Title: A Beautiful Winter
A/N: This is my first Pokemon fan fic. Please be gentle, this is a Professor Oak/OC fic. R&R if you wish, but don't flame.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for Janna Winter, she is mine. Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended, this is just for fun.
Chapter One: First Impressions
When Janna Winter first set her eyes on Pallet Town, she felt an immediate rush of dismay. She glanced out through the cab's window and took in her surroundings. From what she could make of it, the town was a nice place, clean, quiet and utterly rustic. She supposed it was not too bad if one liked a peaceful country-like environment, but she was a woman who had lived in a city all her life. Janna was used to the traffic on the streets, the obnoxious venders, the skyscrapers stretching up and up and up farther than the eye could see.
It was a rather traumatic adjustment to move from Vermillion City to such a tiny place as Pallet Town. She shook her head at herself and tried to look at the positives. She was alive, healthy, relatively young and newly employed by one of the most successful Pokemon researchers in Kanto.
Well, that's what I've heard about this Professor Oak, anyway... She thought lightly. Janna was the newest assistant Professor Oak had accepted because he was a tad short staffed and a little too overwhelmed to continue any research worth pursuing. There were simply too many Pokemon for him to handle by himself. Janna had graduated from Pokemon Tech with reasonably good grades, and the first thing she did once she left was sent resumes to every lab in Kanto, hoping to land an internship. In the first few months, no one had given her a call back, and she began to grow more and more worried. She was living on her own in a shabby apartment, barely made enough as a waitress to put food on her own table, and she had a Persian to feed as well. She ended up having to give Persian to the local Pokemon center for adoption because she could not afford to keep him.
The separation from her childhood friend was unbearable, but she hoped one day that she could get her Persian back once she was financially stable. The sadness that grew in her heart had never decreased however, and she always thought of it.
Janna was so relieved and exhilarated when Professor Oak called her back. He agreed to take her on as a caretaker of the Pokemon, her responsibilites were feeding them, grooming them and exercising them occasionally. These were menial tasks, but as time progressed she hoped she could put her education to use by moving into the research field as well. Because her job required much attention, she was required to live on sight, which was just fine with her. The rent was not bad, and she loved the thought of not having to struggle every single day. Now that her future seemed much brighter than it had before, Janna felt an unstoppable swell of hope surge.
The cab turned a corner and she was surprised at the sprawling green meadows ahead. She could see the grassy, gently sloping hills and the building that was perched atop them. Janna snapped out of her awestruck reverie and paid the cabbie. She hopped out, clutching her duffel bag and small suitcase in her arms, feeling a sort of finality about the whole situation while she watched the cabbie back out of the gateway and out of sight.
The sun was beginning to set, so she hurried up the dirt path that led to the building before it could get very dark. After all, she was supposed to be here an hour ago, but the journey had taken considerably longer than expected.
She was greeted at the front steps of the building by a young boy, a teenager perhaps, but his expression was open and friendly.
"Hello there! You must be Miss Winter, I'm Tracey Sketchit. Nice to meet you!" He blurted in a rush as he reached his hand out to her. She shook it politely and offered him a smile.
"Nice to meet you as well. I'm very sorry I was late, there was a mix up with my cab." said Janna.
Tracey took her bags from her and showed her inside promptly. They carried on small talk until Tracey showed her to her room above the lab.
"This is where you'll be staying, Ma'am. I cleaned it out, but if there's anything not to your liking, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?" He set her bags at the foot of the twin bed.
"Thank you very much, Tracey. Now, if you'll be so kind as to introduce me to the Professor, I'd be very much appreciative." As nice as this young boy was, Janna was becoming a little impatient. She wanted to meet her boss, to reaffirm her employment and to negotiate pay for room and board as well.
The boy blushed and stammered, "Oh right. Follow me, please."
She did so, following his lead down the stairs and through a hallway. She was mildly apprehensive, but she steeled her nerves and kept walking. As a last minute thought, she ran a hand through her wavy black hair and looked down at her pale yellow blouse and black trousers, hoping she did not look as weary as she felt.
"Tell me, what is the Professor like?"
Tracey raised an eyebrow and half turned to her. "Well, he's a good guy, of course, considerate and understanding. He loves his work and he has a tendency to get caught up in it at times. But..." He trailed off.
"But?" She prompted urgently.
"Um, let's just say he can be moody." Tracey said ambiguously. She frowned but left it at that.
They entered a room that was very pristine looking, the ceiling was high and domed, the tables all filled with what looked like specimens in jars and slides. There were about six workstations situated against one of the walls, each equipped with a PC and a microscope. In the middle of the room was an enormous worktable, half seemed to function as a desk and the other half was an examination table for Pokemon.
There was a man hunched over, peering into the lense of his microscope intently as they approached him. He did not seem to notice their presence however, he was so focused. He said without looking up, "Tracey, come here and take a look at this, this is a very interesting paradox, you see, the Magickarp's cells-" The man stopped midsentence and straightened.
He was well built and rather austere looking at first glance. The professor wore a blue polo shirt underneath a white lab coat and khaki pants, his clothes were rumpled as if he had been tramping about all day in them, which he probably had, she realized. His face was lined slightly, adding a more distinguished look to his features, mainly his piercing grey-blue eyes. However, it was slightly offset by his mussed grey-brown hair.
"Hello, Professor. I am Janna Winter." She introduced herself with a smile. He did not return her smile, instead he gave her a once over that neither scared her or intimidated her in any way. She sat back in her right hip defiantly, if he thought he was going to shake her up, he would have to do a hell of a lot better. After all, she had faced far more intimidating men than he in her lifetime.
"Ah, Miss Winter. How good of you to finally show up. Did Tracey help you settle in?" The abruptness of his first two sentences was counteracted by the seemingly friendly concern of his last question.
"Yes, he has. I apologize for my tardiness, I had a little trouble with my cab." She hoped to alleviate his irritation with her this way.
As she predicted, the man softened quite a bit at her demure tone.
"It's alright, there is not much to do right now that is of great importance. Welcome to Pallet Town, Miss Winter." He finally smiled at her and held out a hand to her.
She shook it, feeling mildly triumphant, and replied. "Please, call me Janna."
Her first week passed fairly quickly. There was always something to do, whether it was helping Tracey and the Professor with some experiment or other, or simply feeding all of the Pokemon. She especially enjoyed spending time with the Water pokemon, she had taken an immense liking to the Lapras that lived in the lake. It always came to shore whenever she came out with food.
Janna felt more fulfilled and happy than she had in a very long time. She went to bed tired, in a good way, like she had used her energy in a wholesome way. Her dreams however, had not changed at all. She sat up with a jolt, sweating profusely and her hair was matted on her face.
She swung her feet over and stood on shaky legs, furious that she was unable to sleep through the night like she had the past six days. Standing by her window, she had a good view of the fields below. It was dark out, about one in the morning, and she could hear the Bug Pokemon chirping blissfully. She squinted, making out a lantern in the distance. Tracey had gone home a long time ago, so it must have been Professor Oak out there.
She watched, intrigued, as the light settled by the edge of the lake. She barely made out the silhouette of her favorite Lapras as it approached the man at the shoreline. It lowered its head affectionately, and she saw him stroke its snout. A faint warmth she associated with affection grazed her heart at the sight.
He was such an intelligent man, who was socially awkward at times but nonetheless charming in a bumbling, endearing sort of way. Despite their rocky first impressions of each other, Janna had found that Oak was indeed a nice man to work for. He never rose his voice at her, he was always patient when explaining procedures to her or showing her how to do certain things.
Suddenly, she was aware of the ache in her lower back that diffused throughout her shoulders. She suspected the discomfort she felt was because of hunching over the PC all day, pouring over some articles on colic since one of the Rapidashes was suffering from it. Janna turned reluctantly away from the window and went to her bed. She slid underneath the covers, settling her head on her lumpy pillow.
This time, she slept without disturbance, her dreams included the Lapras and a certain grey-haired man...
...And before she knew it, it was seven and her alarm clock was beeping loudly in her face. She flew out of bed by sheer reflexes and sprinted into her bathroom. Her reflection was frightening, her hair was snarled and tangled and her skin looked blotchy.
"Oh well, it's not as if the Pokemon are going to complain about the way your hair looks, silly, as long as you feed them on time..." She muttered to herself. She hurriedly ran a brush through her hair and washed her face. Feeling slightly better, Janna went back into her room for a fresh change of clothes.
Without thinking, she threw on a burgundy sundress and tied the sash around her waist. She slipped her feet into her flip flops and with that, she ran out of her room and down the stairs.
When she reached the bottom, she nearly collided with Professor Oak.
"Oh! I'm sorry, sir, I didn't see you-" She cried breathlessly. She honestly hadn't seen him, he just emerged from the corridor that she assumed led from his living quarters.
He did not seem to be angry, just extremely surprised. She didn't blame him, she was flush up against his chest.
"I'm just going to feed everybody, if you'll excuse me, sir," Janna said as she took a step past him. She was almost all the way down the hall before he called out to her.
"Wait, Janna, would you like to join Tracey and I for breakfast?" At her confused look, he added, "After you're finished with the Pokemon of course,"
She did not have to think very hard before giving him an answer.
"Sure. I'll be right back, sir."
The professor watched her as she went into the laboratory and exited through the screen door, he was still able to smell the faintly fruity smell of her shampoo from her hair.
He immediately chastised himself and continued to the lab to check his PC for any incoming messages from Professor Ivy in the Orange Islands.
"Here you go," Janna crooned as she scattered the Pidgey's food on the ground before them. Flocks of Pidgeys and Pidgeottos landed around her, happily pecking at the seeds. She reached down to stroke one of the smallest Pidgeys as it ate, it made noises of contentment in response.
She stood and stretched, clutching the sack of food in her hand. She had refilled all of the containers in each of the separate territories of the Water, Grass and Flying pokemon. Tracey took care of the rest, now all of the Pokemon should have been munching on their breakfast.
A loud grumbling noise came from her own stomach and reminded her that it was time she ate as well.
She exited the forest, making her way through the thickets of trees until she finally found the path that led back to the house. She first went to put the bag of food away in the warehouse before going into the house.
The aroma of pancakes and egg omelet wafted toward her, making her mouth water. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, enjoying the smell of the food. Janna looked down at herself, feeling disheveled, she had hay and food crumbs scattered over her skirt and a little mud on her shoes.
Janna brushed herself off and smacked her flip flops outside the door in an attempt to rid them of the dirt.
When she thought she looked more or less presentable, she continued cautiously into the kitchen. Janna found Tracey bustling around the stove and the Professor sitting at the table, leisurely reading through the morning paper.
"Hello, you two. It's a very beautiful morning, isn't it?"
At hearing her voice, both turned to look at her.
Professor Oak spoke up first. "It is a very lovely morning indeed. I am so glad you have grown accustomed to Pallet Town. I know that most visitors feel discombobulated by the constant quiet around here."
She took a seat next to him and scooted her chair closer to the table.
"I must admit, I didn't think I could ever be happy in such a small town, but I find that it's actually done wonders for my health."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? How so?"
"Well, I've traveled from city to city quite constantly growing up. I had asthma because of all the pollution but now it's eased up quite a lot." Janna said. She had never really talked to her boss about herself before, but she figured since they were in so casual a setting, she could afford to be personal.
"That's wonderful, Janna," He said with an easy smile as he poured himself more coffee. He asked her if she wanted any, at her consent, he fetched her a mug and filled it with the steaming liquid.
"Would you like any sugar?" He asked.
"No thank you."
Tracey came to the table with a plate stacked high with pancakes and set down. There was maple syrup, butter, egg omelet, orange juice, biscuits and jam all laid out, Janna had not really noticed the array of delicious food spread out on the table until she stared at in in amazement.
The younger man grinned crookedly at her expression and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in, you two!"
This is probably one of the best breakfasts I've ever had, Janna thought as she conversed with the eccentric professor and his assistant.
TBC...