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Everything Will Be Just Fine
Delia had been in hospitals far more times than she would have liked. Ash’s many brief stays – which had been minor, thus far – aside, she’d had too many bad experiences with hospitals. Her first pregnancy’s sudden end. Her husband's unfortunate training accident. The loss of two of her close friends to a tragic car accident.
The last one in particular stuck with her today. This visit was to see the child left behind without his parents…
Delia shook her head in an attempt to chase those thoughts away. Gary was grown now and was far from alone with Ash and Pikachu watching over him. She still worried – he was as much her boy as Ash was, after all.
She turned down one last hallway and began searching for the correct room number. The boys’ room was at the very end of the hallway, near a nurse's station and rather secluded. At least the hospital had given Gary a private room. Being engaged to Kanto's most powerful and popular champion came with its perks, Delia supposed. She knocked gently on the door but opened it without waiting for an answer – she knew her boys, and they were almost certainly still fast asleep.
Sure enough, the first thing her eyes landed on when she entered the room was her son, sound asleep, snoring loudly, and halfway fallen out of his chair. A giggle escaped Delia before she could stop herself and she quickly brought a hand to her mouth to stifle it – not that it was necessary. A bit of yellow movement caught her periphery but Pikachu had already turned back to Gary by the time she looked. Pikachu was curled up next to Gary, his back against his thigh, his nose right next to his hand as he watched his trainer's partner like a sentry. His dark eyes barely flicked towards Delia even as she patted him gently and sat in the chair next to her son.
Ash looked rather like death warmed over, she noted grimly. Her poor boy had been so worried – not that she blamed him in the slightest. Gary didn’t get sick often, but when he did, he made up for lost time.
Delia reached over to lift her son’s hat from his head and combed her fingers through his messy hair. Without the hat, she could see the dark circles beneath his eyes and she sighed. He looked as though he'd hardly slept in three days. She hated to wake him when he clearly needed the sleep, but the sour smell coming from his clothes told her that he also needed a shower and some fresh clothes.
“Ash,” she tried quietly, giving his shoulder a little shake.
He only snored louder, his head lolling on his shoulder as he barely stirred.
Delia shook him harder. “Ash,” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. Why did he have to be such a sound sleeper when they needed to keep quiet? “Wake up,” she tried one more time, poking him rather hard in the ticklish spot on his side.
Ash snorted loudly and squirmed in his seat, his eyes snapping open as he jolted away from the prod in his ribs. Over twenty years of dealing with this boy told Delia exactly what was coming. She tried to grab hold of the chair back, but Ash tumbled out of it and onto the floor with a yelp and a loud clatter as the chair toppled over on top of him. Delia cringed at the noise and glanced furtively over at Gary. Fortunately, he slept on peacefully and Delia breathed a sigh of relief.
Well. At least Ash was awake now.
“Pikapi!” Pikachu hissed from his spot on the bed. A few warning sparks came from his cheeks as he glared at his trainer.
“Sorry!” Ash exclaimed as he clambered to his feet, somehow managing to knock the chair onto a different side while making more than enough noise to raise the dead.
“Ash – hold still, just wait a moment–” Delia righted the chair and patted the seat. How Gary could sleep through all this ruckus was beyond her. It was probably for the best, considering how sick he had been.
Ash settled into his seat next to her, his eyes quickly seeking out his fiance and his entire demeanor relaxing when he found Gary still asleep. “Hi, Mom,” he whispered as though nothing had happened.
Pikachu glared murderously at him and Delia had to hold a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggle. Goodness, her boy was chaos incarnate. She waited until Pikachu had dropped his glare and returned his watchful gaze to Gary before asking, “How is he, dear?”
“In and out,” Ash spoke through a wide yawn. “More out than in.”
That part was rather obvious. “He’s doing alright otherwise?” Delia pressed.
“Well…” Ash paused, his expression thoughtful. “He stopped throwing up, at least?”
Delia frowned – how did her son not know what his fiance’s state was? He had just woken up and the doctors had likely used medical terms that Ash wasn't familiar with, so she supposed she could forgive him this once, but he had better do better the next time. He would certainly hear about it if he didn't.
“Well, that’s a good thing,” she murmured, looking over at the hospital bed and her sleeping soon-to-be son-in-law.
Poor Gary was so pale, but even that was better than the vomiting feverish mess she had found on the bathroom floor when Pikachu had called her in a panic just two days earlier.
Ah. That reminded her.
She passed Ash one of the two canvas tote bags she had brought with her. “I brought you a change of clothes,” she explained, “and some toiletries. Why don't you go freshen up?”
A look of pure relief spread across Ash's face. “You're the best, Mom!” he exclaimed, bouncing up as though it was a normal day and she hadn't just come in to find him snoring in a chair next to his partner's hospital bed.
“Pi!” came another hiss from the electric type on the bed.
Ash cringed and quickly lowered his voice “Sorry,” he whispered. “There's a shower in the bathroom, I'm gonna wash up.”
“Take your time, dear.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Delia smiled as she watched him go. Clueless as her boy could sometimes be, he was a sweetheart. He’d stayed by Gary's side the whole time he had been sick – much to the other young man's chagrin – and had only left when absolutely required to. Pikachu had been even more stubborn, and had apparently caused a bit of a scene when they found out Gary would be having an emergency surgery. Apparently he had been quite adamantly against anyone so much as poking his beloved Pipichu with a needle… which had resulted in trainer and pokemon being banished to the waiting room. There truly never was a dull moment with these boys, and she wouldn't change that for the world.
Now that one boy was taken care of, she could focus on the other.
She stood and closed the short distance between her and the hospital bed. If Ash had looked like death warmed over then Gary looked… Well, he looked better than yesterday and that was the important part. Still terribly pale, with dark shadows under his eyes, his hair hanging limply in his face and an ugly bruise spreading from the needle inserted in the top of his hand.
Careful to avoid the IV line, she smoothed his hair from his face and placed her hand against Gary’s forehead. His skin was warm, but he fortunately wasn’t burning up as he had been at home. Though usually a sound enough sleeper to share a bed with Ash, and despite sleeping through all of Ash’s noise, Gary stirred at her touch and leaned into it ever so slightly, his eyelids fluttering.
“Hello, my noctowl,” she said quietly, smiling softly when he blinked up at her. “I didn't mean to wake you.”
“‘S’okay,” he rasped, wincing.
The poor thing sounded terrible after being so sick for the last few days. Delia shushed him gently. “Pikachu’s been so worried,” she explained when her son’s other partner gave a sad coo.
The tiniest smile tugged at Gary’s lips and her worries dissipated. She had known he would be alright, but she always worried about her boys.
“Ash is in the shower,” she answered the question he was certain to ask. “I brought him some clean clothes since…” she trailed off when she saw Gary cringe. Embarrassed, no doubt. Delia supposed vomiting on your fiance was one of more embarrassing things that could happen to someone – especially someone so prideful. She gave him a mischievous smile. “Consider it payback for the time he got carsick when you boys were little.”
That earned her another small smile. She was certain it would have earned her a laugh as well, if his voice wasn't in such rough shape. Delia noticed the plastic cup of water with a straw on the hospital bed table and picked it up, holding it out for him to take a sip.
“How are you feeling, dear?” she asked gently once she had set it back down on the table.
“Tired.” His voice still sounded rough, but the wince after speaking was a little less pronounced.
Delia had expected that from the days of fever alone, never mind the surgery he’d had only the afternoon before. “Any pain?” Gary seemed to consider it briefly before resting a hand against his throat. “Just the throat?” she asked.
Gary nodded, but Delia was wary. No one pushed through pain and discomfort quite like her favorite scientist and she wasn't about to allow that.
“You’re not just being stubborn, are you, mister?”
Gary looked pointedly at the IV bag hanging next to the bed, and Delia understood. Of course the doctors had him on pain medication, and he probably still had some of the anesthesia in his system. She could worry about him ignoring his pain levels later, when he was home and didn't have an IV full of medication hooked up to his arm.
In the meantime, she had something to help with that sore throat. “I brought some tea to help with your throat,” she offered. “Would you like some?”
Gary nodded, relief clear in his eyes. Delia smiled again as she pulled the box of tea from her bag and stood, pressing a kiss to Gary’s forehead.
“I’ll be right back, sweetheart. Just rest while I'm gone, alright?” He likely didn’t need that instruction, but Delia truly never knew with her boys, stubborn and impulsive as they were. She turned her attention to the little yellow pokemon still curled up next to Gary’s hand. He looked so sad and worried about his second favorite person. Poor creature needed something to perk him up. “Pikachu, you're in charge,” she announced. Pikachu’s ears perked at that. “Keep Gary safe, okay? Don't let Ash be too loud when he gets out of the shower.”
“Pika!” Pikachu sat up, perching on the bed like a sentry as he chattered animatedly. “Pika pi, pipichu!” Delia reached out and patted his head, pleased to see him perk up.
She spent a few moments at the nurses’ station – apparently Ash had asked the nurses to fill her in when she got there – and returned a short time later to find Pikachu still standing watch. Gary’s eyes were closed again, though Delia wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. The water in the bathroom had turned off but Ash was still in there. Hopefully he hadn’t fallen asleep. Delia knew her son and she absolutely would not put it past him to fall asleep standing up in a hospital bathroom.
Placing the paper cup of warm tea on the hospital table, she reached over to ruffle Gary’s hair affectionately. His eyes fluttered open and she offered him a kind smile. He returned the smile but his eyes were already sliding shut once more.
“Stay with me, dear,” she murmured, stroking his cheek until he opened his eyes with a groan. Delia held up the cup of tea. “Three sips,” she said firmly. “You need fluids and it’ll help your throat.” He was doing well, the nurse had told her, but the dehydration was still a concern. That was fine – she had an idea of how to get him to drink more fluids.
He accepted the cup and obediently took three sips, tiny and slow as they were, and she took the cup as he settled back against the pillows. His eyes were already closed again by the time she returned her attention to him. Delia smiled fondly and shook her head. At least he was resting – she would take that blessing while they had it because it definitely wouldn’t last long.
“That's how he's been all night.” Ash’s voice came from the bathroom doorway.
“Pika,” the little yellow mouse agreed, nodding solemnly as Delia glanced up at her son.
His wet hair stuck to his face as he straightened the tee he had just pulled on. “The nurse says it's normal, but…” He trailed off with a shrug and a worried glance Gary’s way.
Always such a caring boy, her Ash. “He just had surgery last night, Ash,” she reminded him. “He’s got all sorts of medications in system right now that need to wear off. He’ll be back to picking on you in no time.”
Ah, there was that smile of his. It wasn’t as bright as usual, dimmed of course by sleepiness and concern for his partner. He settled on the edge of the bed this time, taking a second to give Pikachu a gentle pat before resting his hand on Gary’s leg. He smoothed the blanket, fussing with it as he watched his fiance as closely as Pikachu did.
“I know,” Ash sighed. His eyes trailed over Gary’s sleeping form, lingering on the bruise at the IV. He took his partner’s other hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the back of it. Gary’s eyes stayed closed but his fingers twined with Ash’s and Ash smiled softly, though he still didn’t look very relieved. “It’s just so weird for him to be so quiet and out of it,” he said after a moment.
“It’s odd for either of you to be quiet,” Delia agreed, her smile teasing. “The nurse said he was feeling queasy last night, and the medication they gave him is quite sedating. Besides, his body needs the rest – remember how exhausted you were the next day when you had that bout of food poisoning last year?”
Ash winced at the memory – Delia couldn’t blame him for that. “Yeah… And I was only throwing up for a day. Gary was throwing up for three and probably had that fever even longer.” That seemed to soothe some of his worry, but it was impossible to miss the concern in his eyes as he looked back at his future husband.
Delia was about to agree with him when Gary’s eyes opened again and he fixed Ash with a tiny smirk. “You worry too much,” he rasped.
“And you’re not supposed to be talking,” Ash retorted, rolling his eyes and shaking his head, though his relieved smile was unmistakable.
Delia pushed the paper cup of tea into Gary’s hand before he could reply. “Three sips everytime you speak,” she chastised gently.
The sips were still small and slow, and his hand trembled a bit, but Gary did as he was told and settled back against the pillows after passing the cup back to her. He closed his eyes with a tiny groan, as though that little bit of talking and movement had drained the last of his energy. The worry in Ash’s eyes was back and Pikachu touched his nose to Gary’s hand with a quiet coo.
She watched as Ash leaned in to press the gentlest of kisses to Gary’s forehead but looked away as he ran his fingers through Gary’s hair and rested his forehead against his, whispering something that made a tiny smile curve Gary’s lips. Sometimes displays of love deserved a little privacy, especially with one of these boys involved. She couldn’t help but smile when Pikachu snuggled closer to Gary’s side, her own worries soothed.
No matter what happened with these two, it would be okay.
Everything would be just fine.