain," Ash sighed. "It's pretty bad right now."
"How close are her contractions?" Delia asked.
"That's the thing," Ash nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "She's not really having any."
"What do you mean she's not having any?" All of the color drained out of Delia's face.
"She'll have one every once in awhile, but they're not consistent anymore. She just had one five minutes ago, but there was almost twenty minutes between that contraction and the last one."
"Ash, that isn't normal," Daisy marched over to her brother in law.
"Yeah, I know that!" Ash rolled his eyes.
"Does the doctor know that her contractions are irregular?" Daisy demanded.
Ash was surprised by Daisy's forcefulness. He had never seen the typically cheerful, and borderline ditsy blonde, in such a serious disposition before. "Uh…yeah. He's keeping track of it."
"Good," Daisy breathed out and ran a hand through her golden blonde hair. Ash was confused. He knew Daisy loved Misty; they were sisters after all. Sure, sometimes they argued and made fun of each other, but apparently that's what siblings did. He just had no idea that Daisy could get this protective over her younger sister.
"Daisy, I promise you that Misty will be fine," Ash assured her. "But I should probably get back to her now. She already freaked out when I said I was just going to visit you guys."
"Right," Daisy wrapped her arms around herself and nodded. "Go take care of her. Please."
"Of course I will," Ash nodded. Turning on his heel, he walked back through the doors and disappeared down the long hallway.
With her son now gone, Delia set her eyes on Daisy, who still had her arms wrapped around herself. Letting out a quiet breath, Daisy began to pace the floor, keeping her head down as she walked mournfully back and forth.
"Are you alright, Daisy?" Delia approached the former gym leader. She peered up at the older woman, frowning and responding with a sad little sigh.
"I feel so bad," Daisy shook her head. "Misty is suffering, and there's nothing I can do."
"But she's been through this already, I'm sure she'll be fine," Delia tried to reassure the blonde.
"I don't know…something just doesn't feel right this time," Daisy wrung her hands together. "I'm really worried about her. I know I don't let it show much, but I'm pretty protective of Misty. She's my baby sister, as much as she hates me calling her that."
"You've always been protective of her, haven't you?" Delia pressed.
"Ever since we were kids," Daisy nodded. "I mean, our parents left when I was 7 and Misty was 2. They hardly ever visited, either. Sure, we had our grandmother to watch us, and she adored Misty, but it wasn't the same as having two parents in the house. I would still tease her at times, because we were kids and I didn't know any better. But when push came to shove, I knew that I was one of the only people Misty had in her life, especially after our grandmother passed away. I love her, and I would do anything for her."
"Do you think Misty is upset over the fact that your parents left so close to when the baby was due?" Delia rested her head in her hand.
"Oh, I know she is. She'll never admit it, though. Not even to Ash. That's a problem in our family; we all seem to keep our feelings to ourselves. But them being gone definitely makes her angry. It probably puts their relationship back at square one."
"You're a very good sister, Daisy," Delia comfortingly patted the younger woman's back.
"Thank you," Daisy smiled weakly before looking back down at her hands. "Misty is a very good sister, too."
"Yes, and she's also a very brave girl," Delia added.
"That too," Daisy agreed. "A very brave girl."
XXX
Another hour passed. It was now 11 o'clock at night.
And Misty seemed to be getting worse and worse by the minute.
At the moment, she was panting very heavily, and hardly able to breathe. Ash was still sitting by her side, resting his head on her shoulder and rubbing his hand against the middle of her stomach.
"Any contractions yet?" Ash glanced up at his tired wife.
"No," Misty shook her head. "But…I'm getting a really bad pain in my side…"
"What?" Ash's head shot up. Misty hadn't said anything about a pain in her side before. Now he was becoming even more concerned than he'd already been. "When did that start?"
"Uh…a little while ago…" Misty grunted. "I didn't say anything because I…I thought it would go away. It seemed kind of normal at first. But now…now it hurts…really bad…I…ugh…"
Misty doubled over and let out a miserable whimper. Ash began to rub her back and look helplessly towards the door, hoping that Dr. Aaron would come in soon and take a look at Misty.
"I need him," Misty mumbled, as if reading Ash's mind.
"Honey, I would go find him for you, but I doubt you want me to leave you here all alone in this much pain," Ash frowned.
"I think I'm…gonna give you permission to…leave…" Misty hissed and threw her head back.
"Does it really hurt that badly?" Ash's heart began to race. Misty bit her lip and nodded as tears filled up her eyes. "Okay, I'll go find him. Don't you worry, angel! It shouldn't take long, really. I'll go as fast as I can!"
Ash ran towards the door, and as soon as he reached it, was hit by it swinging open. The Pokémon master yelped and fell to the floor, groaning as he rubbed the side of his head.
"Oww…" Ash whined.
"Oh my goodness. Ash, are you alright?"
Ash looked up and found himself staring at Dr. Aaron, who looked rather apologetic for hitting Ash with the door on accident.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash jumped to his feet. "But…Misty isn't."
Misty let out a low moan, as if to prove Ash's point. Dr. Aaron looked over Ash's shoulder and saw just how in pain Misty looked.
"What's wrong?" Dr. Aaron moved over to the bed. "Have the contractions become more consistent yet?"
"Hardly," Ash shook his head. "If anything, they're only getting further apart. Right now, she says she's got a really bad pain in her side."
"How long have you had the pain?" Dr. Aaron asked Misty.
"F…for the past half hour…" Misty winced. "It started off weak…and it's just gotten stronger."
"Let me see…" Dr. Aaron pressed his hands against Misty's swollen stomach, feeling out for anything irregular. When he pressed against her side, Misty screamed out in pain, causing both Ash and Dr. Aaron to jump.
"Well…that doesn't sound good," Dr. Aaron blinked.
"S…sorry," Misty blushed slightly. "It just…hurt…so bad."
"Something definitely isn't right," Dr. Aaron shook his head. "I'm going to do an ultrasound and see what the problem is."
Dr. Aaron went through all of the customary steps: pulling up Misty's hospital gown, spreading the cold gel on her stomach, and running the wand across her belly. He stared at the screen, specifically trying to see what position the baby was in.
"That's the problem," Dr. Aaron suddenly murmured, his voice sounding heavy.
"What?" Ash trembled. "What's wrong?"
"The baby is in a transverse lie," Dr. Aaron explained as he turned his head towards Ash. "This means she's positioned sideways. That's why Misty's experiencing so much pain in her side. The baby's head is pressing against it."
"But…she was head down when I got here!" Misty cried.
"I know, but sometimes, a baby's position can change during labor," Dr. Aaron informed the terrified gym leader. "And it looks like your little girl has turned."
"And I assume she can't be born if she's in that position?" Ash bit his lip.
"No," Dr. Aaron shook his head. "It would be far too dangerous."
"So what do we do?" Ash folded his arms.
"I could perform an external cephalic version, or an ECV," Dr. Aaron looked between Ash and Misty. "It's done by applying external pressure to the abdomen and moving the baby into a head down position. This will enable me to deliver the baby naturally, so long as I'm able to regulate the contractions as well."
"I really want her to be born naturally," Misty pressed a hand against the good side of her stomach. "So let's do that."
"Will it even work?" Ash furrowed his brow.
"It should," Dr. Aaron nodded. "An EVC has a 90 percent success rate in a transverse lie. Although I must warn you, Misty, that the procedure is very uncomfortable. It also poses some risks such as a drop in the baby's heart rate, but instances like that are extremely rare. The fact that this is not your first child also makes the procedure easier."
"Okay," Misty sighed. "I want it. I don't care how uncomfortable it is. As long as it won't hurt my baby, I want to go through with it."
"Very well, then I'll…" Dr. Aaron trailed off as he moved in closer to the screen. "Wait a minute…"
That doesn't sound good, Ash thought to himself. He didn't want to say anything out loud, especially after seeing the look of panic that had set into Misty's emerald green eyes.
"What's wrong?" Misty murmured.
"I can't turn the baby around," Dr. Aaron took one last look at the screen before turning it off and sighing heavily. Noticing Misty's scared expression, Dr. Aaron frowned and informed the gym leader, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to deliver the baby through an emergency c-section."
"WHAT?" Misty screamed, her whole face turning completely white. "WHY? WHY DO I NEED THAT?"
"Misty, relax!" Ash wrapped his arms around his frantic wife's shoulders and held her close. His own heart was racing, but he knew he would have to try and remain calm for his wife's sake. Looking up at the doctor, Ash asked, "What's wrong? Why can't you turn the baby around like you said you could before?"
"Because the cord is wrapped around her neck," Dr. Aaron continued sadly. Both Ash and Misty's jaws dropped, and the ultimate look of terror crossed both of their faces. "It must've happened when she turned into the sideways position. If I try to turn her with that cord wrapped around her neck, she'll be strangled."
Misty began to cry. It was all she could do at this point. She hung her head and sobbed; fearing the major surgery she was facing, and even worse, fearing for the life of her unborn daughter.
Ash, meanwhile, was stunned into complete stillness. He kept his hand on Misty's lower back, and his mouth remained open. A million thoughts raced through his head, and hardly any of them were positive. 8 hours ago, Ash never would've believed that his baby girl's life would be in jeopardy, or brought into the world in such a dire fashion. Slowly but surely, it was breaking his heart.
"C…can she even breathe?" Ash managed to speak up.
"I don't know," Dr. Aaron finished cleaning Misty off. "But I'm going to get her out as quickly as possible to ensure that she can breathe." Looking back towards Ash, Dr. Aaron continued, "Why don't you go into the waiting room while Misty is prepped for surgery? I'll send for you when she's ready, provided you want to be present for the procedure."
There was a part of Ash that didn't want to be in the room. Not because he was afraid of witnessing it, but because he really didn't want to see his wife go through that. The thought of sitting next to Misty while she was cut into sent a special pain off in his heart, and he didn't know if he could handle it. The desire to be there for Misty was stronger than his guilt, however, and Ash knew there was no possible way he could just sit in the waiting room while Misty was being operated on.
"Yes, I want to be in the room," Ash answered in an almost robotic fashion. "I want to be there."
"Alright," Dr. Aaron gave the Pokémon master a single nod. "You'll be notified when she's ready for surgery."
Still feeling rather stiff, Ash leaned over and gave Misty a kiss on the cheek before standing up to leave. As he got to his feet, however, Misty grabbed onto his hand and held it as tightly as she could. Ash looked into her face and saw the tears flowing down her cheeks like a waterfall. He saw her definitive frown, the horror in her eyes, and the overall sense of dread that surrounded her currently hapless being.
"Misty…" Ash breathed.
"Don't leave me!" Misty begged through fervent sobs. "I…I can't! Please d…don't leave!"
"Sweetheart, I would never leave you!" Ash cupped her face in his hands. "I'll be back when you're ready to…have the baby, okay? I swear I'm not going anywhere."
"Please don't go," Misty shook her head and kept wailing.
"I have to, I have to," Ash whispered as he stroked Misty's hair. He had never seen his wife looking so scared in all of her life. Leaning down once again, he kissed the top of her head and promised, "I'm coming back. Cross my heart, I swear to you, however you want me to promise you. I will be by your side when this baby is born."
Misty didn't say anything in response. She didn't even nod. The gym leader just kept crying, and staring at Ash with eyes full of trepidation and longing. Giving her one last kiss, Ash stepped out of the room, clutching the front of his shirt in his hands as he willed himself not to cry.
The image of Misty screaming and crying and just in absolute hysterics kept flashing before Ash's eyes. No matter how hard he tried to push the scene out of his head, it just wouldn't go away. The rare and terrifying sight was burned into his memory for the rest of his life.
Halfway down the hall, a tear fell on Ash's tense hand.
He had no willpower left.
I'm really evil, aren't I? Goodness, I feel bad.
I, personally, love Daisy as a character, so that's why I'm developing her more. I definitely feel as if she should be more protective of Misty, so that's the route I'm taking. This is only the beginning with them, I'm going to expand on this topic more later on :)
Also, can I just say, that I was just coming up with random names for Ash and Misty's baby names discussion, but I actually ended up falling in love with the name Delaney Lyla? It's so freaking cute! Alas, that is not the baby's name. Perhaps I should use it for something else... ;)
Last chapter we got to 250 reviews! This is, of course, because all of my readers and reviews are completely awesome. I love all the reviews and suppourt you guys keep giving me! It's completely crazy, and it makes me so glad to know you guys are all into the story! Definitely keeps me going on the writing front. So, again, thank you all!