Chapter Five

"Hi there, Misty. How's my favorite patient feeling today?" Misty and May turned their head to see Sara swoop into her room. Grabbing the chart from the end of the bed, she flipped through the pages, occasionally glancing back at Misty. "I see you've got another visitor today. You must be one popular lady."

Misty scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully. She acted like she disliked the attention, but deep down, she considered herself very fortunate to have so many caring friends and family.

"This is May," she explained, gesturing her hand to the girl seated in the chair beside her. Previous to Sara's arrival, they had been perusing the copy of Coordinator Weekly May had brought with her. "She's a coordinator from Hoenn."

"A coordinator? Hmm, I think I've seen you on TV before. At least in the rare instances that I get to watch TV, " Sara remarked with a small chuckle. "But it's very nice to meet you, May."

"Likewise!" May replied with her trademark smile.

"So, where's that handsome boyfriend of your's Misty?" Sara asked with a wink and a knowing smile on her face. Misty sighed while May lifted her eyes from the magazine she was reading, a small smirk on her face. Someone had told Sara, or she'd overheard their friends talking about their relationship. Once Ash had discovered Misty and Gary together, it'd been difficult to keep up their secret relationship. Unfortunately, since Misty had to stay in the hospital, Gary was left to face their friend's interrogation.

"He had to finish writing a research paper for work, but he said he'd stop by later this afternoon," Misty explained.

"Smart and good looking," Sara sighed, and her eyes had a trace of yearning behind them. "You're one lucky girl, Misty. I'd kill for a man like that. Does he have a brother?" Misty's face flushed as she shook her head. Sara let out an exasperated huff. "Might as well be the case. It's just so hard to meet decent men when you work crazy hours like I do."

May grimaced, not knowing how to answer. Sliding Misty's chart back into its slot, Sara began checking Misty's IV supply and heart monitor as she prattled on about her love life, or rather lack thereof. Misty and May nodded politely, commenting where and when they could, but they mostly just let Sara vent about the men she'd been set up with by her friends and family.

"How's the pain?" she asked as she fiddled with the IV bag and drip. "Your vitals all look good this morning."

"I'm a little sore at times, but nothing I can't handle," Misty replied. If it meant that her heart would start working correctly again, Misty was fine with suffering through a little discomfort. Plus, a part of her was too stubborn to resort to painkillers.

"Well, if your pain starts to become unbearable, let me know," Sara advised. "If your vitals look this good tomorrow and the pain hasn't gotten any worse, I'd say you'll probably be out of here tomorrow."

Misty's eyes lit up, and she bit her lip to hold back her excitement. Sara had said probably, but she couldn't help but already dream about being home and getting on with her life. She longed to get out of the hospital bed and start rebuilding her strength by swimming and training with her pokemon.

"I'm just going to write down these numbers, and then I'll be out of your hair. Remember, just push your call button if you need anything."

"Okay."

OoO

Outside of Misty's hospital room, Ash paced back and forth. After the other day, the two were still on thin ice with each other, and to make matters worse, Layla had been acting cold and aloof toward him. He'd barely slept as thoughts swirled through his mind, and he wrestled with the emotions he couldn't pinpoint. But Misty was getting out of the hospital soon, and Ash would probably return to traveling again. He certainly didn't want to leave on a bad note. Plus, he still had a lot to help her check off on her bucket list.

With one final deep breath, Ash built up his courage and walked int Misty's room, making sure to knock this time. When she didn't respond, he peeked his head around the curtain to see that she was fast asleep. She can't get mad at me if she's asleep, right? Letting himself in, he sat down in the empty seat next to her bed. She looked much better than she had the first time he'd seen her, but there was still a lot of healing she needed to do.

With shaky hands, he took her hand in his, careful not to bump the IV and its bindings. Her hand was cold against his, but he found the feeling to be comforting in ways he couldn't describe. Her skin is so soft, he thought to himself while gently tracing his thumb across her palm.

"I'm so sorry, Misty," he whispered. "I didn't mean to invade your privacy, but I just...You know, I always thought you and I would end up together after that night at the beach, but I screwed it all up. I blew my chance, and I...I think I'm starting to regret it." Ash's eyes opened wide. What am I doing? These were not things he should be saying to Misty, especially when they were both dating someone.

Frightened by the words coming out of his mouth, Ash released Misty's hand and turned his head to stare at the ground. The hands at his side clenched into fists, and he bit his bottom lip to keep his emotions at bay.

A groan pulled Ash from his thoughts and to Misty's bed as her eyes slowly open. "Ash?" she croaked, her throat dry and scratchy. "What are you doing here?"

To Ash's relief, Misty didn't seem unhappy to see him, but she'd only just woken up. In a few minutes, she'd probably remember what he'd done.

Ash shrugged. "Just visiting.

"Okay." Misty yawned, stretching her arms high in the air before sitting up in her bed. "Hey, while you're here, do you mind helping me? I need to go to the bathroom."

"Sure."

Misty tossed her blankets to the end of the bed and slowly brought her feet around to the side. Placing them on the floor, she reached out her hands for Ash to grab. He stared at them, paralyzed with fear. Uh...Misty waved her arms impatiently before finally grabbing Ash's hands out of his lap.

"Help me up," she commanded him, and he finally snapped out of his daze. With his hands securely wrapped around Misty's forearms, he helped pull her to her feet. Either due to his nerves or Misty's frail body, Ash overcompensated, and Misty went crashing into Ash's chest with an oof. To keep herself from falling, she wrapped her arms around Ash's waist, and Ash's body went into overheat.

"Damn it! I'm so sorry, Misty! Are you okay?"

He released his grip and tried to help her right herself once more. Misty nodded, assuring him she was okay. "Just be careful next time."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

When Misty disappeared behind the bathroom door, dragging her IV stand with her, Ash collapsed back onto the plastic chair, covering his face with his hands. What's wrong with me? He'd acted like a total idiot, and to make matters worse, he'd almost injured Misty. His hands began to shake, and he could feel his breath grow shallower.

Snap out of it! he demanded of himself. He couldn't have a panic attack here. Not in front of Misty. He'd told her that he sometimes got nervous, but he'd never revealed to her how badly his panic attacks could be. Sometime about revealing the truth to Misty made him feel inadequate.

The sounds of the toilet flushing, followed by the opening of the bathroom door, sent Ash's body into flight mode. Hiding his shaking hands under his legs, he took deep breaths to try and keep the panic from overwhelming him.

Misty made her way back to the bed and sat down with her feet planted firmly on the floor. Concern flashed across her face. "Ash?" she called, her voice gentle. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

Ash looked up at Misty, forcing his lips into one of his famous lopsided smiles. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a little warm," he lied. Misty eyed him suspiciously. She wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. She knew him too well. An idea came to Ash, and, to distract Misty, he asked her, "Do you wanna dance?"

His question did the trick as Misty's expression morphed into one of bewilderment. "Excuse me?"

"Do you want to dance?" he repeated. With a wink and a coy look worthy of Gary's praise, he added, "One of your bucket list items was to dance with me, right?

Misty's face flushed a dark red, but she didn't deny it.

"C'mon!" he called, once more grabbing her hands and pulling her-much more gently this time-to her feet. Pushing the chair out of the way, he led her to the only available space in the room, dragging her IV stand behind them. Pulling out his phone, he asked, "What song do you want to dance to?"

"I don't know," she muttered, still in awe at what was happening.

"I'll pick."

Stepping back, Ash clicked through some apps on his phone before finding the song he thought Misty would enjoy. He'd heard it a lot throughout Kalos, and Serena always gushed about how beautiful the song was. Pressing play, he turned up the volume before setting the phone on the bed.

As the music drifted out of Ash's phone, he tentatively placed his hands on Misty's waist as she rested her hands on his shoulders. Ash's whole body was tense, and he could feel the tension in Misty's fingers as she gripped his t-shirt.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras

Il me parle l'a tout bas

Je vois la vie en rose

Despite the tension flowing through his body, Ash began to slowly sway back and forth to the gentle strumming of the guitar-like sound, shuffling his feet across the floor. He'd never been a good dancer, but he reminded himself it wasn't about that. Misty's hands loosened against his t-shirt, winding their way around his neck as her fingers played with his hair. Warmth radiated from her fingers, and the sensation helped to relax his nerves.

Il me dit des mots d'amour

Des mots de tous les jours

Et ça m'fait quelque chose

As if they had a mind of their own, Ash felt his feet move his body closer to the point where his torso pressed against Misty, and he could see the flecks of green in her otherwise blue eyes. He thought the nearness would have made Misty apprehensive, but she leaned her head in close so that their foreheads touched.

Everything about their closeness left his stomach in knots, but Ash didn't dare step away.

Ash lifted one of his hands from Misty's waist and intertwined it with her hand. With their arms angled to the side, Ash gently glided Misty across the small six by six square in the corner of her hospital room. Misty moved her head to rest against Ash's chest, and her eyes closed as they swayed back and forth in total bliss.

La-la-la, la-la-la

La-la-la, la-la-la

La, la, la-la

As the music crescendoed into its final notes, Ash lifted Misty's hand high above her head and tenderly spun her around before he wrapped her back into his embrace. When they faced each other once more, Misty leaned her temple against Ash's forehead, and Ash breathed in and out. If the music stopped, he didn't notice, too overwhelmed with the feeling of Misty so close. If he just leaned forward a little bit more...No, he reprimanded himself. You're not going to be that person.

"Thank you, Ash." Misty leaned to the side and planted a kiss on his cheek. When she stepped away, Ash immediately felt the absence of Misty's embrace, and he didn't like it. "That was very sweet of you."

"You're welcome," he murmured as he watched her return to her bed. Please come back. Seated on the bed once again, she grabbed a piece of paper from the table beside her and unfolded it. The scratching sound of her pen against the hard surface of the table echoed through the room as Misty marked off another item off her list.

OoO

When Ash returned to the Cerulean City Gym, the streetlights guided him to the front door of the gym. The walk home had given him time to think, but his mind was the equivalent of his closet back home, where he'd thrown things haphazardly for years. Before he could even begin to process what he was feeling, though, he needed to apologize to Layla.

After closing the door behind him, Ash kicked off his shoes and hung up his jacket.

"Oh good, you're back. We need to talk," a voice called out.

Ash cried out, whipping around to see Brock seated in an armchair. The lamp beside him illuminated one half of his face, casting the other half into the shadows. Seated in his lap was Pikachu, who he gently stroked on the head. "What the hell, Brock?"

Brock ignored him as he continued to stroke Pikachu on the head.

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped.

Ash shrugged off Brock's odd behavior and made his way down the hallway. He felt a swift tug on his shirt, and his body jerked forward. Brock had left his char and was now dragging Ash in the opposite direction. What the hell? He tried to fight against Brock's ironclad grip, but it was easier just to give in. I forgot how strong Brock is. Brock shoved Ash through his bedroom door and shut the door behind him.

"Sit," he commanded, and Ash fell back on the bed like an obedient Growlithe. His eyes watched as Brock paced back and forth, his balled-up hand resting against his mouth. "So, funny story," Brock started to say, sarcasm practically dripping from his words. Ash had seldom seen Brock this furious, and it was beginning to frighten him. And it seemed this rage was directed toward him. "I thought it'd be a great idea to visit Misty this afternoon. But when I walked into her room, I saw the most peculiar thing."

Shit. Ash gulped, and his face paled instantly.

Brock stopped pacing and abruptly pivoted to face Ash. "Now, I know my vision isn't the greatest, but please tell me I did not see you and Misty slow dancing in her room."

"What?" Ash feigned ignorance, but it was a longshot, and Brock wasn't buying it. "So? It's just dancing."

"Bullshit," Brock seethed, and Ash flinched. "Are you stupid? You have a girlfriend, Ash! If I were her and I saw that, we'd be through. I have half a mind to say something to her myself, but I won't."

Relief washed over Ash's face, but it quickly morphed into irritation. "It wasn't like Misty had a problem with it," Ash remarked. He crossed his arms and glared at Brock. "I was just trying to help her with her list."

"Really?" Brock mocked him. "And don't worry. Misty and I are going to have a nice heart-to-heart chat once I'm done with you."

"Why do you care?"

"Look, Ash, it doesn't matter why I care." Brock pinched the bridge of his nose and gently massaged it. "You and Misty are playing with fire here, and while it may have started out all innocent helping her with this list, people are going to get seriously hurt if you two aren't careful."

"I'm sorry," Ash choked out.

Guilt poured over him like a waterfall, and he felt overwhelming disappointment in himself. What was wrong with him? Brock was right; he'd let things go too far. He was so lucky Layla didn't see because he'd have no excuse she could forgive.

Brock sighed, seeming to calm down a little bit. "I don't know what's going on between you and Misty, but when you figure it out, you need to be honest with Layla. At the very least, she deserves the truth."