For hours, Ash impatiently paced about the waiting room of the Cerulean City Hospital's maternity ward, his eyelids wearily bagging under him. So impatiently, he began to wear away the tile on the floor. The other expectant fathers were sat down, some relaxed, some on edge, and, to be expected, smoking a cigarette or three. One man watched Ash pacing back and forth, his eyes constantly following him. Finally, he'd had enough.
"Look, buddy. Just sit down, already." He spoke to Ash, who instantly stopped, clenching his fists, and he suddenly turned to the man in anger.
"If you don't mind, I'm trying not to have a nervous breakdown here and I'd appreciate it if you showed me a little respect!" Ash shouted at the man. The man frowned, and the man next to him grabbed his shoulder before he made a hasty decision.
"Just calm down. That's Ash Ketchum, the Pokémon Master." He whispered to the other man.
"Oh..." He responded, and sat back down, bowing his head to Ash. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Ketchum." For once, Ash didn't care about the feeling of being treated like royalty, he only cared about how Misty was. Ash calmed himself, closing his eyes when someone grasped his shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise.
"Mr. Ketchum?" It was Nurse Joy, one of them, anyway. Ash sighed in relief.
"Yes?" He asked.
"You can come in now." She replied, with a gentle smile, holding the door open to the main hallway of the ward. He walked into the hallway, followed by Nurse Joy, who quickly led ahead of him, walking to one of the doors at the end of the hall, and held it open for him. He walked inside, and she silently closed the door behind him. Ash looked at the room, dimly lit by the rising morning sun. He looked to the single bed next to a curtain, a resting figure laid there. He walked to the bed, and smiled, looming over it.

"Misty...?" Ash asked. The figure in the bed moved around a bit.
"Uh...Ash?" He heard a voice respond, and knew it was Misty.
"I know, you must be tired, but we can go whenever you want to." Ash said. The figure moved some more, until he saw reddish hair poking from underneath the blanket.
"Ash, where are you?" He heard Misty ask again. Ash smiled again, kneeling by the bed.
"I'm right next to you, and I always will be."
"Where? I don't see you."
"Well, if you'd just take this blanket off, you would..." Ash peeled the sheet back, smiling, but it soon faded and he shouted in both surprise and disgust as he saw the figure wasn't Misty, it wasn't even awake. It was just some lady sprawled out on the bed with the same hair color as Misty's. "Misty?" He whispered, calling out to her. "Where are you?" He looked around the room, and suddenly saw a figure come out from behind the curtain next to the bed. This time, it was Misty, outfitted in an aqua blue hospital gown.
"Oh, Ash. You couldn't find the nose on your face if you tried." She said, smiling to Ash. Ash laughed nervously, and walked over to her. They held each other in their arms and kissed each other gently.
"Misty...I was so worried. Are you okay?" Misty simply nodded. Ash was then lost for words, as his nervousness overwhelmed him, unsure of what to do next. He knew what was coming. Misty gently took his slowly rattling hand and walked him out of the room, into a new one, no words spoken to each other as they quietly stepped into the hospital's nursery, looking at all the newborns behind the glass window. Ash chuckled slightly. "Yeah, they're all very nice, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are. And one is yours, Ash." Misty looked over to see Ash's most serious expression staring into the window, and she began to worry. Misty squeezed his hand a bit tighter and he looked over to her. His troubled eyes glanced into her slightly tearing ones. She knew Ash was overwhelmed, but she didn't want him to suddenly regret this. Ash saw the tears welling in her eyes and thought for a moment, before he spoke.
"Misty, I--" He stopped short, as he took her hand in both of his, taking a moment to look into her fearful eyes. A solitaire tear fell down her ivory cheek, and Ash wiped it away with a soft graze of his hand, replacing it upon hers. "...I told you before there's nothing in the world that I wouldn't do for you. And that I would be with you one-hundred percent."
"But, Ash..." She spoke quietly, her voice quavering. "Were we really ready?"
"You tell me." Ash responded, and Misty's gaze turned away to the nursery. Her gaze dropped slowly to the floor as she knew she was the one that insisted, the one that wanted to make this happen... But she remembered how Ash was always there, with her, consoling her, being not just a father or a lover or a boyfriend, but being a real friend. And, for that, she knew it couldn't be anything but right. Her gaze turned back up to meet Ash's again, wiping her own tears away, and she smiled.

"Yes...we were." She replied and Ash smiled. She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist and faced the nursery again as she rested her head into Ash's chest. Ash quietly wrapped his arms around her and she felt the most relief she'd ever felt in her life. Standing here together, bracing whatever life threw at them, it was almost nostalgic. Misty soon closed her eyes, but the mood would be broken as a stranger's voice interrupted their quiet romance.
"Excuse me..." It was Nurse Joy. Misty pulled away from Ash, and stood beside him. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I wanted to know if you wanted to see your baby now." Ash and Misty both looked to each other, their quiet expressions said what words could not.
"Yes. We would, Nurse Joy." Ash calmly responded.
"All right. Just wait here a moment, please." It was the moment of truth, the moment they'd waited so long for. Misty's gaze turned to face Ash once more, as Ash turned and did the same. Misty silently mouthed, 'I love you'. Ash smiled and responded in the same manner, 'I love you, too'. Misty's hand drifted to him, searching for his hand once again, finding it, and held him, turning to him for support again. Nurse Joy certainly didn't take her time, walking back to them with a small figure cradled in her arms, wrapped in a soft blue blanket. Ash's gaze turned to Misty and she silently nodded to him with a joyous smile, letting go of Ash's hand. Ash stepped forward slowly, and took the child into his arms from Nurse Joy who smiled and walked away. It was the first time Ash had ever held a baby, let alone his own. He stared deeply into the face of the slumbering child in his arms and wondered what life was going to be like now. Misty took his side again, closing her eyes and rested her head on Ash's shoulder, as she said a silent grace in her mind, giving thanks for how lucky she was right about now.



Well, I hope you enjoyed the long-awaited Chapter 13. Next Chapter: "Tristan's Arrival." Start begging for it!