Moments
It felt good to see her father smile again. It was always a quick little grin; Janine caught it at random moments; while he was tending the garden, or feeding his pokemon. Koga's stoic nature always had the best of him. He never got excited over anything, his poise demeanor quietly attending to his duties in the gym. Janine was very much like her father, however, her charismatic outlook on life helped broaden her horizons beyond the confines of her father's gym. Koga's stubborn personality was rather frustrating to Janine; she was about to give up on her father as she thought he will always remain a resigned individual, and someone who she can never be close to. That is, until he met Lt. Surge.
Janine was rather suspicious of Surge at first, the way a child is suspicious of any new person in his or her parent's lives. He was different from anyone she ever met and was startled by his resilient personality. Janine was an observant child. She would watch people carefully, and was cautious around people that she didn't know. She was curious about Surge, especially because her father would pay a lot of attention to him. Therefore she decided to be cautious around Surge at first, see if he would be a person she would like. She wondered if he would like her. However, she grew attached to him almost immediately.
Surge was the cool uncle that she never had, while for Koga, he was the more outgoing friend that everybody needs to help them grow out of their shell. Janine would look forward to Surge's visits. She would laugh hysterically at his stories, while eating cookies that Koga told her she wasn't allowed to have, but Surge gave them to her anyway. Surge was the first person she ever saw stand up to her father. Koga didn't have that many other friends, and the only people she saw interact with Koga was challengers. At first she was shocked; in awe that someone would stand up to her father. What was more shocking to her that Koga would even allow Surge to tease him and, he would even smile about it.
Koga's and Surge's relationship grew as time went by, and Janine started to accept Surge as part of her family. At first, it was strange to her to have someone else around besides her father. She was too young to remember what it was like before her mother had passed away. As Surge became a more constant presence in both of their lives, their household changed. The general atmosphere grew warmer, and laughter rang around the house more consistently. She enjoyed those little moments where they bonded. Janine noticed how her father would begin to smile more, She always knew her father loved her, but it was Surge who brought out the more loving side in him. For the first time in her life, Janine felt like she belonged to a family.
