(Part 2)
~*~*~*~*
Ash and May found a videophone in the town’s Pokemon Center and she managed to call back her parents while they were still home. Her Mom answered the phone and she talked with her daughter as Ash and Pikachu sat on the couches in the lobby and waited. May was talking feverishly with her mother on the phone, but Ash was sitting too far away to hear what was going on.
“I guess it was an important call after all, Pikachu,” Ash said.
“Pikachu,” it agreed.
May continued to talk excitedly on the phone for a few more minutes and then waved to Ash to tell him to come over to her.
“Ash, c’mere, quick!” May shouted excitedly.
“Alright, I’m coming,” Ash said, as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and the two walked over to her.
“May, honey, there’s more,” Caroline said on the video screen.
“Ok, ok, ok, I know!” May said excitedly, “Let me just tell Ash the good news first!”
“You sound really excited, what happened?” Ash asked, looking at the video screen.
“Dear, I didn’t get to tell you the whole story…” Caroline said hesitantly.
“It doesn’t matter, Mom,” May said happily. She turned to Ash and smiled. “Ash, my Mom said something wonderful has happened!”
“Something wonderful?” Ash pondered. He looked at Caroline on the phone and saw some uneasiness in her face. “Like what?”
“My Mom is pregnant!” May said ecstatically, “She and Dad are going to have another baby!”
“Whoa, really?!” Ash gasped.
“PIKACHU, Pika!” Pikachu cheered.
“Isn’t it amazing?!” May squealed, “I’m going to have another little brother or maybe a baby sister this time! My Mom didn’t tell Max yet and boy will he be surprised when I call him later! This is just so amazing!”
“Dear…please…” Caroline pleaded.
“Wow, that is good news,” Ash said smiling. He turned to her mother on the screen. “Congratulations, Caroline!”
“Th-thank you, Ash,” Caroline said, nodding.
“MOM, why didn’t you tell me earlier that you were already over 5 months pregnant?” May asked, “Why’d you keep it a secret for so long?”
Caroline bit her lower lip and sighed.
“C’mon, Mom, tell me already!” she squealed, giggling uncontrollably.
“Well…to tell you the truth…”
“Yeah? Go on! Go on!”
“…I wasn’t exactly sure if I were keeping the baby,” Caroline said sternly.
“WHAT?!” May asked, shocked.
“Did…did I hear that correctly?” Ash pondered.
“Pika?!?”
“M-om...wh-at?” she asked again, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Yes, you heard correctly…but your father managed to talk me into keeping it…” Caroline continued.
“Of
course he talked you into keeping it,” an annoyed May shouted. She gripped the phone tightly and pushed her face right toward the videoscreen. “What are you crazy, Mom? This is the best thing that’s happened to you in a long time! I’m so excited about having another brother or a sister that I can barely calm myself down!”
“I’m glad you are, May, your father and I discussed this pregnancy for a long time and finally decided that it would be the best to keep it. We’ve also decided it was finally the time to break the news to you, May, as well as Ash, and your brother,” Caroline said, “But before you get carried away, there was a reason why I was unsure about this baby.”
May stopped cheering and acted a bit more reasonable as she talked to her mother.
“Um…ok, I’m…calm now,” May said, taking a deep breath, “But really, Mom, what’s all this negativity and uneasiness about? Wasn’t it joyous to find this out?”
“Yeah, I don’t know a lot about this stuff but I’m happy to hear May is going to have another sibling sometime soon, it’s really good news,” Ash said happily.
Caroline looked sternly at the kids and sighed before taking a deep breath. Just like her mother could read her face like a book, May could read her mothers as well. She knew something was wrong.
“The reason your father and I debated about going through with the pregnancy is for a very important reason, and I need you to be mature about this, May,” Caroline said.
“I understand, go on,” May urged her.
Her mother hesitated again.
“This baby isn’t your father’s,” Caroline said bluntly, “We’re pretty sure its father is dead.”
“Huh?” Ash asked, completely baffled.
“No…” May gasped, suddenly feeling sadness wash over her.
“I didn’t want to believe it either at first, but your father and I have agreed to forget the incident ever happened and treat this baby as one of our own,” she said, “He impregnated me when he kidnapped me, its father is Ross.”
“Ross….?!” May gasped emotionally.
Ash was silent.
“Be strong, May, I need you to be my courageous little daughter,” Caroline urged her, “I know you’ve been on a rollercoaster of emotions lately, but I need you to accept this as I have. Whether or not we wanted this baby, we have it, and it’s going to become your new brother or sister when it’s born. Be strong, please.”
May nodded feverishly and wiped her wet eyes quickly.
“We’re going to have a new addition to the family and we’re not going to let the baby know of anything that happened in the past. It’ll grow up knowing its parents like you and Max have,” Caroline said, “I want you to understand this carefully, May, please don’t feel mixed emotions toward this or the child. We’re going to love it as one of our own.”
Ash noticed the complete change in May’s enthusiasm. He and Pikachu exchanged uncertain glances.
“But…but…it would only be my half-brother or half-sister, wouldn’t it?” May asked meekly.
“In reality, yes, but as I said, we’re not going to bring that issue up,” Caroline said, “Ash, please continue to look after my daughter. I’m counting on you to help her through this if she gets emotional and needs someone to turn to in the future. You’re the only person with her right now, and I trust you’ll do your best to comfort her if need be.”
“I…I will,” Ash promised.
Pikachu lowered its ears and felt bewildered.
“M-om?” she asked suddenly.
“Yes, dear? If there’s anything you want to get off your chest, please tell me,” Caroline said softly.
“I…I,” she stuttered, forcing out a smile, “I…just want to say I love you.”
Caroline felt relieved and smiled warmly at her daughter.
“I love you too, May,” she said warmly, “I’m going to go call your brother and tell him the news as well, but remember, not a word of this baby not being from your father will you tell him. I don’t want him to know anything more than he has to.”
“I understand, Mom,” May said, breathing heavily.
“Ok, dear, I’ll speak to you later, bye,” Caroline said.
“Bye, Mom,” she replied softly.
The videoscreen went blank and she stared at it for a few more seconds. Ash stood by her side, unsure of what to say. She was still breathing heavily and fidgeting with her hands, but she looked like she was trying to rationalize the ordeal in her head.
“Do…do you want to sit down anywhere?” he asked, “We can…just get a room and you could spend your time thinking about this there.”
“Pikachu, pika,” Pikachu added.
She didn’t say anything but continued to wipe her eyes.
“Is that ok with you, May?” he asked unsurely.
May shook her head and turned to him. She smiled fondly and walked straight into his arms, holding him tightly and rubbing her teary eyes against his shoulder.
“Hold me,” she said softly.
“Are…are you sure? You don’t want to sit down anywhere or anything?” he asked.
“No, Ash, just hold me,” she repeated, “I just want you to hold onto me.”
Ash nodded reluctantly and held her close, caressing her brown hair as they waded in the Pokemon Center lobby together. Pikachu leaped off his shoulder to allow them to hold each other passionately and stood on the floor below watching them. Passerby’s were also watching the two, amused to see a young couple in love. She spoke softly to him.
“Ash?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you,” she said simply.
Ash smiled and held the girl in his arms happily, not caring who would see them embracing in the public Pokemon Center. Pikachu’s eyes lit up and he cooed as he watched them.
They were a pair in young love, a young Pokemon trainer from Pallet Town and a coordinator from Petalburg City. In times like this, the couple felt like all they needed was each other in order to relieve their fears, doubts, and uncertainties. Their love would pull them through several challenges they would face in the future, and although there would be plenty of pitfalls and roadblocks along the way, they would always persevere.
“I love you too,” Ash said warmly.
The only sound that could be heard after that was May’s squeal as her face lit up joyfully. She had her happy ending that she always dreamed of, and knew at that moment that Ash would be the boy she would love for the rest of her life.
~*~*~*~
Norman and Caroline solemnly sat on the couch in their living room together. Both had their hands folded and were looking at the floor. She suddenly looked up at her husband.
“We…we thought we got rid of him forever, but he left us a little piece of him to remember him by. We’ll always be remembered of him when this child is born, we won’t be able to forget the pain and heartache he inflicted upon this family,” she said sadly, “His curse on us will continue long after he’s dead, and this baby is the proof of his sadistic ways.”
She placed her hands on her stomach and thought of the baby inside her womb.
“I’m carrying the baby of the man I killed,” Caroline said softly.
“I know,” Norman replied.
“In the end, he had the last laugh after all,” Caroline said, beginning to sob, “He violated me and left his legacy in my body, leaving this family forever tainted with his crimes. After all was said and done, Ross won…he…won.”
“I know,” Norman repeated.
The mother began to sob and break down into tears as her husband put his arm around her to ease the pain.
“May was stronger than I was after all, yet she doubted herself all the time,” she said emotionally, “I was always the mother trying to push her on and hide my own sadness, yet she thought it was the other way around. She needs to be happy, she needs to live a fulfilling life without any heartache like I had. She deserves to have a happy ending.”
“She’ll get one,” Norman said, holding his wife in his arms, “Ash will make sure she gets one.”
__________________________
There you have it, 50 chapters completed.
Hope you guys liked this story.
Look forward to the Epilogue in about two weeks or so, we'll go into the future to see how things went for Ash and May, as well as Caroline...!