A/N: A nice long chapter finally! Er, long as far as my stories go anyways. By the way, I changed it to make Misty eight months along in Chapter 1 to keep the story flowing okay. Don't worry about it, I just wanted to mention it so please don't reread chapter 1 thinking I've changed anything else! XD Good luck with Ash's reaction, and thanks so much for reading and reviewing! :) I look forward to hearing what you have to say about this! Plus, I wasn't for sure how to spell cowinky-dink, but hopefully you know what Ash means, even if Misty doesn't!XD
Chapter 7: Secret's Out
"Afraid you were right, Mrs. Ketchum. She's got full blown walking pneumonia," Doctor Kimbrell stated, looking from Delia back to his clipboard.
"Is there…anything that might help?" Misty asked, going into another coughing fit. Ash patted her back, trying to calm it down, and handed her yet another Kleenex. He'd never seen her this sick before, and all joking aside, he was really starting to worry.
"Of course, Ms. Waterflower. A week or two's worth of antibiotics, and you should be better in no time. Oh, and the antibiotics shouldn't hurt the baby at all, in case you're wondering." Crap, Misty thought. Ash stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Baby? What ba—"
"Well, thank you so much, Doctor Kimbrell. I'll just take the prescription and be on my way," Misty said, avoiding Ash's gaze as she took the piece of paper and ambled toward the door.
"Take care of yourself. That baby's counting on you," answered the kind doctor, smiling at her as she left.
"Uh, thanks. 'Bye now." She dashed down the hallway, not giving Ash any time to catch up. Delia straggled behind the two, talking to Doctor Kimbrell as he explained to her what she could do to help.
"Misty, wait up!" Ash called after her as he raced down the hallway. For a pregnant lady she sure was fast! She was just getting on the elevator when he caught up. Holding his arm out, the automatic door stayed open long enough for him to get on as well. Here comes the interrogation.
"Baby? What the heck was Doctor Kimbrell talking about? Misty?" He looked over at her, but she kept her eyes averted to the floor, showing more interest in her shoes than the questions he was trying to ask.
"I didn't mean for you to find out this way," she mumbled, barely loud enough for him to hear. "And yet you still haven't put the pieces together." Huh? Whatever she was going on about, it must have had something to do with what the doctor had said.
"Misty, what was he talking about when he said 'baby?'" he asked once more, knowing he'd press her as long as it took to get the answer.
"Fine!" she snapped. "Do you really want to know? I'm pregnant, okay? Jeez, Ash, I knew you were as oblivious as a Slowpoke, but I seriously thought you would've figured it out by now! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that I've blown up like a balloon."
She gave him a blank look, showing him just how peeved she was. He just stared at her, glancing from her belly back to her eyes. Completely in a daze, he was strangely unwilling to believe a word he'd just heard, though the evidence was clear enough in just her appearance. "Are you even listening, Ash?" she asked, waving a hand in front of his face. Then came an awkward silence, probably the first one ever between the two.
Ash was the first to finally break it. "Who?" he wondered, appalled at the thought that she'd been with some other guy in such an intimate way. Instead of answering directly, she randomly decided to try and explain her thoughtless actions.
"We were drunk. Well, I was anyways. It was a big mistake. I did something stupid. And I ended up like this," she explained, holding her belly out of sheer habit. Still not the answer to his question. Figuring she wasn't going to tell him anyway, he decided to ask something else.
"Why didn't you just tell me, Misty?" The words hung heavily in the air, Misty pondering whether or not and how she should answer.
"I didn't tell you…Well for one, you weren't ever around for me to tell you." Ouch, that one hurt. As if he needed another reminder of his big mistake. "And, well, I guess that's about it." Liar. The word echoed through her mind as she tried to force it away.
It's for the best, she told herself, though she didn't feel very convinced. She shrugged her shoulders as she stepped off the elevator, heading straight for Delia's silver Corolla. She felt his hand grab hold of her arm, but his grip lessened as he struggled for the right words, for any words really. He finally let go, unable to think of anything, and slowly followed her out to the car. Too bad they forgot that Delia had the keys.
Realizing her mistake, Misty decided instead to lean up against the car, waiting on his mother's return. Ash quickly chose to do the same, leaning right beside her as he watched her stare up at the clear blue sky. "Are you mad at me?" Misty surprised him by asking. What kind of a question was that? He had no right to be mad at her, but apparently she thought he was.
Well, he had to admit, he kind of was mad. Not at her though. Never at her. "Why would you ask tha—"
"Just please, answer the question. Are you mad at me?"
"I have no reason to be mad, Misty."
"Sure you do. Just think about it, Ash. Think about it real hard." She thinks I'm mad about the baby, he realized, raising an eyebrow in amazement.
"I guess I am mad. But not at you. I'm mad at myself for not talking to you all these years. I'm mad because…because…" I feel like that should be my baby. What? What was he thinking?
He had no right to think that! He must be out of his mind. Yeah, that's it, I'm losing it, he convinced himself, cutting off the train of thought as abruptly as he had it. "I could never be mad at you, Mist. Not for too long, anyway," he finally said, choosing the safest answer he could think of.
He noticed her face light up, if only slightly, at his words of kindness. "Well, that's nice to hear. Now, are you ready to get out of here or not?" Delia asked as she unlocked the car doors.
"Mom! Uh, how long were you there?" Ash wondered, somewhat startled by her appearance.
"Oh, not too long. Actually, just got here. Now come on! We've still got a few errands to run! Don't make me drag you into this car, mister!" Same old Mom, Ash thought as he clambered into the backseat. Misty took the passenger seat, looking nearly as shocked as Ash when she realized his mother had been listening in on them.
"See you took a few lessons from your son on eavesdropping?" Misty asked, glancing in her direction as she started up the car.
"Why of course not! He had to learn from somebody, right?" Delia answered, winking at Misty comically. Ash just rolled his eyes, embarrassed by his mother once again. Misty laughed, smirking at Delia for being so playful.
"Obviously," she said, looking back at the raven-haired Champion whose face was as red as Misty's hair. "What's wrong, Ash? Meowth got your tongue?"
"WHAT? No, not at all!" he exclaimed, making Delia click her tongue in amusement.
"Well, here we are," Delia told them, pulling up at Pallet's Pharmacy. "I'll only be a sec. Please try not to blow up the car before I get back."
"Don't worry; if anyone would do that, it'd be Ash, of course," Misty smirked, watching Delia roll her eyes and walk away.
"Kids these days," she mumbled under her breath.
"Great, Misty, now Mom thinks I'm some kind of arsonist," Ash joked, looking at her dejectedly.
"Somehow, I doubt that one," Misty sighed as she stared out the window. What she didn't expect to see, however, was a certain petite brunette parking right beside them. "Umiko!" Misty gasped, not wanting to believe her eyes.
"Umiko? Who's that?" Ash asked, making Misty face-palm for the first time in ages.
"The girl in the truck," she answered through clenched teeth.
"Oh, her? How do you know her?" Again, face-palm time.
"She's Gary's girlfriend. Er, she was the other night, anyway."
"Oh." By then, Umiko had noticed the two in the car beside her. Her mouth flung open when she realized who Misty was with. Waving, she got out of the truck as Misty objectively rolled the window down.
"Hey, Misty! What a pleasant surprise!" Umiko said, smiling.
"Aren't you supposed to be with Gary or something?" Misty asked, getting straight to the point. Umiko frowned, not quite understanding the girl's query.
"Oh, him? I left him Saturday night when I found out he was cheating on you with me." Misty nodded, figuring Umiko was the kind of girl to do something like that.
"I'm guessing you found out about the whole thing?" Misty nodded once again, giving Umiko the answer she seemed to have wanted. "Oh, you must be the Champion," she looked at Ash, smiling sweetly.
"Please, just call me Ash," he answered, sighing at the overused title.
"Alright, Ash it is then. Look, Misty, I understand if you're mad or upset with me because of what happened with Gary, but I just wanted to let you know that—"
"Stop with the apologizing, Umiko. I'm not mad at you. I figured Gary wouldn't have told you about me, otherwise I'd probably be pretty peeved at you right about now. Plus, you kind of gave me a second chance at life by breaking us up. And that's something I should be thanking you for, not the other way around. So thanks, I guess."
"Uh, it was no problem?" Umiko replied, unsure of what else to say. She hadn't expected any of that out of the feisty redhead. "Oh well, afraid I must be off! I work here, you know. Feel free to stop by anytime if you like! It does get lonely around the place, with no one to talk to after all."
"Thanks, I'll, uh, keep that in mind," Misty said, half-smiling at the strange girl. "Goodbye, Umiko."
"'Bye, Misty!" Umiko exclaimed, waving at her as she strolled inside.
"Well, that was certainly an interesting conversation," Ash remarked, chuckling lightly. "Pregnant lady befriends cheating fiancée's mistress. What a cowinky-dink."
"A cowinky-what?" Misty asked, somewhat bemused by his playful attitude.
"You know, a cowinky-dink," he said, smiling. "Pikachu knows what it is, right little buddy?" Pikachu shook its head, just as confused as Misty by the strange word. Ash just rolled his eyes. "Thanks for taking my side this time, Pikachu. It's what you would call a coincidence."
"Oh. Well why didn't you just say that before?"
"Ugh, this is hopeless," Ash said, face-palming as Delia got back into the car.
"Well then, what did I miss this time?" she asked, handing Misty her antibiotics.
"Oh, nothing," they answered in unison. "Just a cowinky-dink," Misty said, winking.
"Do I even want to know?" Delia wondered, backing up to head for home.
"Probably not," answered Ash, looking at Pikachu and rolling his eyes up at the ceiling.
"Guess I'll just have to take your word for that," Delia replied, making both Ash and Misty laugh in amusement. What a bizarre ride home that had turned out to be.
When they finally pulled into the yard, Misty could tell something was off. Mr. Mime was sweeping the walkway as usual, but someone else was also there. "Brock must've gotten here a bit earlier than I thought," Delia muttered under her breath, walking through the door. Brock is here? Misty wondered. She hadn't seen him in about a year, since the last Christmas get together at the Ketchum household.
She usually came to see everyone, even though Ash normally couldn't show up because of some upcoming event. Brock and Cilan came early to help cook for it every year, but this was a bit too early to be preparing for an event that wasn't for another day or two. Or was it? With Brock, you just never knew. As soon as she came through the door, the sweet scent of strawberries filled the air.
"Hello there, Brock. Make it in okay?" Delia asked, stepping into the kitchen.
"Oh yeah, Mrs. Ketchum. Mr. Mime let me in after he recognized who I was. And if it isn't Ash! How've you been, Champ?"
"Please don't call me that," Ash replied, sighing. "I love being the Champion and all, but the title gets a little annoying after a while." Misty rolled her eyes, amused by him yet again.
"Hey Brock, long time no see," she said, waving at him. As soon as he saw her, his mouth dropped open in pure shock. "See, told you it didn't take a rocket scientist, Ash," she teased, knowing exactly why Brock was so surprised.
"Thanks for reminding me," he answered dryly.
"I see you two have been quite the busy bees. Tell me, when was the wedding, and why in the world wasn't I invited?"
"Brock, there—"
"There wasn't a wedding, Brock. Now if you'll excuse me," Misty mumbled, feeling sick once again as she made her way to the bathroom.
"Well then…not sure if I like where this is going," Brock sighed. Well, at least he didn't miss his two best friends' wedding.
"It's not my baby, Brock," Ash explained, taking a seat at the kitchen table. Delia had left promptly to care for Misty.
"Oh. Then whose is it?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him as he took the seat across.
"There's the thing. She won't tell me. But I have a feeling it just might be Gary's." Brock looked at him incredulously.
"Gary's? I mean, I knew they were at the party together last year, but I didn't think it'd go this far."
"So they've been together pretty long?"
"Well, about two years I guess. You would know this if you'd actually taken the time to call her every once in a while," Brock answered, scolding Ash for his forgetfulness.
"I know, I know! That was stupid on my part."
"At least you're talking to her now. That's progress."
"Yeah. Speaking of which, how've you been Brock?"
"Pretty good, actually. Opened up my own shop a while back, and I still help out at the Pokémon Center when I can."
"Nurse Joy still dread seeing you every day?" Ash chuckled, recalling how his friend always seemed to fall for every Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny that passed by.
"Er, not as much as she used to I guess," Brock shrugged. "Besides, I got my eye on somebody else right now."
"Who is it this time?" Ash groaned.
"Her name's Cecilia, thank you. She came by the shop the other day, asking if I knew what berry would be best for a burn."
"Chesto, right?" Brock face-palmed.
"Rawst, Ash. Rawst. Anyway, she stops by every day she can, asking anything and everything about what it's like to be a breeder."
"So you haven't scared this one off yet? That's a miracle in itself," Ash laughed. Pikachu rolled its eyes, almost as amused by its trainer as Misty was. Brock just sighed and got up to take the strawberry shortcake out of the oven.
"Back you guys," Misty called into the kitchen as she went to take the seat nearest Brock's.
"Sorry we took so long. It smells delicious," Delia remarked, sitting down by her son.
"Yeah, just like old times," Misty said, glancing over at Ash and Pikachu.
"Hope I didn't impose by coming so early, Mrs. Ketchum. I just had to after I heard that Ash would actually be home this year. So here's your welcome home cake, Ash!" he exclaimed, setting the shortcake in the center of the table.
"Great," Ash answered, grabbing the knife to cut a chunk out.
"Now wait just a second, Mr. Deprived Snorlax, I think you might want to eat dinner first," Delia scolded, pulling the cake farther than he could reach.
"Fine," he mumbled, wondering what Brock had decided to make this time.
"And here we go," Brock said, placing platter after platter on the table. "Dig in everybody!" Brock didn't have to tell Ash twice. After finishing the meal, Misty decided to help Delia with the dishes while the boys ran out the door, mentioning something about running to the store for some supplies.
"Somehow I find it hard to believe they're just going to the store," Misty stated, handing Delia dish after dish to rinse and dry.
"Knowing those two, they could say anything and you'd find it hard to believe," Delia chuckled as Misty sneezed again.
"Yeah. And did you see how Brock looked at me? His eyes looked like they were gonna pop out of his head when he saw me! If that's how everybody's going to react when they see me at the party, I'm not totally sure I wanna be there anymore…" Misty sighed, a worried expression on her face.
Delia looked at her and replied, "Now, Misty, you're going to be there if I have any say so. Besides, knowing May, Dawn, and Iris, you really have nothing to worry about. After all, they'll be too busy gushing over the fact that you're having a baby to worry about whose baby it happens to be. And I really don't think Gary will show up this year. Not after all this. As for the other boys, well, it's just to be expected. I doubt they'll give you too hard a time though."
Misty had to admit, as nervous about it as she was, Delia proved a very good point. "True, and I'm sure May, Dawn, and Iris wouldn't hesitate to knock some sense into them for me if they had to."
"That's the spirit! Now come on; we still have a lot to do before they start showing up! And trust me, after they find out Ash is home, they'll be showing up a whole lot sooner than we'll expect." No sooner than she said this did a certain young couple walk in, a twin girl and boy attached to the mother's legs.
"We're here!" she exclaimed, smiling. Boy, was this going to be an interesting evening.