First Meet Up
As Ash stepped back into the waiting room, Pikachu cried out happily and jumped into his trainer's arms.
"Hey there buddy!" Ash chuckled as he cuddled the fuzzy yellow creature. Looking ahead, Ash saw that Scott had fallen back asleep in his chair. Brock, however, was wide awake, which Ash found surprising.
"Hey there Ash," Brock grinned as he gave Ash a little wave.
"Brock, how are you still awake?" Ash chuckled tiredly. "It's almost two in the morning."
"I guess I'm just too excited to go to sleep," Brock shrugged, "my best friends just had not one but two babies. This is very exhilarating!"
"Yeah," Ash smiled. "Would you like to come see them?"
"Of course," Brock began to stand up, but he soon stopped himself. "Wait, is Misty alright with it? She must be exhausted."
"She's alright," Ash assured, "she's resting in bed with Aiden and Michelle."
"Those are their names?" Brock beamed.
"Pika?" Pikachu translated Aiden's name into his own language. "Pipika?" He then did the same with Michelle's name.
"Yeah, we just came up with them a little while ago," Ash nodded, "Misty came up with Michelle, and I came up with Aiden. They're perfect."
"I can't wait to see them," Brock grinned.
"Then you don't have to!" Ash allowed Pikachu to scamper up on his shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you to see everybody."
Ash led Brock down the corridor and into Misty's room, where she was still in bed with both babies cradled in her arms. She was so busy looking down at the two little things that she hadn't even noticed Ash and Brock walking in.
"Hey there," Brock greeted Misty with a soft voice, causing her to look up and break out into a wide grin. He wasn't sure if Ash could see it, but Brock could tell just by looking at Misty how exhausted she was. Her face was swollen. Her emerald eyes, while full of love and happiness, were dull with fatigue. Her skin was shining with dried sweat, and her hair was tangled and disheveled.
"Brock," Misty's weak voice called out to him, "I'm a…a Mom."
"Yes you are," Brock chuckled slightly as he moved closer to Misty. He sat down by her side and brushed away some of the gym leader's messy locks of hair that had fallen in her face. Brock knew he was the only person besides Ash who could do this to the pretty red head. Ash wasn't threatened by Brock; he was just their big brother figure. "You must be very tired."
"Kind of," Misty leaned her head back, "but…I don't want to sleep Brock. I don't want to be taken away from my babies."
"You're not gonna' be taken away from them," Brock hushed, "they're safe here Misty."
"I can't stop looking at them Brock," Misty continued, "They need me."
"Okay," Brock whispered, not wanting to push Misty. She was very adamant about staying awake, and when Misty was adamant about something, Brock knew better than to convince her otherwise.
"But…you can see them," Misty's weak grin returned, "I want you to hold them."
"That's alright with you?" Brock peered down at the sleeping little bundles. In response, Misty simply nodded. Sharing a smile of his own, Brock took both of the babies with complete ease and cradled them in his arms, beaming down at the tiny newborns.
"They're perfect," Misty sighed, her eyes beginning to close.
"They look so much like the two of you," Brock breathed. They weren't his children, nowhere near it. But he felt so overwhelmed when he looked at them. He couldn't believe they were real. "Do you know how long it took to get your Mommy and Daddy together?" Brock murmured to the sleeping babies. "I thought we'd never get to see anything like you two."
"It's a good thing we got together, huh?" Ash laughed softly as he stroked Michelle's cheek.
"Pikapi…" Pikachu squeaked from Ash's shoulder. Ash noticed that Pikachu was looking down at the babies with apprehensive eyes, unsure of what to do with the tiny humans.
"It's okay Pikachu," Ash assured. "Do you want to see them?"
"Pika," Pikachu nodded slowly. Ash picked up the electric mouse and placed him next to Brock. Standing up on his hind legs, Pikachu examined the newborns for another moment before sniffing at them. "Pikapi…" he murmured after smelling Michelle. Moving onto Aiden, he did the same thing, but instead uttered, "pikachupi."
"What's he saying?" Misty asked tiredly, her eyes half lidded.
"He thinks they smell like the both of us," Ash laughed.
"Pikachu…" Misty called softly. Looking up, Pikachu saw Misty beginning to slip into a state of sleep. Wordlessly, the electric type scurried over to her and cuddled against the gym leader's side, hoping to comfort the pretty young woman. "Ash, tell Brock…" Misty whispered, her eyes closing even further.
"Tell him….oh," Ash came to realization, slowly nodding
"Tell me what?" Brock asked.
"Well…" Ash began, letting out a heavy breath, "Misty and I were talking before, and we decided that you should be the twins' godfather."
"WH…what?" Brock blanched in shock. "Do you really mean that?"
"Of course," Ash chuckled, "there's no one I'd trust more with my children if anything ever happened to me."
"I…I'd love to," Brock exhaled, "but…I don't have a wife or anything. Not even a girlfriend. So who do you expect to be the godmother?"
"I'm on it," Misty mumbled, her voice barely audible.
"Misty says she's got some kind of plan," Ash shrugged, "but she wouldn't tell me what it was. All I know is we want you to be their godfather. So, what do you say?"
"Of course," Brock grinned from ear to ear, confirming it with a single nod, "of course I'll be their godfather! But you must know, this means I'm going to end up spoiling them something fierce."
"I think you were going to do that regardless of what we did," Ash smirked.
"True," Brock admitted, the smile still lingering on his face. As the best friends chatted away, a tiny strangled noise from Michelle caught everyone's attention, including Misty, who shot up at the miserable sound.
"What was that?" Misty blinked hard, suddenly feeling very awake.
"Michelle?" Ash asked softly, leaning over the red headed baby who was still cradled in Brock's arm.
"Ash, she's not going to answer you," Misty groaned, moving closer to Ash. She had gotten up too quickly, however, and it made her go light headed. Letting out a groan, Misty fell backwards on the bed, holding her head as she winced.
"Misty!" Brock called out worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"I just…got up too fast…" Misty whispered, her chest rising and falling quite heavily. As she tried to recollect herself, Michelle let out another awful sounding noise. Brock turned his attention back to Michelle, clearly not sure of who to pay attention to first.
"My baby," Ash said painfully, taking the baby girl away from Brock. He rocked her in his arms, hoping to settle the little thing down. "Come on now princess. You okay?" Finally, Michelle stopped squeaking, her breathing evening out as she snuggled into her father's chest.
"Ash," Brock quivered. "Is something wrong with Michelle?"
"Yes," Ash answered after a moment of silence. "She has weak lungs from being born so early. But Dr. Aaron doesn't think it's going to be a problem. He said they'll get stronger, and she'll be a perfectly healthy little girl."
"That's good," Brock nodded, still holding onto Aiden. "And what about Misty?"
"I think she just freaked herself out," Ash let out a dry laugh. He stood up and walked over to Misty's side, placing Michelle by her head. "Look Mommy. Your little baby is just fine. I don't want you dying on us, okay?"
"Shut up," Misty murmured as she moved closer to Michelle, nuzzling the baby girl as she finally fell into a deep, unwakeable slumber.