A/N: This is the fastest I've ever updated a story. That is thanks to Mr. Persistent who would probably have killed me with persistency if I had not uploaded this anytime soon. Anywho, as I said before, I did not really edit this much, feel free to correct my grammar and whatnot. Enjoy!
I do not own Poke'mon.
Waking up in a hospital is never a pleasant experience for anyone, and Alice was no exception to this rule. She was hazy from the drugs they had used to weaken the pain, examining her sterile white surroundings disinterestedly. Why a hospital? She glanced at her arm, memory coming back as she saw the clean white bandages wrapped carefully around her right arm. Alice wondered briefly how many bandages she had bled through before she finally stopped…she shivered a bit, never one for violence. As she did she felt a comforting presence in her mind, and noticed something she hadn't seen before – Kadabra, sitting perfectly still in a chair by her bed.
Alice smiled, sending feelings of gratitude back at her Poke'mon companion. Though Kadabra's expression never changed, she knew he had received her thanks. She could also sense that he was hiding feelings from her, and she worried that he blamed himself for her injuries. He likely felt that if he had been stronger, he could have protected her. He would never allow her to convince him otherwise.
Now that she was attuned to her surroundings, it occurred to Alice that her parents were not there. Loving parents that they were, she had expected them to show up, crying and hugging her and making a scene in general. The entire situation seemed empty without them. With a pang of sadness she realized that they were on vacation in Celadon city. Alice didn't begrudge them this fact – they worked hard, and deserved a vacation every now and again. But she was lonely, in this sterile white room, without their warm faces to worry over her. She selfishly hoped, for a moment, that they would return home, but guiltily suppressed that wish. They needed that vacation, and she'd be fine whether they were here or not…
She let out a soft sigh, gasping at the sharp pain it caused. Godzilla's Iron Tail was quite formidable, to a mere human like her. How ever did Poke'mon stand it…such brutal combat, to what purpose? Perhaps this was how the elders felt…
"Chansey Chan?" The sweet voice of the Chansey nurse was imbued with curiosity as she examined at Alice.
"Da kadabra." Kadabra responded in his deep tone, Chansey nodding before swiftly leaving the room. Alice looked curiously at Kadabra, who sent a brief explanation. Chansey would be bringing back a human nurse, now that Alice was awake.
"Quite the battle that was…you did great, Kadabra." Alice murmured, smiling as she watched her friend read her lips. "We would've won if Bryan wasn't such a dirty, cheating- hello, Nurse!" Kadabra seemed to almost snicker at Alice's hasty cover-up. She didn't often use some of the nastier words in her vocabulary in front of adults, as it was disrespectful.
Nurse Joy smiled back warmly. Ecruteak's small size meant that it did not have a hospital. However, the Poke'center doubled as a small hospital when necessary. Both Nurse Joy and her Chansey assistants were trained in human anatomy and health as well as Poke'mon. That coupled with the few serious injuries incurred in Ecruteak's fairly low-key atmosphere negated the need for a full-blown hospital.
"How are you feeling?" Nurse Joy asked, gently lifting up Alice's arm and examining the bandages. She began unraveling them, and Alice looked away.
"Pretty good, I think. If I take too deep a breath it hurts." Alice stared at Kadabra to keep her eyes off the exposed bite marks on her arm, unsure if she wanted to see the extent of her injuries. Had she looked, she would have seen that the two bite marks themselves were not bloody, and far less conspicuous than the greenish-yellow bruise that ran the length of her arm. As it was, she did not. Kadabra stared back at her, still sending reassure thoughts her way. She felt herself relax.
Nurse Joy had replaced the bandages, to Alice's pleasure, moving on to pull up the base of Alice's shirt, examining the gigantic bruise over her left ribs. Alice grimaced, wincing and muttering "there" every time Nurse Joy poked a painful spot. Satisfied, Nurse Joy made a note on her clipboard.
"Well, you don't have any fractured ribs. It's just very sore right now. A miracle, really…" Nurse Joy shook her head in disbelief. "What happened, Alice? Kadabra teleported the two of you right into the main entrance of the 'Center, looking very distressed, and in horrible condition." Alice smiled pleasantly for a moment upon hearing of Kadabra's concern. Sitting there, emotionless as usual, it was hard for most people to see just how much he cared. Her smile faded as she brought the incident to memory.
"Well…it's a long story. The short explanation would be a Houndour Bite, and a Croconaw's Iron Tail attack." Alice replied briefly.
Nurse Joy's face made her realize suddenly just how serious this was. "Who had their Poke'mon attack you like that? Who would…" She paused, face draining of color. "…was it Bryan?" Nurse Joy asked slowly, recalling the only person in Ecruteak who had both a Croconaw and a Houndour. Alice nodded. "I'd call that a criminal offense! How dare he hurt an angel like you! How dare he use those Poke'mon as weapons! That makes me so angry!" Nurse Joy seemed to explode with anger, pacing the room quickly. "Oh! I know what I'll do! I'll call Officer Jenny! That boy…how dare he!" She rushed out of the room without another word.
"H-he didn't mean to…the first time…" Alice was uneasy with the idea of someone going to jail over this. She had leapt into danger, after all. Then again he had tried to injure her afterwards. But that had failed, and would never have happened if she weren't so impulsive and, well, somewhat stupid.
The Nurse returned, still muttering angrily to herself. "It will take Officer Jenny a few hours to get here. She's just leaving Violet City. Oh, that boy!"
"Nurse Joy?" Alice asked meekly, gulping as she realized the implications of a police officer coming here, to peaceful Ecruteak.
"Yes, dear?" Nurse Joy asked sweetly, momentarily pausing in her angry rant.
"He…er, Bryan, didn't intentionally attack me. I, uh, leapt in the way." Alice smiled sheepishly. Nurse Joy blinked, digesting the information.
"But…why?"
"Bryan and I were having a Poke'mon battle. When Kadabra had almost defeated Bryan's Poke'mon, he sent out two more, and all three attacked at once! I couldn't let Kadabra get hurt like that when in any other circumstance he would have won! I couldn't!" Alice gasped, realizing she had been rising to almost shouting, and the large bruise over her ribs had kindly reminded her of this fact with a stab of pain. As she took a momentary break to recollect her thoughts, she noticed that Kadabra was not watching their lips as she had anticipated, but had silently stood up and walked to the other end of the room, facing away from them. Alice felt guilty as she realized how upset he was about this. So upset that he didn't want to hear anymore of it. He still felt useless. It broke her heart. "A-anyway, I leapt in front. It was my fault. But…he did order his Croconaw to attack me again, and Kadabra used Protect. So…yeah…" Alice wasn't sure what she was trying to say with this. That Bryan was off the hook? That he should be off the hook but wasn't because he had attacked her after the fact? She didn't know.
Nurse Joy shook her head, sighing. "You're such a good kid, Alice. I don't know of many trainers who would stand up for their Poke'mon like that." Alice smiled, glancing at Kadabra's back, not feeling like the "good kid" Nurse Joy thought she was. "I suppose you'll have to tell Officer Jenny the story, and let her decide. Until then, you should rest." Alice nodded, and Nurse Joy walked out of the room.
Alice laid back against the pillows and drifted off into dream-riddled sleep…
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! ^^
