I wish I had a clever title for this chapter, but nothing comes to mind. The support for the story has been fantastic on all fronts so I thank you all yet again for your support. I may write the story, but you all help contribute to its success in ways you may not know. More notes at the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own my OCs.

Chapter 4- December 23rd

Fidgeting was Ninetales' problem the entire night. More often than not, she had a nightmare while holding back tears in her sleep. She would awake in a cold sweat to the sight of Alex by her side each time and calm down by licking his shirt to make sure she wasn't dreaming. He slept peacefully while inadvertently pulling her closer to him at random times through the night as well. Alex silently cursed to himself as his internal clock woke him up as if he had to go to work before burying his head in her chest for extra comfort. The dock worker woke up for sure around 10:00am and did not leave his bed right away to call out his Pokémon like he normally would. Instead, he continued to gently stroke the fire type Pokémon in his arms.

Alex had figured that he might as well enjoy as much of her as he could since she was still technically wild. At any given moment, she could walk out that door for any number of reasons and he may never see her again. What's worse was that he imagined her coming back to him more injured than when he found her the second time or heaven forbid some random alley Pokémon dragging her body up to him on the walk back home. He didn't even want to think about what would happen to her in a worst-case scenario; there were about four in his head before the number spiked with each variable he added. He used every ounce of mental strength not to buy a ball to capture her, but rather to help her move ahead

"Hmmmmm. Good morning Alex," she yawned as her eyes opened. Besides the body heat and fluffiness, he'd miss her voice. He could be having the worst day and all he needed was for her to talk for him to feel better. Luckily for him, she wasn't a siren hell-bent on eating him or drowning him at the docks.

"Hey you," he whispered with a smile. "Doing better?" She nuzzled his face.

"Yes. I apologize for what I did to your shirt though." He hadn't thought about it until he saw the little wet patches all over his chest.

"It's just saliva; it'll be fine. Come on, let's go get some breakfast." They quietly they made their way to the kitchen for breakfast and Alex let out his two partners. "Alright guys, listen up. Today is the 23rd so we don't have work today or for the next two days. This Ninetales will be our guest in that time so all I ask is that you respect her? We clear?" They nodded their heads. "Good. Food time!"

Blankets of snow had covered the entire city while they slept and it continued to gently fall as all four of them ate their breakfast. He figured the plows wouldn't be around his area for another two hours so he thought of a plan in his head to kill some time before he would be running errands. Nidorino pushed his bowl of food to Ninetales before he started to chow down on the all-purpose, all-type dry food in front of her. She politely refused and he looked a little hurt by her refusal until she took some with her paw. When the two original Pokémon finished their food, they went to a closet to retrieve some toys; Alex and Ninetales watched from the kitchen table.

"They still act like newborns? That is rare for an evolved Pokémon." Alex took her observation as an insult at first, but considered that she had never seen more mature Pokémon acting playful in what he assumed was a long time.

"Sometimes yes. Other times they act like they're in a gym battle when the situation calls for it. My floor supervisor Emily jokes that these two run the docks, not her. Then when they get home, they love to play with their toys." They got to rolling around with one toy with a jingle bell inside of it. "Are you still hungry? You've finished your bowl of food I see."

"Yes please. I will try not to overdo it like last night." Another bowl was set in front of her so that she could eat it up. In over two days, she was starting to gain some weight back and was looking much healthier than when they first met. Once round two was done, she stared at Alex wondering if she should ask the question that was in her head.

"Something wrong?" Now she had to ask it.

"You seem much more affectionate around me than those two. Are you ignoring them because I am here?" She felt awful asking such a pointed question. Alex pondered the question for a minute before coming up with a response.

"I'm not really ignoring them in the way you may be thinking. Sandslash prefers not to be touched too much; Nidorino is a mixed bag at times. When it comes to battles though, they love the attention they receive in victory or defeat. Honestly it just so happens they have that personality. For all I know, I could've caught a Sandshrew that wanted to be held all the time."

"So they do not resent you at all?"

"Nobody is perfect. I caught Nidoran purely because I had a scent of a Nidorina on me and getting Sandshrew was also pure luck because it technically caught itself. I dropped a ball on the ground while it was digging to avoid my attacks, it came by me, and the ball on the ground fell into the hole it dug and captured it. It took me 20 minutes to dig for it after the battle. That moment was a sign I would be an awful gym challenger if how I got Nidoran wasn't evidence enough."

"But are they upset that you obtained them like that?"

"At first, yes. Eventually they liked being with me and sometimes I mess up at work so they get upset at me for that. At the end of the day, they still love me and I appreciate all they do for me. Right now I shower you with affection because you ask for it. If you wanted space, then I would give it to you as well. Believe me when I say that you are not ruining our bond in any way. Now go and play with them. Cut loose a little bit."

Various toys ended up on the living room floor since Ninetales had no clue which one would be fun to play with. Chasing a slippery ball was their favorite thing so she wanted to join in; they did that while Alex turned on the television. Weather forecasters predicted that the snow would get worse as the day went on only to stop around 11:30 at night. The prospect of being snowed in made him eager to study some battles later in the evening. He switched over to a battle channel while watching the three Pokémon attempt to grab the ball while waiting for the plows to clear his road; he waited about 20 minutes before he heard the plow drive by.

"I need to go get some things now that the road to downtown is cleared. Nidorino, you're coming with me. Sandslash, you stay here. I don't want you out in the cold any more than you usually are when we're working. Ninetales, stay here as well," he said almost like a suggestion for her. The poison type trotted over, eager to go exploring the city but pouted when he was recalled into his ball. Alex didn't sense any kind of vibe from Ninetales as she walked back to the ball they were playing with but Sandslash came over to him by the door. "Listen Sandslash, if she wants to leave…let her. Do not fight her with words or your claws," he whispered as Ninetales tried to grasp the ball. "I don't want to bring her back downtown yet." It nodded and went back to play with her while he shut the door.

He returned to the apartment complex a few hours later with three paper bags in each hand and was surprised to see Ninetales still around, even if she was outside. He was even more surprised to see Sandslash enjoying the outdoors. The two were standing about ten steps away from each other staring each other down menacingly.

"You have gotten lucky the past four rounds…but not this time!" One…two…three…go!" Both Pokémon dropped to the ground and did their best to make a snowball. Despite the snow being ideal to make snowballs, it was funny to see the two trying to haphazardly form something to throw at the opposition. After about three minutes of struggling to land any hits, Ninetales' snowball hit Sandslash in the stomach and it dramatically fell over. "Yay! I finally won a round! It has been too long since my last win!" She trotted over and Sandslash sighed in relief as she warmed him up with a mild fire attack. Alex walked up to them with a smile.

"So who won the whole thing?" They both pointed at themselves. "Okay then," he laughed. "Let's get you two back inside so we can get an early dinner going. I spent a lot of time in the mart getting things for the next few days and I almost started eating stuff before I paid for it." He set down five bags on the table while hiding the last one in his closet; nobody paid him any attention as the two tried to get even warmer. "Come out Nidorino." It was happy to see his fellow teammates as Alex started preparing dinner.

Tomato soup was the main dish while the side salad and a piece of garlic bread rounded out the meal. Alex had splurged on three bags of type-specific Pokémon food at the mart. The two older teammates didn't know it, but it was a little reward for respecting what had been going on the past few days and Alex banked on the specialty fire food to get her to stay. Just like when he told her to stay behind, he didn't get a vibe from her as she ate her dinner. A few extra pieces of garlic bread were handed out for them to try before they all migrated to the living room.

"Battle time guys! Grab a seat." Sandslash curled up on the far-right seat, Nidorino hopped in Alex's lap while Ninetales took the remaining spot. "Wonder what they have on this time?" The host offered a backstory as the screen faded from a studio desk to the Indigo Plateau main stadium. "Day one of the Indigo Plateau championships from 18 years ago? Should be interesting," Alex pondered out loud after the graphic popped up.

"What is the 'Indigo Plateau' and what is the championship for?" It took a lot of effort from Alex not to look at her in disbelief. Even a small child knew the story behind it.

"The Indigo Plateau is where some of the best trainers in the world gather for battles. You can only get there when you beat the eight gyms of Kanto and even then, you could lose in the first round. See this?" The camera zoomed out to show a Gengar and a Nidorino in the middle of the field. "Every trainer dreams of this. Every Pokémon wants to have the title of champion along with their trainer. The championship means you are one of the best trainers in the world with the best Pokémon in the world."

"I see." They all watched eagerly as the Nidorino went in for a Horn Attack only for the attack to miss. Gengar jumped on top of it then landed a Hypnosis to make it go to sleep. The trainer recalled it and sent out an Onix to continue the fight. "They move quickly."

"All movements are precise; no wasted effort whatsoever. I'm trying to figure out how they do it before I try it myself. It's more than just dodging or attacking." All of them watched intently as the battle ended and the winning trainer's next battle was up next after a commercial break; it was a marathon dedicated to the champion from that year.

"From the looks of it, there seems to be a lot of battling in a short period of time," she stated nervously. "Are the Pokémon okay?"

"They get healed after every battle." Ninetales still looked nervous. "Referees tell both trainers when Pokémon are unable to battle during all matches. Any trainer attacking a defenseless Pokémon is automatically disqualified and the police could get involved." She eased the look on her face and resumed watching.

When the marathon was over, he switched to another channel where it had something more in his wheelhouse: gym battles. It was controversial when it first was announced, but the Pokémon League installed cameras in gyms to catch any potential illegal activities by leaders or challengers after the Viridian City gym scandal 17 years ago. An unintended effect from the rule was that the battle film could be used as television companies saw fit. Specialists analyzed various battles while some channels just aired them unedited. Alex had figured out what to expect from gym leaders except Vermilion's own Lieutenant Surge. All it took was one powerful Thunderbolt to overload the camera with electricity to make the footage useless.

The concept of time didn't apply to Alex as he stayed glued to the television. Only when he accidently switched over to the television guide did he see that the time was 10:45pm. Ninetales was the only other Pokémon awake, trying to absorb information while the other two succumbed to sleep just a few minutes earlier. She threw her tails over everyone after Sandslash was shivering on the other side of the couch.

"Thanks Ninetales."

"You are welcome. I do not want anyone to get colder after we were outside all day. Come to think of it, he convinced me to go out and have a little snowball fight on the condition that I warm him up. It was a nice change of pace from being in the apartment." Alex's plan had worked better than he thought. He knew Nidorino would be on board if she joined them but Sandslash looked indifferent from the start. Still, he knew she could leave at any time. She had not asked for space away from him so he gave her some to test how she would react. No matter the case, he kept his mouth shut because he didn't want to influence her decision.

"He always plops down in front of the heater whenever he's too cold. I'm sure he appreciated what you did for him." Her tails readjusted to cover more of everyone. "Which one of you won the whole thing?"

She grinned. "Well…he won more rounds but I hit him in fewer tries." She giggled remembering how they "fought" like quick draw bandits she saw on household televisions back when she roamed the city; 10 paces apart, a count to start making the snowball, no dodging allowed, and keep going until you hit the opposition. Ninetales thought about running after Alex left, but she couldn't bring herself to do it for reasons she couldn't explain. She was strong, healthy, and confident to fend off anyone trying to hurt her yet Alex made her feel some other way.

"It's harder to throw with claws than paws you know."

"Not when you scoop up the snow and throw it up in the sky," she joked. Something soon clicked in her head and she rubbed her head on his shoulder while trying not to wake Nidorino. "Tell me about this 'Christmas, please." Alex thought long and hard about how to describe a holiday that had layers of complexity to someone that had not heard about it. He opted to give her the generic answer and maybe she would ask questions.

"Christmas is simply a magical time of year late in December. It also is a time of spreading kindness, compassion, love, and in some cases, miracles happen. The best part is that there are different ways to express yourself when it comes to Christmas. Some people buy gifts while others are content with visiting family. People may sing carols around a fire while drinking hot chocolate. Others volunteer their time to help those less fortunate. There is no 'correct' way to celebrate it but I know a lot of people who want gifts," he joked.

"How have you celebrated Christmas?" That stung Alex harder than he had hoped.

"My parents went to Lavender Town to visit my grandparents every year and we had a big dinner despite there being only five of us. We then stayed the night and woke up early to look for presents together before we went back home." He paused to finish the rest of the story. "The past three years have been nothing like what I've been used to. My grandparents did their best, but Christmas lost some of its magic ever since my parents took jobs overseas. I wanted to relax here this time around but deep down I want my parents to come back."

"I am sorry Alex," Ninetales sincerely stated. She then tried to change the subject.

"What is the difference between 'Christmas Day' and 'Christmas Eve'? I have heard you talk about them differently."

"The difference to me is that Christmas Eve is a time to relax and watch the outside world while you reflect on at least one thing you've done this past year whereas Christmas Day is the day to go out to see anyone or do anything. Some people have to work on those days like Pokémon Center staff but I am lucky that I have the days off. In simple terms, it's just the time shown on a clock. It all comes down to the person's perspective."

"I am sorry that I asked all of those questions."

"It's not a problem at all." He let out a big yawn. "I'm not sure if I want to move. Look at everyone; so peaceful even though the television is on." The remote was found between the couch cushion and the room went black with the absence of the bright light. "That's better."

"Staying here is fine with me. It will be like old times for me; like sleeping with my family." A bit more heat was added to each tail and the three of them fell asleep, leaving her somewhat awake.

"Family…that is what I want my gift to be for Christmas."

I apologize if you thought this chapter went by a little too slow (even though the pacing is slow to begin with in my opinion), but it does contain key events that will come into play later on and the story will pick up the pace as it presses onward. Moving on, I had fun with some nostalgia in this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it as well. Sometimes that respect for the franchise goes a long way for the fans out there. I do enjoy writing this and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story. Have a good day :)

-W4f