Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

27. As Healing Goes

The room was silent when they entered, except for the beeping of the monitoring equipment hooked up to Tim. Emilia found herself trying to walk as quietly as possible, as if shattering the silence would bring disaster.

The Disaster Pokemon in the room was perfectly silent himself, slipping past her to stand at Tim's bedside and gaze at him in silence. For a moment, the question for why he was still there crossed her mind, but she didn't wonder over it long, joining him where he watched Tim instead.

Tim's father went to the other side of the bed. Meiko joined Emilia, putting a hand on her shoulder; the other two men stayed further away.

As the nurse had warned them, Tim was asleep still, deep enough that he wasn't moving save for the rise and fall of his chest. His right arm was tightly wrapped and in a brace that would prevent any movement below his elbow. His face, at least, was peaceful, more so than Emilia thought she'd ever seen.

That, she took a moment to think about. Tim had, from the moment she met him, been compassionate and determined to help anyone in trouble that he came across. Always polite and friendly. And she didn't think about it much, because he hid it incredibly well. But there had always been a shadow there, a painful sadness hiding behind his eyes caused, she was sure, by his missing father. The only time she could remember really seeing it in full force was just before the fireworks on the SS Prime Treasure, when Keith's biting words refusing to offer any information on his father had hurt him enough that he'd tried to hide away alone, his barriers down. The only time she'd seen him vulnerable that way.

She looked at his father, for a moment, before looking back at Tim. Now that his father was back with him at last, she hoped that pain would be just a distant memory.

Meiko's hand left her shoulder. She didn't pay much attention until it returned there and shook her lightly.

"Hmm?"

Meiko gestured behind her. "There are some chairs here. You have this one; I'll grab another." She whispered.

Looking, Emilia realized that Meiko had indeed brought over a chair for her; she could see a couple more around the edge of the room. Tim's father had gone to pull one over for himself. "Thank you." She whispered.

She wasn't sure if Meiko heard, since she was already leaving to bring another chair over, but she turned her attention back to Tim.

The fear she felt now was different from the one she felt after Keith had told her that Tim was dead; that had been a jolt of horrified terror, a feeling like she had just lost everything that mattered. This was less strong, a low undertone of fear at his chances of recovery. His father seemed confident that Tim would push right through and make a full recovery despite the prognosis from the doctors; she wasn't so sure. A strong will, she knew, could help a lot in just about any situation, but sometimes it just wasn't enough.

As far as she was concerned, Tim had gotten through a lot by sheer luck alone. He was resourceful and skilled, too, there was no doubt about it, but far too reckless, and luck had also played an enormous factor. While she hoped that his father was right, and he would be fine, her fear was what would happen when that luck finally ran out.

Feeling Meiko settle in a chair next to her, Emilia let out a slow breath and decided that whatever happened, and whenever it was- today or any day in the future- she would be there. His father was right; he needed someone that would make him accept help from others. He needed someone who would watch out for him the same way he watched out for everyone.

She wanted to do that. She wanted to be there for him, and for him to know that she would be. She wanted him to look to her for help and to know that he didn't have to hide away alone when he felt vulnerable- he could come to her.

But how to let him know that without him shying away from the idea? She wasn't sure. Knowing Tim, he would see it not just as weakness on his part, but as bothering her.

She would have to bring it up at the right time. Tim would protest if she just spoke to him about it at any time; the situation would have to be right. She would have to wait, for now.

But she would start by being there with him, for him, at every possible moment.

She watched Tim in silence, as the others in the room did. The nurses checked on him a few times; according to them, he should wake up soon from the anesthetic, though he might not stay awake for long because of the morphine and the strain healing would put on his body.

She hoped that it would be soon. She wouldn't be able to relax until he did wake up. Somehow, it felt that if he would just open his eyes, she could be sure that he would be ok (his hand notwithstanding).

She wanted to see his eyes again.

Awareness came reluctantly. Tim felt exhaustion dragging at him, yet at the same time something pushed his consciousness to the point where he could hear an insistent beeping.

He didn't want to open his eyes. He just wanted to settle back into the darkness. It wouldn't be hard to do. But for some reason, something kept him there, nearly awake, unable to drift back off.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed at that point, but eventually, a couple snatches of thought came to him. His father was found. Mewtwo was gone. He wondered where Emilia was, and how GNN was going to cope with the destruction of the TV station. Mainly idle thoughts he couldn't seem to control that slid to the forefront of his mind once in a while, interspersed with mental silence.

Then the thought that he had not told anyone about the laboratory with the R stones beyond shoving his notebook into Inspector Holiday's hand came into his head, and that thought pushed him past the brink of wakefulness with a spark of panic. The longer it took for that lab to be investigated by the police, the more of a chance they had to get rid of all the evidence. It might even be too late already; he had no idea how long he'd been asleep.

The thought was, unfortunately, hard to hold on to; his head felt foggy, and it was hard to do any real thinking. But he had to try, somehow, to get word to someone. As a fragment of thought came to Tim that his father wouldn't be able to reveal anything without having to reveal everything, he knew it would have to be him.

Fighting weighted eyelids, he forced them to open, squinting at the painful light. Someone next to him gasped, a familiar sound but he couldn't think well enough to place it.

"Tim? Tim!"

He made himself open his eyes a little wider and look in the direction of the voice. His eyesight was blurry, but he could make out that there was more than one person.

The face of whoever was closest then came even closer to him, making it easier for him to make out the red hair and concerned but hopeful expression. Emilia. He should have known.

At the sound of other voices, Tim realized there were people on his other side, too. At least it would not be hard getting people's attention; now he just had to get the message across.

"How are you feeling?"

Emilia's gentle question was not what he had to worry about responding to right now. He tried to make his throat work.

"There… there was… lab…" he muttered, his throat dry. He swallowed.

"What?" That voice, he realized dimly, belonged to Meiko. Thinking was getting a little easier, but not much. His head was still foggy.

"He might not even know what he's saying." Another voice said. Familiar, but took longer to place then Meiko.

"No… the lab… came… from there." Tim managed, finally realizing it was Inspector Holiday. He was relieved the man was there; he was the best possible person to tell. "R… R stones…"

"R stones?" Tim recognized his father's voice immediately. That voice was hard for him not to know, with how long he had missed it. "Wait, I was told about that. An incident with a Feraligatr that had one, right? Are you saying you found the laboratory where those were being made?"

Tim was relieved his father was helping him explain, in the only way he could. "Yes… Lu…Lugia… had one too…"

Emilia gasped. Meiko muttered something, but he couldn't catch the words.

"Where, Tim? Do you have proof?" Holiday asked, immediately serious.

"Note… notebook… I gave you… locket…" Tim managed. It felt like it was getting harder to talk.

Holiday muttered a curse. "I forgot about that. I'll have someone develop the photos on the locket and start reading the notebook right away." Holiday said.

Afraid he was about to leave before Tim finished, he cried, "Wait! Wait…"

He managed the first word a little louder than the murmuring he'd been doing until now, but panted for a moment with the effort. "notebook… se-second note…notebook… Dad's… ap…apar… Dad's room." He got out.

"You've got another notebook with evidence in my apartment?" His father asked. Too tired to talk anymore, Tim nodded; his father would know he meant the notebook they'd gotten from Gengar. When someone else asked if there was anything else, he shook his head.

"Alright. I'll go and get that one, seeing as how you've had to solve all the rest of my case for me. And I suppose I'd best call your mother, as well, so she knows the condition of both myself and you." Tim heard his father sigh.

"I'll get the other notebook and head for the police station to gather more officers. Harry, you can give me your keys and I'll get the one from the apartment. You can stay here, with your son."

"No, I think I'd best go get it. Several of my notebooks are also there, I should be able to tell the difference and get the one you need to the police station in no time. Then I'll be back. In the meantime, I'm sure Tim will be well looked after here- I think I can trust you to watch him, right?"

"Of… of course!"

If Tim were more coherent, he would have been irritated at his father- still trying to set him up with Emilia.

Tim struggled a little in keeping track after that; the men Tim knew were in the room left, with the voice of Mr. Graham saying that now that he knew Tim was going to be alright, he needed to start figuring out where to take GNN from there. The person standing next to Emilia, whom Tim couldn't see clearly but knew was Meiko, stretched her arms into the air, then told them she was going to get some coffee and snacks from the hospital cafés after the long night. When she left, as far as Tim could tell, he and Emilia were alone.

"How are you feeling?" her gentle voice asked again, and this time, he felt compelled to answer. And he didn't have the presence of mind to think up a lie.

"Dunno… can't feel much… tired." He sighed.

He heard her sniff and saw her run a hand over her eyes. Still, she gave a small giggle. "I bet… you should rest, then. You need it."

"You're crying?" He did want to sleep, but he wanted more for her not to be upset. He couldn't let himself sleep until he knew that she was ok.

"Dunno… can't feel much… tired." Tim sighed, and Emilia could tell that he spoke the truth. He looked exhausted; he was clearly battling with heavy eyelids.

But still he was here. He had woken from surgery; he would be ok. Emilia felt tears welling up; trying to get ahold of herself, she sniffled and used a hand to wipe the tears before they fell. Looking again at the boy in front of her who struggled to stay awake, she found herself giving a small laugh. "I bet… you should rest, then. You need it."

And did he ever. The person who helped everyone else, tried to look after everyone else, needed to look after himself more. Even upon waking, his first thought had been to send someone out to stop a group of people from possibly doing terrible things, when it should be on recovering.

So if he wasn't going to look after himself, she would do it for him.

"You're crying?"

Especially since, even now, he was trying to look after her.

Not particularly sure why she was doing the action even as she moved, Emilia reached out and brushed her hand down his cheek.

"It's alright. I'm glad you're awake, that's all. I'm really… you had me really scared." Her voice cracked, and she swallowed before continuing. "When you ran off toward Lugia on your own, and when I saw you fall from its head… and then again when you passed out and I saw just how badly hurt you were… I was just so scared. Each and every time, I was scared I would never see you again, that you wouldn't be okay… you're really good at scaring me, you know?" Emilia tried to smile, but knew she had a couple tears rolling down her cheeks. One of her hands still rested on one of Tim's.

"Sorry…" Tim sighed. "Not… trying… scare you. Jus… couldn'… I couldn't… lose some'n else. I couldn't… lose 'nother… that I love. Couldn'…"

Emilia's breath hitched. His words were beginning to slur, but there was no mistaking what he'd just said.

His eyelids were drooping; he was losing the fight to stay awake. He might not even remember what he'd said the next time he woke. In fact, with all the morphine he was getting, he probably wouldn't. But Emilia knew she wouldn't forget. The words sent a warm sensation through her, starting at her heart. She had no doubt that she loved him too.

But now wasn't the time to talk to him about it. Not when his eyes were closing more every moment. She stroked his cheek again and whispered, "I can't stand to lose you either, Tim. Now get some sleep. You need it."

His eyes flickered, unfocused, as his eyelids fluttered. After a moment, they closed and did not open again as Tim surrendered to the demand of his damaged body and fell back into a deep sleep.

Emilia sighed. Now that she'd seen Tim regain consciousness, though briefly, she knew that he was going to be more or less ok. That meant that for now, she could relax herself. What tomorrow would bring was anyone's guess, with more than just Tim's arm needing to heal from the damage, but it would have to be dealt with a day at a time. Tim's father had been found, Tim was going to survive, and everything else could wait.

A/N: Typical Tim. Even high as a kite on morphine, he still manages to make other people his first priority. XD

Also... we've reached the halfway point in the story. remember when I said it was still far from over? I wasn't lying. XD XD XD