Things had started off innocently enough. He had decided to stay with Professor Ivy and her trio of assistants because, quite simply, they needed him more than Ash and Misty did. The place had been in total disarray – dishes stacked to the ceiling, papers and journals scattered everywhere, dust inches thick on the tables and windowsills, and he even found a Pidgey building a nest in the living room's rafters. Brock had had plenty of experience taking care of a household since his mother died, and it didn't take him long to get the place back in order. The trio of lab assistants, sisters named Carrie, Mary, and Terri, marveled at Brock's ability to keep the place sparkling. During their tenure with Professor Ivy, they had never known what a clean house looked like. Even Professor Ivy had been impressed by Brock's ability to keep the place neat and organized. One morning, Brock had found her searching under the cushions of the couch for one of her scientific journals.
"It's right here, Professor Ivy," Brock said, pointing to a neat stack on her desk. "Third one from the top." He handed the magazine to her. "Here you go. Pokémon Science Monthly, volume 23, issue number 5."
Professor Ivy smiled. "You really are amazing, Brock. I don't know how I managed to get along without you all these years."
Brock blushed. "Oh, it's no trouble, Professor. It's just that once you put everything in its place and keep it there, it's much easier to find whatever you want. Let me show you." He took her hand and led her into the adjacent storage room. "What I've done here is put all the Pokémon food on the bottom two shelves. Canned food goes on the floor, and bagged food goes on the shelf above it. That way, it stays off of the floor so bugs can't get into it, but at the same time, you don't have to hurt yourself lifting it off of the top shelf. And on this shelf…" Brock turned around and noticed that Professor Ivy was staring at him. "Um, Professor Ivy?"
"You know, Brock, you really are a wonder. I don't know how I can begin to thank you for all your hard work around here."
"Like I said, Professor Ivy, it's no trouble at all. I enjoy working here."
Professor Ivy moved closer to Brock until her body was against his. "That's good, Brock, because I enjoy having you here."
Suddenly uncomfortable by the sensation of her breasts pressing against his chest, Brock made an attempt to back away. "Uh…well, thanks, Professor. Guess I'd better be heading outside to check on the Pokémon now." He quickly fled out the door.
For the rest of the afternoon he tried to concentrate on his chores, but he found his thoughts drifting back to Professor Ivy and their encounter in the storage closet.
Maybe I just imagined it all. Maybe she didn't mean anything by it. Maybe she was just trying to be nice and I misinterpreted her.
But he still couldn't forget the feeling of her breasts against his body. And the feeling both excited him and frightened him.
---
"Will he be all right, Doctor Byington?"
The doctor finished bandaging a cut over Brock's right eye. "His injuries are superficial – a few cuts and scrapes. But the boy's suffering from exhaustion and he's half-starved. What he needs more than anything is to get some rest and some good, nourishing food."
"Don't worry about that, Doctor," Delia reassured him. "I'm going to take care of him until he's back on his feet. Matter of fact, I'm going to go make some soup right now for Brock to eat when he wakes up."
Professor Oak's stomach rumbled noisily. "Speaking of food…"
"Oh, Samuel. I forgot! The reason why I asked you over in the first place was for dinner, wasn't it?" Delia apologized. "Well, come into the kitchen with me and I'll fix you some soup, too. Would you like to stay for dinner too, Doctor?"
"No, thank you," Doctor Byington smiled as he picked up his medical bag. "I've got to be heading home. My wife probably has dinner waiting. I'll call in a couple of days to see how he's doing."
"Thank you again for coming so fast, Doctor," Delia said.
"No problem. I'll see myself out."
After the doctor left, Delia turned to her Pokémon. "Mimie, go upstairs and get one of the beds in Ash's room ready. Brock's going to be staying with us until he's better."
Mimie nodded and headed upstairs.
"And you come with me, Samuel," Delia said, taking his arm. "Let's go have some soup."
As the two ate dinner in the kitchen, Delia kept glancing over Professor Oak's shoulder, trying to keep a watchful eye on the boy on the sofa.
"Delia, he'll be all right," Professor Oak reassured her. "You heard what the doctor said. His injuries aren't serious."
"I just want to make sure I can hear him if he wakes up," Delia said, peering around her friend's shoulder once more. "Samuel, what do you think happened to Brock?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to try to find out." Professor Oak pushed himself away from the table and stood up. "I'm going to head home now and give Professor Ivy a call to let her know that her assistant is here."
"That's a good idea. She must be frantic with worry. And thanks again for all your help, Samuel. I'm glad you stopped by when you did," Delia smiled as she opened the back door.
"Be sure to call me if you need anything, Delia. I'll stop by later when I'm through feeding the Pokémon and putting them away for the night."
Delia watched as Professor Oak headed through the backyard back to his house, then went back inside to check on her soup. She wanted to make sure that Brock had a nice hot meal waiting for him when he woke up.
Once he was back at the lab, Professor Oak dialed Professor Ivy's number. A dark-haired woman in her early to mid forties appeared on the phone's video screen.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Professor Ivy."
"Professor Oak, it's good to hear from you again," Professor Ivy smiled at her caller. "I'm not finished with the study on climatic variation on the coloration of Ekans yet, but I'll let you know as soon as…"
"That's not why I called, Professor Ivy. What I wanted to tell you was that Brock is here."
Professor Ivy looked shocked. "Brock? He's with you?"
"Yes. He turned up in Pallet Town a couple of hours ago. A friend of mine found him half-dead by the roadside. The boy was so weak he could barely stand. Fortunately, the doctor says that he'll make a complete recovery."
"Oh. Well…that's good," Professor Ivy said somewhat nervously.
"We thought you might be worried and wondering about his whereabouts, so I thought I'd call you to let you know that he's safe here."
Professor Ivy didn't respond.
"Professor Ivy?" Professor Oak thought his colleague looked a bit pale. "Are you all right?"
"Um…yes…uh, thank you for the news about Brock, Professor Oak. We've all been wondering what happened to him."
"Professor Ivy, why did Brock leave Valencia Island? The last time I spoke with him, he said that he was having a wonderful time studying with you."
"I…uh…did Brock say anything about what happened here?"
"No. He hasn't been able to tell us anything about how he got here. He was still unconscious when I left."
Professor Ivy looked visibly relieved. "Well, then I'll tell you what happened. I had to let Brock go."
Professor Oak was surprised. "Let Brock go? But why?"
"I didn't get the grant money for a study that I was hoping for. Because of that, I didn't have enough money to keep him on, so I told him that I had to let him go. He became quite upset and ran off. We combed the island for days searching for him. I didn't think he would take being fired so hard."
"Well, don't worry, Professor Ivy. He's safe with us now. I'll keep you posted on his condition. And thank you for letting us know what happened." Professor Oak noticed that Professor Ivy seemed upset. "You mustn't blame yourself for what happened to Brock. It wasn't your fault."
"Yes…well, good-night, Professor Oak. And thank you for calling."
Professor Oak continued to stare at the screen for several seconds after it went black.
Something doesn't seem right. I'd almost swear she was hiding something. But what?
Back at Valencia Island, Professor Ivy went into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets until she found a bottle of vodka hidden in the back. She poured herself a glass and downed it in one gulp.
She needed something to steady her nerves after that phone call.
To be continued…
