Here we are! Have fun with it, guys.
Ash, Brock, and Max were all given permission to stay in the hospital that night instead of the Pokemon Center. They all simply found chairs in the hall near May's room, and tried to best to imagine that they were somewhat comfortable. Pikachu curled up on the floor underneath Ash's chair, which actually proved to be a better choice than the chairs anyway.
The following morning, May was given an IV with the antidote for Seviper's poison in it. The doctor said that she would need to stay in the hospital for at least another day or two, to make sure that the antidote was working as it was supposed to.
A short while later, Ash, Brock and Max were all gathered around May's bed, conversing with her idly, when there was a short knock on the door.
"Yes?" Brock responded, turning to face the door as it swung open slowly, and Trey and Lily walked into the room.
"Hey, guys." Trey greeted, closing the door behind them.
"We heard about what happened to May!" Lily explained, turning to May with a solemn face. "I'm so sorry!"
"Thanks, you guys." May replied gratefully. There was a new bandage wrapped around the spot where they'd given her the IV, in a similar spot to where she had tied the white cloth herself earlier.
"If you don't mind me asking..." Brock began, glancing at Trey curiously. "Who exactly did you hear about this from?"
Trey looked away from him strangely. "One of my...old friends. He called me last night and told us about...a girl he'd seen at the Contest, who broke down halfway through one of the battles." He glanced at May as he continued. "We recognized the description of you from what he told us, and it kind of went from there."
"We were just going to the boat to Cinnabar Island. Aren't you coming, too, Ash?" Lily asked, both Trey and herself turning to face Ash, who avoided their gazes.
"Um...well..."
"Hey, that's a good idea!" Max exclaimed suddenly, looking at Ash excitedly. "You can go on ahead and fight this Pyramid King guy, and then we can meet you there later, after May gets better!"
"Yeah, it makes sense." Brock added happily. "You should go."
Ash stared back at all of them helplessly. What was he supposed to say? He hadn't expected everyone to jump on that idea so soon.
"Poor Ash..." May thought to herself sadly as she watched him from her bed. "I know how much he wanted this..."
"Um..." Ash repeated lamely, scratching his head in anxiety.
"Ash? You coming?" Trey offered again. "The boat leaves pretty soon, we've got to hurry."
"What's wrong?" Brock asked, looking at him worriedly.
"Listen...um...thanks for the idea, but I already decided to stay here until...May gets better." Ash stammered, staring at the floor.
Everyone in the room besides Ash and May gasped audibly. "What?" Max retorted.
"Pi-ka?" Pikachu spoke up. Ash had forgotten to tell him what had happened with May in her room the previous night.
"But Ash - !" Brock began in protest.
"You sure about that?" Trey asked. "The Battle Pyramid's leaving for Sinnoh later tonight. If you don't leave now, you're going to miss it."
"Y-yeah, I know."
They all continued staring at him quizzically, trying to figure out if he was serious or not, until the sound of the door opening again caused them all to turn.
"Excuse me..." The doctor began politely, not even walking into the room fully. "I'm sorry, but we do have a limit on the number of guests allowed per patient. Also, she has just been given an injection...she needs space."
Trey and Lily glanced at each other, then to Ash.
"All right...if you're sure." Trey said. "I guess we'll see you guys later."
"I hope you feel better, May!" Lily said cheerfully, waving to them.
The doctor moved out of the way so that the two of them could exit the room. "Two more, please. After an injection like that, what she really needs is rest, but one guest is allowed, if she wishes."
The remaining three glanced at each other. "Guess that's you, Max." Brock said, chuckling.
Max nodded. "Don't worry, you guys, I'll - "
"Wait a minute." May cut in softly. "I'm...sorry, Max, but...could Ash stay with me, instead?"
"Huh? Why would you want Ash to stay?" Max remarked, slightly offended. Brock stared at her in confusion as well.
"I just want to...talk to him about something." May explained, bending the truth as much as she could.
Max and Brock glanced at each other, not noticing Ash staring at her defiantly. "All right, I guess." Max obliged grudgingly.
"Come on, we should probably head back to the Pokemon Center and make sure our room's still ours." Brock said as the two of them walked out of the room, along with Pikachu, who had gotten a similar notion to the previous night. This allowed the doctor to finally close the door happily, which left Ash and May alone in the room together, just like the night before.
"Um..." Ash began nervously, walking around the edge of her bed to the side where her bandaged arm was. "W-what's going on?"
May simply smiled up at him weakly. "Thanks for staying."
"Sure, no problem..." Ash replied slowly, looking at her confusedly. "But, why didn't you want Max to stay with you?"
"It's not that I...didn't want him to stay. I just...I had to pick just one, right?"
"Um...yeah." Ash answered, oblivious as ever. "So...?"
May's eyes narrowed affectionately, recognizing his ignorance. "Listen...remember what you said last night?"
"...Yeah..." Ash replied slowly, still not sensing where she was going with this.
"Well...I was thinking about it last night, after you left..." May continued, shifting her gaze to the ceiling as she recalled the event. "I think I understand what you were saying, when you told me you didn't want to leave."
"Really?" Ash questioned. "Well, I don't. I just said what's been on my mind..."
May shifted her gaze back to him, the smile never leaving her face. "I guess I've been thinking about the same things, then." She said, giggling.
"Huh?" Ash muttered as May reached out with her injured arm, grasping his hand with hers. "May...?"
She continued grinning back at him, her own eyes locked with his. She secretly wished that she wasn't confined to her bed, or she would have sat herself up and done something more. As it was, she had to sit back and wait for Ash to pick up on her meaning. And part of her was just fine with that.
He remained silent, glancing back and forth between their joined hands and her face, as if trying to decide what to do next. A moment later, he stood up uncertainly, lowering their hands to the side without breaking them apart. He continued watching her for a moment hesitantly, then leaned forward toward her. She managed to briefly boost her head up at that moment, catching his mouth with hers on the way down.
Ash nearly jumped at the feeling, but quickly calmed himself, forcing his eyes shut. Even if May had wanted to, she couldn't have moved an inch, immobilized by the sudden rush of mutual affection now flowing between them.
"You didn't tell her it was me, did you?" Will asked worriedly, glancing accusingly at his younger brother.
"Look, I don't know what you're trying to do, or why, and I don't really care." Trey shot back. "But no, I didn't. Will you leave us alone now?"
Trey and Lily had been standing out on the deck of the ferry to Cinnabar Island, which had recently shoved off from Chrysanthemum Island. However, shortly afterwords, Will, Trey's older brother, had found them and immediately begun asking Trey a slew of questions about his 'visit' to the hospital.
"I just don't want to get caught. I didn't think you knew that dumb girl." Will explained arrogantly.
"She's not dumb. In fact, she's probably smarter than you. She probably wouldn't have lost that battle if you hadn't poisoned her!"
"Yeah, yeah. Look, it's not like it's lethal or anything. She wouldn't cooperate, what was I supposed to do?"
"Gee, Will, I don't know." Trey fired back sarcastically. "Maybe, compete yourself and, wow, actually train?"
"Grah." Will grunted in response. "It doesn't matter anymore, as long you didn't tell her. I'll see you around."
With that, he turned and lumbered away from the two of them, but Trey didn't speak again until he was out of sight.
"That's the guy you've told me about?" Lily asked in disgust.
"Yeah, I know." Trey said in agreement. "Not exactly the most charming guy around, is he?"
Please R&R!