Pokémon Homecoming | A Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 92: Amber

Jasmine called Leon from the ambulance. Warning him that it could be risky to suddenly move him was futile. Asdza strapped him into a wheelchair she pushed into one of the hospital's private ambulances. Charizard flew after them.

Reporters scuttled out of Mt. Battle Hospital's maternity wing. They were running away from Elias. It was a long time since he made Leon smile, but he did then.

'Only you, dad.'

Hop and Jovi waited with anxious Jasmine outside the room. They were inside, at first, but Abbey only wanted her own mother and Leon. Asdza wasn't quick enough to stop him tearing off his safety straps and stumbling, with Charizard's support, to Abbey's bedside. Cinderace's paw was crushed in her left hand. She clutched both hands Leon offered with her right.

'I'm here, Abbey. I'm here.'

It was her turn to scream at everyone to fuck off. She apologised before the next wave of pain. Outside, Eagun arrived with flowers.

'Go fuck yourself! Whoever you are! I'm not a bloody tourist attraction!'

'Don't mind her,' Jasmine's muffled voice explained, 'Giving birth is like that.'

The midwife's breathing instructions went over her head. She relayed them to Leon. The exercises didn't help much even with his guidance. He asked the midwife to get his phone from Asdza so he could call Raine. Hearing her mother's voice made Abbey cry, but it calmed her down until Raine arrived at the airport and had to hang up to go through security.

'She's getting on the first flight to Phenac, Abbey. She'll be here soon.'

'What good is that?!'

Her screams were ear-piercing. Leon and Cinderace winced not at how she squashed their bones but at the pain they almost felt.

'Go back in, you little shit! Fuck off!'

She slapped Leon when he rubbed her back. 'Leon! The fuck did you shag me for?! You fucking twat!'

He was still the only person who could convince her to eat or drink water. She was convinced her mother might as well have stayed in Alola, but when she arrived nine hours later, Abbey had only just begun the second stage of labour. Asdza was worried about Leon. Her shift was over. He told her she could go home, because he wasn't leaving, but she stayed. Raine took Cinderace's seat. She smiled when even she had to take breaks from holding Abbey's hand, but Leon refused to.

'You've got yourself a keeper there.'

When it came to the last few pushes, Abbey was so determined to end her pain she forced herself to ignore it. After 14 hours, her newborn baby was finally placed on her tummy. Both she and Leon burst into tears. They said nothing, but they knew they were both thinking the same thing – that instead of his death, they had life. Amber indeed had Leon's eyes. They gazed at her with childlike awe. Once she was fed, the midwife passed her to her father. Abbey weakly leaned on his shoulder so Raine could take a photo.

'You know,' Leon said when they'd all calmed down, 'I really, really, really need a wee.'

Abbey laughed hoarsely. 'Gosh, Lee, you saint.'

He was far too stuck in position to stand. Elias picked him up and carried him to the bathroom. Jasmine burst in as soon as Abbey let her. Raine, cradling her granddaughter, passed her to Jasmine.

'Hello, Amber! Hello! I can't believe it – I'm your grandma!'

Raine smiled. 'It's surreal, innit?'

Elias placed Leon back in his chair. Hop peered in to say hello and found everyone crying as Raine snapped photos of Charizard holding Amber's clenched fist. Abbey was utterly exhausted. When she was discharged in the morning, she had Jovi drive her to the private hospital so she could stay with Leon. The whole ordeal, from Charizard's disappearance to Leon's injury to discovering she was pregnant to now, was too emotional. Not to mention she was afraid he might abscond to be with them otherwise. Asdza wheeled in a second bed. She winked and put a finger to her lips when they asked about costs.

Abbey was as impatient to return to normal life as Leon. Though she wasn't officially in Asdza's care, she still acted as a midwife and stopped her doing anything too strenuous. Her concerns that the commotion would set Leon back weren't unfounded, but he was there for his daughter – with arms strong enough to hold her – and that was all he wanted. Their Pokémon helped rock her back to sleep when she cried in the night. She often relaxed in their presence.

By Abbey's six-week postnatal check-up, Leon was well enough to go with her in a wheelchair. Charizard pushed him. 'Auntie' Acerola, who arrived as soon as Nanu reluctantly agreed to step in at the Pokémon League, pushed Amber in her new pram from Raihan. She wasn't afraid of Acerola's Pokémon, either.

The doctor declared Abbey fit to resume running. At first, she just walked laps around the hospital's garden with Leon. Even with Charizard's support, he rarely managed as many as Abbey, but he didn't mind sitting with Amber while she jogged. One night, they were woken not by Amber but by Leon's phone. He always answered, now.

'Arreet?'

'It's happening! Lee! It's happening! Olivia's chucked me out the room, but it's happening!'

Abbey was still half asleep. She was abruptly slapped awake by high-pitched wailing. Leon smiled at the screen as Raihan charged back in, like Jasmine, as soon as Olivia allowed him to. Passing his phone to Olivia's grumbling mother, he scooped up the bundle wrapped in fluffy blue.

'Look at her! Look! Her little hands! Her feet!'

'She's adorable!'

Olivia seemed as calm as ever when she rolled her eyes. 'You're making more noise than me, Raihan.'

Though she wouldn't say it, she was as pleased as anyone that Raihan spoke to Leon every day. Even their news was cause for celebration in Agate Village. Having rescued a resident's drowning Poochyena on his last visit, Raihan was a minor celebrity.

The Orre League's grand opening was only a month away. Leon set attending as his new goal and, indeed, his doctor cleared him to go without a wheelchair. It was his first public appearance since his fall. Michael and his Pokémon kept the crowd of wide-eyed reporters away, but no-one could stop fans turning to take photos when they took their seats at Orre Colosseum. Justy strolled onto the battlefield. Abbey nudged Leon.

'I used to really fancy him. I wonder why that was... can't have been the purple hair.'

'To be fair, he is kind of cute...'

'Leon!'

People turned again to see what they were laughing at, but only they and Acerola beside them understood. Amber, wearing protective earmuffs, was asleep in Charizard's arms. She stirred when Jovi's amplified voice introduced the 'world of Pokémon,' but she didn't cry. The crowd stopped cooing at Mimi and Pluplu to fervently applaud Jovi when she passed the microphone back to Justy.

'Thank you, Professor Mesquite! Before we go on, I must say, what a spectacular sight. 55,000 people gathered to witness one of our homeland's greatest moments – the grand opening of the Orre League!'

Further applause echoed. Screens showed people already teary-eyed.

'I know you're all itching to meet the incredible Trainers the children of Orre will face on their Pokémon journeys – so let's get this under way!'