Chapter 42 - Admittance At The Millennium Hospital


Sitting with Gardevoir for several hours, Servine began slowly nodding off herself, and just as her head finally
started lowering while her eyes shut, the sound of the emergency room doors opening caused her to jolt back up,
looking at the staff as they walked out covered in blood, speaking to one another and looking around until the
guards pointed in Servine and Gardevoirs direction. Looking at one another and walking up, Servine quickly shook
Gardevoir, patting her on the face until she groaned and slowly opened her eyes, raising up while rubbing her head
and sitting up, facing different directions until she heard the footsteps of the staff in front of them. "We've
got good news and bad..." one of them said, holding up a clipboard and looking it over. "We've got him in stable
condition now... But its going to be some time before he wakes up. We were able to fix the dislocated bones, and
we were able to avoid a full body cast. Unfortunately he's still going to be extremely restricted for the time
being... What surprised us is that, internally, no major organs or tissue had much if any damage... His skeleton
took on the majority of the impact it would seem... His spine was also dislocated and broken at several points, but
incredibly his nerves and tissue were unharmed, so movement in his legs should still be possible... We found several 
broken ribs, so we did some work on his chest as well. Breathing will still be slightly difficult but with
oxygen he will be fine... It shouldn't take long for him to breathe comfortably on his own either..." the nurse told them, 
the two showing more and more signs of relief as they clutched their chests.


"Some added bad news however..." one of the other nurses said, walking up as the clipboard was handed in her direction,
flipping through the pages. "Considering we had to do so many extensive procedures, his body is going to be left with
several scars... Some small to fairly unnoticeable, whilst others will be rather... Profound... This discovery may come
as a shock to you, and him, once he is able to come to and look himself over..." she told the two, causing them to look 
at one another and wave their hands, quickly shaking their heads in response. "Scars... Okay... No worry... He heal...
Fully now...? Be healthy...?" Gardevoir asked. "Ahh... Telepathy... They were right... Yes, he will heal in time. But
he will need plenty of rest, and will need to take it easy on his body... As easy as possible until we say otherwise..."
the nurse reponded, the two Pokemon letting out a sigh. "He will be... Okay... Very good..." Gardevoir said, feeling for
Servine and pulling her against her side, causing Servine to scowl in irritation for a moment before shaking her head and
smiling. "When he... Come out...? Can we be with...?" she asked, the staff looking at one another and muttering for a moment
before nodding together. "Yes... That should be fine. We'll be bringing him out soon. Once he is set up in his own room, the
two of you may join him for as long as you like..." they responded, bowing to the two before returning to the emergency room.
"He's okay... Good... He's okay..." Gardevoir repeated, trying to relax as she clutched the couch cushion, Servine looking
up at her with a nervous smile and giving her a "calm down..." sound as she pat Gardevoir on the lap.


Waiting in anticipation, Servine finally saw the staff roll Chris out, jumping up and down and yanking on Gardevoirs arm as
she saw them taking him away towards an elevator, Gardevoir quickly standing and trying to rush towards them only to run
into a tall plant and stumble around it, quickly grabbing onto the corner of the wall with a sigh. Shaking her head, Servine
quickly went up to her, giving her a lecture as she gave her a vine to hold onto. Quickly following, they made their way
through several floors and countless halls within the hospital, until they finally came to an open door in the hallway the
staff turned and wheeled him into, with several closing the door and standing at the entrance, causing Servine to stop with
a jolt while Gardevoir kept walking, letting out an "oomph!!" when she walked into the nurses and bounced back slightly, facing
different directions confused. "What... Happened?" she asked. "Sorry for the sudden stop. You have to wait here until the staff
have him settled in. Once they leave the room, you may enter." they responded with a bow. With a nod, Servine slithered her way
up Gardevoir, sitting on her shoulder and explaining in detail, getting a nod from Gardevoir in response as she stood in silence.
"Thank you for your patience." the nurses told the two before leaving. "These humans... Good at helping him...?" she asked, Servine
nodding with a "yeah" noise in response. "Shouldn't need... Humans help... Must do better..." she told Servine, a sudden stern
look on her face. "Won't let him... Wind up here again..." she muttered, suddenly jolting as she heard the door open and the staff
walk away. "Thank you for waiting. He's all yours. We must ask you to be quiet however..." a nurse told them, bowing before following
the others.


Facing forward, Gardevoir started shuddering, causing Servine to blink at her confused. "Its... Scary... I can feel him in there...
But... I can feel... How weak he is... He's... Always been strong... So its... Scary..." she told Servine, the Pokemon slightly
sweating and shaking her head with a sigh in response. Patting her on the head, Gardevoir took a deep breath and felt for the door,
finding her way towards the knob and clutching it tightly. Pausing for a moment, she sowly turned it and opened the door, the two
poking their heads in before opening the door all the way and walking in, closing it behind them as Gardevoir turned in his direction.
With wide eyes, Servine coud see Chris laying silently in his bed, the sunrise shining into his room causing the area around him to
have a slight glow to it. Facing different directions, Gardevoir felt her way through the room, making her way along the wall and past
various furniture until she felt the edhe of his bed, freezing up as she faced down towards his body. "How does he... Look...?" she
asked nervously, Servine jolting and letting out an "uuhh..." type of sound as she looked him over. Covered in IV's and wrapped up like
a mummy in bandages and casts, his neck was also braced and a mask remained over his face, allowing him to breathe as she saw it fogging
up repeatedly. Glancing at the machines, she took a special notice of the one showing a bouncing line, beeping repeatedly as he lay.
"Well...? Looks... Good...?" she asked, Servine jolting once again and quickly letting out a "y...yeah!!" sound, patting Gardevoir on
the head as she made her way off Gardevoir and onto his bed.


Standing closer, Gardevoir started gliding her hands along his body, feeling his encased arms, the brace on his neck... Carefully touching
the mask on his face... The more she felt, she more she began tearing up again, her hands beginning to tremble as she felt the IV's stuck
inside him. "We... Did this... Not being... Strong enough... Being scared..." she said, Servine facing her and looking down in silence. "We
have to... Get stronger... Have to be braver... Never let happen... Ever again..." she muttered, Servine facing her once again before looking
at Chris, taking a deep breath before nodding and letting out a "...yeah" response. Feeling her way down, there were also casts covering his
legs as well. "He's carried us... Long ways... Now we do same..." she told Servine, feeling her way around for a chair and pulling it up next
to his bed, sitting and holding onto his hand. "Now we carry..." she muttered, rubbing the back of his hand as Servine made her way up to
his side and curled up next to him, holding onto his other hand. For several hours they spent their time watching over him, resting at his
side and holding his hands firmly. Now and then, staff would come in to check on him, each time leaving as quietly as they had come in, offering
the two something to eat and drink occasionaly as well, although it didn't taste as good to them as the food they had enjoyed prepared by Chris
along their journey. "Hospital food... Bad..." Gardevoir shuddered, shaking her head when she tried some of their soup. Responding the same way,
Servine slightly stuck out her tongue with a "blech..." expression, trying their fruit only to miss having it straight from the forests.


However... As they continued showing sour expressions and grumbling about the food, they suddenly heard a chuckle, followed by coughing causing
the both of them to jolt, nearly tossing their food everywhere as the two of them both faced Chris. Seeing his eyes open and looking at them,
Servine froze up as tears welled up in her eyes, with Gardevoir quickly reaching out to him and holding his hand once again, a bit tightly by accident
causing Chris to let out a groan in response, making her quickly let go before holding it gently. "Hospital food... Not the best stuff... Huh...?" he
smiled, trying to move only to let out a groan causing the two Pokemon to panic, shouting at him to stay still. "H... Ha ha... Guess this is going
to be where I stay for a little while... Huh...? Sorry for causing our t... Trip to be put on hold again..." he laughed nervously, coughing again
as the two shook their heads. "We stay... Stay long as needed. Not leave... You get better!" Gardevoir responded, tearing up as she rubbed the
back of his hand. "H... Heh... I'll try to get us out of here as q... Quick as I can then... How are you girls feeling...?" he asked, the two of them
shaking their heads. "We're fine... You hurt... Focus on you..." Gardevoir responded, Servine nodding in agreement as the two suddenly gave him a
hug. "Ha ha... So... Gardevoir... You can talk now... Huh...?" he asked, the Pokemon going wide eyed before sitting up proudly with a wide smile,
nodding. "Yes I can!! Telepathy... Need practice though..." she told him, facing down embarrassed. "Ha ha... Aww... I think you sound cute... Your
voice in my language is really beautiful too..." he told her, causing Gardevoir to flush brightly and fidget her fingers shyly as Servine scowled.
Noticing her expression, Chris sweat slightly with a nervous smile. "H... Hey... Its great to know you're okay too... Will you let me see your vines?"
he asked, Servine going wide eyed before looking away. Nodding nervously, she carefully released them, showing off the parts on each that had suffered
from the Houndooms torture. "I'm sorry about that... You both went through a lot when the attack happened... Doesn't look like either of you have had
much of a chance to clean up either..." he told them, coughing again before noticing Gardevoir was wearing his rucksack.


"Hey... I have an idea... Since you girls have spent so long sitting around here... Why don't you go out... Clean yourselves up... Eat something
good and enjoy yourselves for a bit." he smiled, looking out the window. I'm guessing we're in the city now... Should be a ton of stuff to do...
You two can go out and get a layout of the land. Find out what all is out there... Mark down some favorite places... Then when I get out of here
you two will know your way around and can show me places you love most too!" he told them, Servine suddenly getting an energetic and excited look
on her face as Gardevoir shook her head firmly. "No... Not leaving you... Stay until you leave!" she responded, causing Servine to face her with
a scowl yet unable to go against the intention, knowing the shape he was in as well. "Hey... Its a hospital... I'll be just fine. You two can go
out, have a good time and come back whenever you like. Plus... Don't you think I might want something other than the food they serve here too?"
he chuckled, looking at Servine and giving her a wink. Suddenly, several nurses and a doctor walked into the room, standing around his bed as they
checked him and the devices over. "We thought you may be awake... Our monitors picked up your movement when you finally came to. How are you feeling
so far...? Do you have anyone we can contact to come see you?" the doctor asked. "Ha ha... Feeling as fine as a guy who fell off a cliff can feel...
Its a little hard to breathe... Most of the pain is in my torso and back..." he responded, caughing as the doctor used his stethoscope. "We had to
drain your lungs and do surgery on your ribs... Your skeleton suffered damage in various degrees from nearly head to toe... Luckily you didn't
have any damage to your skull though... We aren't sure how considering the damage to the rest of your body... All of your bones should be fine in
time however..." the doctor told him before raising up and flipping through the pages on his clipboard. "Ha ha... Yeah... A lot of people could
tell you how hard headed I am..." he chuckled, Servine and Gardevoir both raising their hands with a "no duh" grunt, the doctor and nurses laughing
in response. "As far as any contacts... Well... None that could probably make it through such a trip here... Definitely none I would want to put
through the stress of seeing me like this especially..." Chris sighed, looking over himself. "Alright then... Next... I'm afraid we do have to ask
for a form of payment you'll be using... Insurance...?" the doctor asked, causing Chris to turn pale for a moment. "Ahh... No insurance... But..."
he responded, looking at his rucksack. "Hey uh... Servine? Do me a favor and take my wallet out of the sack." he told her, getting a nod in response
as gardevoir took it off and set it on the bed.


Rummaging through, Servine tossed several items on the bed as she went deeper and deeper. Suddenly, she tossed the golden watch out Chris had gotten
from Arthur and it smacked him on the forehead before rolling onto his chest, leaving a red mark as he groaned, his eyes winced as he tried to raise
his arm to rub his head to no avail with a frustrated sigh. "Take it easy with that stuff..." he grumbled, Servine looking up and noticing his forehead
and giving him an "tsss... sorry..." sound and expression before rummaging through his things again. With a sigh, the group watched her before one of
the nurses took notice of his watch, pointing it out and whispering to another until they were all muttering, the doctor questioning them before having
the watch pointed out to him as well. "Excuse me sir... May we have a look at that...?" he asked. Looking down, Chris was confused for a moment as they
pointed down, his innability to move his neck causing him to flush brightly. "N... NO WAY!! Not in front of them!!" he shout, sweating badly as the staff
jumped back from his sudden response. "N... No sir... Not THAT... We meant your watch." the doctor told him nervously, the nurses blushing as well once
they realized what Chris thought it was they were referring to and giggling, causing the two Pokemon to tilt their heads confused as Chris looked away
in humiliation. "O... Oh... Yeah... Feel free..." he told them with a scowl. Picking it up, the team looked it over, one of the nurses opening it and
pointing out the wax seal on the inside. Suddenly, Servine made a loud "found it!!" sound as she shot her hands up in the air, accidentally knocking
Gardevoir upside the chin with her hands and the wallet causing her to shout and fall backwards in the chair in response, groaning with a tear in the side
of her eyes as she rubbed the spot she was knocked against as it turned red. Growling, she faced Servine with an annoyed look, causing Servine to sweat
with a "oops... my bad..." sound and expression as the staff looked at them, blinking for a moment before the nurses helped Gardevoir up, lifting the
chair and sitting her back down as Chris groaned and shook his head slightly in embarrassment. "Yeah... Those two are mine..." he sighed, chuckling as
they faced him with an embarrassed blush and a scowl on their faces. Handing the doctor his wallet, he took out Chris's I.D. and looked it over.


Alright... If you don't mind, we'd like to take these for a moment and make a few calls... Is that alright?" he asked. Blinking confused, Chris slightly
nodded as best he could in response. "Be my... Guest I suppose..." he told them. Nodding, they gave Servine the wallet back and left, leaving the three
alone once again for a moment. "...Are you alright Gardevoir?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, yet unable to resist snickering at her as well as she rubbed
her chin with teary eyes, facing him with a grumble in response. "Fine... Focus on you..." she responded, facing away in embarrassment as Servine faced
Chris with a nervous laugh, shrugging in a "my bad!" kind of way before a pair of nurses returned. "The doctor is making various calls at the moment...
He will be with you again once he is finished." they told him, bowing as they handed Servine his I.D. and watch. Blinking at them confused, he gave them
an "uhh... thanks..." response, the nurses smiling with a nod in response before leaving once again. After putting his things away, Servine let out another
noise as she pushed the rucksack towards Gardevoir, helping her take it and put it back on. "Alright then... I guess they've got everything taken care of
for now... Or... Will have it taken care of... So you two go on and get out of here for a while. Maybe bring me something good to eat, alright?" he told
the two, Servine nodding whilst Gardevoir shook her head once again. "...Fine then, I order you to do it!" he told them, Gardevoir going wide eyed and
suddenly puffing out her cheeks. "Not right!! Can't just do that!!" she lectured, causing Chris to laugh before coughing again. "S... Sorry... But orders
are orders... Right? Duty before desires and all that good stuff!" he grinned with a chuckle, gardevoir crossing her arms in irritation as Servine gave a
thumbs up, making a sound as if to tell her "that's right! orders are orders!" excitedly. Scowling at her, Gardevoir flicked her finger up, causing her
psychic abilities to give Servine a sudden swat on the forehead as if she had actually flicked Servine with her finger, the Pokemon shouting and rubbing
her head in response with a grumble.


"Come on... Just do it... For me?" he asked, Gardevoir facing him silently for a moment before letting out a sigh and nodding. Looking up at her as she
stood, Servine suddenly responded with a silent "yesss!!" expression, doing a quick fist pump before suddenly feeling Chris rubbing her back with his
fingers. Looking behind herself then up at him, she noticed him motioning for her to come close, and in response, she carefully crawled her way up to
his face, leaning her ear towards him. "I'm trusting you with a huge job... Keep her safe... Guide her carefully... Alright...?" he whispered. Pulling
away, Servine smiled and stood, hitting her chest with her first and sticking her nose up in a "count on me!" kind of way. With a chuckle, he gave her a
thumbs up with his limp arm before Gardevoir suddenly came between them and gave him a hug. "Be safe... Need help... Think strongly... I will sense it
and come quick..." she told him, rubbing Chris on the head. "Ha ha... No worries. Now get outta here." he told her before suddenly getting a kiss on the
cheek, causing him to jolt and flush brightly and making Servine stand up in a flash with a look of jealousy and rage as her mouth opened and her hands
waved in an "Are you serious?! Right in front of me?!" kind of way as Gardevoir pulled away with a slight blush and felt her way to his hand, holding it
again for a moment before turning away and feeling her way past the furniture. Looking at Servine, Chris sweat slightly with a "sorry..." expression,
smiling nervously as she crossed her arms and faced away... However, with a slight blush of her own, she suddenly turned to Chris and gave him a sudden
kiss of her own on his other cheek, doing it a bit roughly causing him to grit his teeth and bear it until she pulled away and quickly jumped off the
bed, tossing a vine against Gardevoir, causing her to fumble it before getting a grasp as Servine walked ahead.


Reaching the door, Gardevoir opened it and the two walked out, the two facing back one more time as Gardevoir gave him a worried look, waving whilst
Servine gave him a scowl, blushing yet again with a slight wave before the door shut. After a moment, making sure they were gone, Chris let out a sigh
of relief, just before flinching as his eyes went wide, letting out screams from the pain he had endured while everyone was in the room. "Damn this
smarts like HELL!!!" he shout, biting his lip and breathing heavily for a moment before slowly relaxing again, letting out a groan as he looked at what
parts of himself he could. Glancing up at his forehead, he took a deep breath and let out a sigh, groaning again as another wave of pain rushed through
his body. "You're... Pretty rough around the edges... Cold and... Distant for sure... But still... Thanks for the help. Hard to believe the Pokemon who
cursed me... Seems to care about me too..." he chuckled, suddenly feeling a burning pain from deep within his head causing him to wince and groan again.
"Ah... Ha ha... I just wanted to thank you... That's all... You really did something good for us... I appreciate the help... You're alright... Ninetails."
he smiled, his limp arm once again showing a thumbs up at the end. This time, he didn't feel any pain inside his head, his comment seemingly being accepted
as he sighed and closed his eyes. "Its good... Having friends like them... Maybe you and I can be the same..." he muttered as he began dozing off once again.


Slowly... His forehead began glowing again... And in the light coming from the blinds, Ninetails aura slowly fade into view, standing at the curtains and 
looking at him silently before fading away, the glowing in his forehead ceasing as well as the auras voice echoed... "...Stupid human..."