What the Wind Carries [Pokémon Black and White 2 fanfiction]

25| A Second Chance

Drip, drip, drip.

   I woke to the faint sound of something dripping. I slowly opened my eyes, only to close them when bright, white light burned my retinas. For a moment, I was confused about where I was and what was going on. I felt horribly tired, and my head was pounding. Then my mind sluggishly began working again and everything started coming back to me.

Hilbert brought us to the Center, and I was taken in to be examined. We then went to... a hospital..? Yeah, that's it. But the pain... it hurt so much that I was numbed. Then they brought me in here and I fell asleep. That sounded about right.

   I tried to sit up, only to instantly feel nauseous. I laid back down and took deep breaths, trying to quell the sickness churning in my aching stomach. Moving only made the pain flare up, though thankfully my slashes didn't hurt as much as they did before. For the next however many minutes I focused on not throwing up, which was pretty hard to do considering I hadn't eaten in days.

   Soon I was able to open my eyes and observe the room I was in. I was in a small white hospital room. The bed I was laying in was the only one in the room, and I was alone. The dripping sound I was hearing was the slow drip of an IV. I looked down at myself and saw that my ripped jacket and shirt were replaced with a clean white t-shirt. In the far corner of the room was my backpack, its dark colors standing out against the blankness of the room. I wanted to see if my Pokémon were there, but I didn't dare to leave my bed.

   "Hello?" I called out. "Rosa? Hugh? Anyone?" No answer came, and I felt my heart sink. I was left alone with my thoughts. How long had I been out? A clock on the wall said it was twelve-o-clock. Whether it was in the morning or afternoon, I didn't know.

   About an hour had passed when I finally heard voices in the hallway outside my room. There was some woman I didn't recognize— probably one of the nurses —and a second woman whose voice I could never forget.

   "Mom?"

   As soon as I said that, the noise in the hall ceased. For a second I thought I was just imagining it, but then the door opened. A nurse entered the room with my mom at her heels. When she saw me, her face lit up and she rushed over to me. She embraced me and I was enveloped in her warmth and the familiar scent of her azalea flower perfume.

   "Be careful with him. You don't want the stitches to rip!" the nurse warned. Mom acknowledged this and her grip on me loosened by the slightest.

   "Nathan! Thank Arceus you're okay. I got a call from the Driftveil Pokémon Center saying that you and Rosa were injured. I was worried sick! You hadn't called me for days and... and— I'm so happy you're okay!" Mom broke down into tears, sniffling and sobbing. I slowly reached out and hugged her back, careful not to tear out the IV in my wrist. Tears were welling in my own eyes, I thought I wouldn't be able to see her in person again. But here she was, and I never felt safer.

   "Is Rosa okay?" I asked.

   Mom nodded. "I was visiting her a few minutes ago. She won't be able to talk for a week or so, but she'll recover."

   "What about Hugh?"

   "I... don't know, I haven't seen him yet. His parents and Lily are here though, so I'm not too worried." Mom let go of me, her pale face streaked with tears. "I never thought something like this would happen. And just when I thought Unova was returning to its peaceful state, too."

   A horrid thought suddenly gripped me. Would Mom let me and Rosa continue our journeys after this? Despite everything bad that had happened over the past two months, I still wanted to keep going. Losing to the Shadow Triad made me realize something, it made me realize that I could lose. And I never wanted to lose ever again. Beating the Leaders and becoming the Champion would prove that!

   Mom noticed my concern, sadly smiling when she did. "I know what you're thinking, and I understand. I worry about you two every day, and I've always managed to convince myself you'd be fine. I'll let you continue your journeys, it's something every young adult has to do."

   Adult? My mom considers me as an adult? I felt a stupidly wide smile come to my face. "Thank you so much," I said sincerely.

   Her face abruptly turned serious. "There will be a few conditions and promises you'll have to make," she said.

   And there was the kicker. Conditions? Really? Obviously there would be, my mom wasn't that neglectful... or neglectful in the first place.

   "First off, you and Rosa have to stay together. No going on ahead, no straying too far. Is that clear?"

   "Yes, Mom."

   "Secondly, I've talked with Hugh's parents, and we've agreed to have the three of you travel in a group until further notice. Also, you three will have to contact either me or Hugh's parents every day unless you're someplace where you can't call us, in which case you'll have to warn us about beforehand."

   That wasn't too bad, I never wanted Hugh to leave us at all so this would work out fine. And the calling thing wouldn't be hard to do.

   "And finally, Aaron will be traveling with you three as well."

   "Aaron?"

   "He's the Trainer who brought you in. I walked in on a conversation between him, the head nurse, and Alder, another friend of Juniper's. After some explaining, I found out Aaron is a powerful Trainer and has been one for over two years. Alder himself said that he would trust Aaron with his life if it came down to it. I trust him, and I asked Aaron if he would travel with you. He said yes."

   "Wait, now we have a babysitter? You've got to be kidding me!" I was irritated. Disregarding the fact that someone had brought up Alder yet again was enough. Sure, it wasn't like I hated "Aaron" or anything, but having a real adult travel with you kind of defeated the whole point of a journey.

   "Those are my conditions, young man. You either accept them, or you'll be coming home with me tomorrow," Mom stated firmly. I couldn't argue with her. Whenever she said something, it was final. I swallowed my pride and nodded in agreement to her "terms," almost expecting her to break out a contract or something.

   "Then it's settled. I'll rent you and your sister a hotel room for a while, and you can stay there until Hugh is released. The nurses want to make sure he's completely fine before letting him go, so expect to stay in Driftveil for a week, maybe less depending how fast he recovers."

   "Yes, Mom," I said.

   "It's for your own safety, Nathan," she said. "You need to understand that."

   "I do get it." I didn't know what she was talking about, I understood just fine. Just because I understood it didn't mean I had to agree with it.

   "Good. Also, I brought you and Rosa some new clothes. It's getting to be winter, and I don't want either of you getting sick." She gave me one more hug before leaving the room. The nurse followed after her, closing the door behind her.

   That went well... If she said I couldn't keep going, I would've flipped, I thought, laughing to myself. Now that I was practically tethered to Hilbert and my sister, there was nothing I could do except play the waiting game. One day down, however many to go.