Don't Forget, But You Did
By Amaimon25
Comashipping
Rated M for later chapters
'Thoughts'
Chapter 3: Remember Me
PREVIOUSLY…
Ash turned to look at Paul and he smiled at him, "Hello." Paul thought of it as an invitation and came in. He sat in the chair on the right side of Ash. Paul smiled at Ash and held his hand. "I'm so glad you're okay, Ash. I thought you were going to die and leave me all alone. I'd probably would've committed suicide if you did, that way we could be together." Paul chuckled to himself and looked at Ash, it looked like he didn't know what Paul was talking about. "Ash, are you okay? Come on say something…" There was a silence between them, Paul noticed that Ash had a crease between his eyebrows like he was thinking about something. Ash finally spoke, "Who are you?"
With that Paul's whole world came crashing down around him….
"W-what do you mean you don't remember me? It's me, your boyfriend. I'm Paul, please you've gotta remember…" Paul said, a little taken back. Okay, maybe not a little, more like a lot. Paul looked at him, and Ash was completely clueless. "Boyfriend? What are you talking about? That woman that just came in didn't say anything about you." Ash said. The mauve-haired boy was completely shocked and didn't move at all. Ash was about to ask if he was okay, but then the doctor came in with Ash's mother by his side. "Paul, can you come outside into the hall for a little while?" asked the doctor. Paul nodded and followed them both out, leaving Ash extremely confused.
"What's wrong with Ash? He doesn't remember me at all!" Paul yelled at the doctor once they were from hearing range of Ash's room. The doctor said, "Please calm down, Paul. The surgery was successful, but it came with a price. Ash has amnesia." Paul was completely shocked. He hanged his head down, and looked at the floor. A couple of seconds later, his shoulders were fiercely shaking and tears came falling down to the ground. Delia came towards Paul and put her arms around her, Paul did the same.
Minutes past and Ash's friends, Misty and Brock, came down the hall to see what was taking so long. Brock started to talk but then stopped when he saw Paul being held in Delia's arms. "What's wrong with Ash? Did he you know…die?" Misty said, not liking the thought of Ash dying. Paul still on Delia's shoulder shook his head no. Both of them confused, but then Brock remembered the consequence of Ash getting surgery on his brain. Brock gave a big gulp and said, "Did Ash lose his memories?" Misty turned to look at Brock with shock, and then turned to Paul to see his reply. It took the mauve-haired boy a while to reply, he nodded a yes. "What?" Misty yelled, enough for the whole hospital to hear. "What do you mean Ash lost his memory?" she questioned not even waiting for an answer, she turned to Ash's doctor. "Didn't you say that Ash's surgery was successful?"
"Ma'am please calm down. There are other patients here who need rest." The doctor said waving his arms in front of himself for protection as Misty used her most famous death glare (as seen on TV). "As I said to Ash's mother and boyfriend, him having surgery and getting amnesia is very common. But, there is a way to cure it, though it might be quite difficult." Paul eyes opened and turned to the doctor. "How can we cure it?" he asked quickly. "Well, you could go to places that he has gone to before. Those sceneries might jog back some memories." Said the doctor. Paul gave a nod. He wiped away tears and looked at Ash's friends. "Why don't you go tell the others on what is currently happening. I'm going to ask some more question." He turned to Delia and continued, "Delia, can you go home and get Pikachu. He might jog back some of his memories." Delia and the others gave a nod and left.
Paul once again turned to the doctor, "So, when will Ash be able to leave the hospital?" The doctor said, "Mr. Ketchum will be able to leave in no more than five days from now. We still need to run some tests on how stable he is." Paul gave another nod, "Listen, doctor. This question is really important. If Ash gets his memories back, will he be able to remember who the one who attacked him was?" The doctor made a serious face and said, "It is possible that Ash will remember who attacked him. But something in his mind might block it, because his body is telling not remember. It might have actually caused more damage than we think, right now, it seems Ash is too traumatized to even want to remember. There is something else I need to say…Ash may remember what caused his amnesia in his dreams. If that does happen, you need to keep him calm. He needs to know that he is safe, and that is where you come in." Paul gave a nod for him to continue, "Either you or the patients mother needs to always keep him company. The recovery might be too much for him to handle, he might consider suicide as a way to escape." Once again Paul was shocked.
He recovered quickly and said, "Okay, that is all the questions have for now." Paul gave a slight bow. "I'm gonna go see Ash now." The doctor bowed as well leaving Paul to go to Ash. Paul took a deep breath and then went back to Ash's room. Ash was just sitting there looking through a window, with no emotions on his face. Paul knocked on his door and Ash turned his head. "Hello again." he said.
Paul again, sat on the chair to Ash's side. "Hey." Ash smiled a little at his hello. "So, you're my boyfriend Paul, right?" Paul then gave him a blush and a smile too. "Yeah, and your Ash Ketchum…" Ash gave him a weird look, "Ash Ketchum? That's a weird name." The mauve-haired boy slightly chuckled. "Sort of. But, I like it." They both gave out a warm smile. "So, Paul…what happened to me?" asked the raven-haired boy. "Well…you were coming back from a Pokémon battle at Professor Oak's. While you were coming back…you were raped and shot twice…" Ash gasped at what happened to himself. "What?! I can't believe that happened! Wow…I can't believe I'm still alive. I guess I'm really lucky." he said. "Yeah, me neither. But, you're here and alive, and I'm so glad…" Paul's shoulders began to shake again. "I'm sorry, Ash…" the mauve-haired boy said. Ash was confused and asked, "For what, you didn't do anything wrong." The tears started to fill up in his eyes, "Yes, it is! It's my fault that this happened. I wasn't there with you…and look what happened! You don't remember anything! You don't remember your mother, your friends, your Pikachu, and even me! It's my fault you lost your memories! I'm so sorry, Ash…because of me…" Paul's words got caught in his throat, and new tears came falling down from his already puffy, red eyes. He crouched down and put his head in his hands. After a while, he felt something grab onto his hands, he looked up to see Ash giving him a gentle smile. The raven-haired boy took one of his hands in Pauls, and used the other to wipe away the tears away.
"It's gonna be okay, Paul. This wasn't your fault, none of this is your fault. I'll get my memories back, I promise." He said to Paul in the gentlest way he could. Paul looked up and smiled, but then frowned. "That's what you said when you left…" And yet again, Ash was confused, "Huh?" he questioned. Paul gave a squeezed to their holding hands. "When you left, to go to your battle, you promised you'd come back quickly. And when you came back to me, you were on your Charizard and almost completely covered in blood…and when I held you in my arms, you said that you were gonna be okay, but your not…your forgot everything..." he said. Ash gave him a blank look, but then said, "Look at me, Paul." Ash used his other hand to raise Paul's chin up to look up at him. He continued, "I kept my promises, didn't I? I came back as promised. I am fine, like I promised. And I promise, that I will regain my memories. I will remember my mother, you, and even this Pikachu that you keep talking about." Paul gave out a chuckle at his words. "I will remember how I met you, what our first date was like, when our anniversary is…I will remember everything. So please, Paul. Stop crying, for me?" It took a while for Paul to give out an answer, but he nodded a yes.
Ash gave a smile. "Good, now tell me about myself. Like do I have any friends, or am I a loner. Or what kind of job I have, stuff like that." Paul gave out a small smile and began to talk. "Well, as I said before, your name is Ash Ketchum and your 20 years old. Your mother's name is Delia Ketchum. She is a really gentle, and kind person" Paul was stopped. "Hold on, you kept saying stuff about my mother, so what about my father. What is he like?" Ash asked. Paul gave a frown, "Your dad died a long time ago. He died protecting you from this evil gang, Team Rocket. I didn't know you back then, but your mother always said that you were an emotional wreck. You surrounded yourself with friends to hide your sadness, but sometimes you let it slip. That is when I found out, you were traveling in Sinnoh and you were alone. I don't know why though, you were traveling with some friends and I guess you got separated. I overheard talking to yourself, and you kept blaming yourself that your father died. Your mother said he was a Pokémon Champion before you were born, then he retired to be with the family. You were named after your father, 'Ashton', we call you Ash for short. You mother also said that he was really courageous, brave and strong, and that you are much like him." Ash had a couple of tears running down his cheeks. He said, "So, my dad died protecting me from Team Rocket? I wish I could remember him."
Ash motioned Paul to go on, "So, what about my friends? What are they like?" Paul gave a smile and continued talking, "You have a lot a friends all around the world. Your best friends are these two people named Brock and Misty. Brock is one of the world's top breeders, he used to be the gym leader of the Pewter City Gym, and his specialty was rock type. Misty is the Cerulean City Gym Leader, she specializes with water Pokémon, and her boyfriend's name is Tracy. You met him in your travels in the Orange Islands. May and Max are the children of the gym leader at the Petalburg City Gym, in the Hoenn Region. Max is still too young to go off on his own, so he went with you, Brock and May. Oh, and May is a Pokémon Coordinator. Dawn is from the Sinnoh region, she is also a Pokémon Coordinator. The Sinnoh Region is where we met too, and-" Ash once again stopped him from his long list of friends.
"Hold on, hold on. What is this 'Pokémon' thing you keep talking about? Is that some kind of animal, or something?" Ash said. Paul looked at him even more surprised than ever before and without thinking said, "Wow, when the doctor said you had forgotten everything, you really forgot everything." Ash scowled a little at his remark. Paul gave an I'm sorry, that it was supposed to stay in his head. "Pokémon are these amazing creatures, who have moves that you can't even imagine. Pokémon come in different sizes, and different types of elements like water, fire, grass, electricity, etc. Pokémon and humans coexist in this giant world as friends. Pokémon help their 'trainers' in 'Pokémon battles'." Ash was a little less confused. "So, there are humans, then there is Pokémon? Do I have any Pokémon?" he asked.
"Yeah. You have a whole bunch of them. But, you have this one that you love more than anything else. Your Pikachu, which is an electric type Pokémon." Ash spoke, "A Pikachu?" Once Ash said that, Delia came in with a knock. Ash noticed there was a small, yellow with red round cheeks creature on his mother's shoulder. The Pokémon noticed Ash and cheered, "Pikapi!" Pikachu jumped off of Delia's shoulder and ran into Pikachu's arms. Pikachu started to lick Ash's face. Paul smiled at the electric type and said, "This is your Pikachu." Ash looked at Paul then back at his Pikachu. He gave a smile and petted Pikachu behind the ear. "Hey, Pikachu. It's nice to see you. You're really cute, aren't you?" Pikachu purred at his touch. "Ash, this Pikachu of yours is really strong. It's the strongest electric type Pokémon in the whole world." Ash gave a surprised look. "The strongest electric type in the whole world, how do you know that he is?" Paul gave a smirk and said, "Because you're the Pokémon Master." Ash looked even more surprised than before, "A Pokémon master? Really? That's so awesome!"
Delia smiled at her son and said, "Yes it is, Ash. You are so much like your father." Ash gave her a smile. "Okay, I think this is too much for my brain to handle for one day." He said, as he grabbed his head sarcastically faking a huge headache. Paul said with a gentle smile, "Yeah, I guess you had enough for one day. The doctor said you can leave this hospital in five days tops. We should leave you alone to get some rest." Paul said as he stood up from the chair and walked toward the door. Paul then remembered something very crucial that he needed to tell Ash, or at least it was crucial to Paul. He came up to Ash's side again and crouched down to speak. "Hey, Ash. You have some other friends too." Ash was confused at why he was saying this now. "Oh really, who are they?" he asked. "Their names are Gary and Richie. Richie is one of your friends that you met at your first Pokémon League. He has reddish-brown hair, and blue eyes. Gary is the grandson of Professor Oak. Professor Oak is the guy who gave you your Pikachu. He has brown, spiky hair and green eyes." Ash yet again was confused for the millionth time that day. "Why does it sound that you hate those two?" Paul gave a scowl and said, "Because I do. They both tried to steal you away from me, that's why I don't like them. Just please be careful around them. Please, for me?" Ash gave a little chuckle and said, "Okay, I'll be careful." Paul gave him a hard look, "Promise?" Ash smiled, "Promise." Ash yawned after that. "Okay. I guess we should leave now. Come on, Pikachu." Paul said, and Pikachu jumped from Ash to Paul's shoulder, but not before nuzzling into Ash's cheek. Paul and Delia gave a little wave on there way out, as Ash waved at them.
THREE DAYS LATER…
"Come on, Ash! You're taking way too long! I'm getting sick of visiting this place." Paul yelled. He was outside with Delia and Pikachu, waiting for Ash to change his clothes. Finally Ash came out wearing a checkered gray and black sweater. He switched his old hat, with a gray beanie. He wore black jeans. "I'm coming, I'm coming. I wanna get out of here just as much as you do, Paul." Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder. Paul gave out a smirk. He came closer to the raven-haired boy, leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek. He pulled away to see Ash as red as a tomato, holding onto the cheek that he was just kissed on. Paul gave a little chuckle. "That isn't funny, Paul." He ranted waving his hands in the air. "Oh, come on. I like your reaction. You're so adorable." the mauve-haired boy said with a smile. Ash got even redder, if that was even possible and said, "You don't call a guy adorable!". Delia gave a little giggle at the couple. "Aw, aren't you guys so cute together. You guys were just like this before…well, y'know." They both turned to at her, Ash gave out a sad smile. "I wish I could remember." Paul looked a little guilty. He put his hand on Ash's right cheek and said, "Hey, It's gonna be okay. You're gonna remember one day."
Ash smiled at him, "Yeah, well let's go to Pallet Town!" He grabbed Paul's hand from his cheek and intertwined it with his. Pikachu agreed too, "Pi, pikachu!" Paul again smiled, "Yeah…let's go home." And they headed out from the hospital.
Sorry, guys that it took so long! My parents wanted to use my computer every time I wanted to upload this. It's so cute how Paul is already jealous of Gary and Richie. Okay, please review on this chapter and tell me what you think. Oh, and give me some ideas on what to do next for a different story, like Palletshipping, or Leagueshipping. Oh, and give me some ideas on Paul's last name. Team Rocket is finally in the story they'll come in some day. Kay, see y'all later!