Disclaimer: All Pokemon characters are copyrighted by Nintendo. No permissions have been given to use their names. Exceptions: The characters of Dr. Eli Jameson and Team Rocket agents Silas, Bridget Sutton, Virgil, Sean Mogren, Lisa Hansen, Steven Carroway, Tom Carter, and Base Commander Henry Evans are my creations.

The Baby

By Allan North

Chapter One: The Arrival

The woman in the bed panted, her face twisted with pain and effort. Nine months had been leading up to this moment…. "One more push should do it." The doctor said, nervously glancing around the room at the people in black surrounding him. He had been nervous from when they had first walked in… after all, who wouldn’t be? They were soldiers of the greatest criminal army the world of Pokemon had ever known… Team Rocket. But the greatest surprise had come when he had realized that they were not here to terrorize the staff or swipe Pokemon from injured trainers, but to get help for one of their number… a pregnant woman who was in the early stages of labor. That had been eight hours ago. Since then, under the watchful eye of the Team Rocket soldiers, he had been personally caring for this woman, this… Miyamoto.

He had learned her name during the early examination, as she had been first brought in and lifted onto the bed. Dr. Eli Jameson had delivered many babies before, but he had known from the start that this delivery would be forever embedded in his mind… After all, how often does one deliver a baby at gunpoint? The soldiers who had been with the young woman, while very militant and forceful, obviously cared a great deal about her, and demanded only the best care from him. That was exactly what he had been giving her, and now the final moments were at hand. Eli’s mind snapped back to the present as the baby’s head, with the slightest trace of red hair, started to emerge from Miyamoto. "That’s it, you’re doing it!" he said, to Miyamoto, trying to sound happy and joyful despite the fact that his frayed nerves were about to snap. He shuddered to think what would happen to him if anything were to go wrong…. Miyamoto gripped the side rails on the hospital bed and squeezed and pushed with all her might, her face flushing to a bright red color in the process.

The baby slid out fairly quickly, into Eli’s waiting hands. He cleared the mucus from her mouth, and realized that she was breathing on her own. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to slap her to get her breathing…. Heaven knows what these soldiers would have thought of that! Eli snipped the umbilical cord, and quickly wrapped the baby up in a blanket. The little girl was crying and shivering, but otherwise looked perfectly healthy. He looked up at the soldiers, and then to Miyamoto, who lay in the bed out of breath and looking at Eli with an intense curiosity.

"Congratulations, miss… It’s a healthy baby girl." He said to her. Miyamoto smiled, tears forming in the corner of her eyes, and reached for the baby as the soldiers who had accompanied her cheered and patted Miyamoto on the shoulder and Eli on the back. He passed the baby to its mother, and Miyamoto held the baby as tears streamed down her face.

Eli stretched and wiped his hands on a towel as the new mother held her baby for the first time. One of the soldiers looked at Miyamoto and said, "So do you have name for her yet?"

Miyamoto looked up at the young man who had spoken. "Yes, Silas…." She replied. "I want her to have an old, rooted name like mine, but also an easier one for everyday use… So her real name will be Musashi…. But her nick name will be Jessica… or Jessie…."

Miyamoto held Jessie for a long time that day, watching as the newborn settled into a deep rest. She had never been so happy… she knew immediately that the nine months leading to this moment had been so well spent.

The next day, Miyamoto had recovered, as was consistent with her determined nature, and returned to Rocket HQ accompanied at all times by the black uniformed soldiers. The hospital staff was unbelievably glad when they left… Normal procedure had been abandoned with this particular patient. No records had been kept, and nobody had been informed that they had ever been there, as the Rockets were all too eager to keep from drawing attention to themselves.

Miyamoto’s return to Rocket headquarters in the large gym of Viridian City was met with a huge celebration, breaking the usual mood of strict order and militaristic efficiency that usually marked the place. Madam Boss herself led the celebrations, as her own son Giovanni took part in the welcoming party. Miyamoto sat back in a chair, smiling at her friends and thanking them repeatedly as the other soldiers helped her to celebrate the new arrival.

The center of attention, of course, was little baby Musashi as she lay in her bassinet, a white wicker thing that Madam Boss had found in a store in Celadon City and had purchased for the occasion. Normally, Madam Boss wouldn’t have considered this, but Miyamoto was such an excellent agent, and such a good leader, that her baby was like the whole organization’s baby. The group celebrated well into the night, until it was finally time to let the party die down and let the newborn sleep in the quiet of Miyamoto’s quarters

Chapter Two: Decisions