Chapter Six

Daisy shifted a little as she woke slowly, frowning as she heard rustling from down the hall. She sat up, trying to figure out what it was, and finally slid out of bed. Gary must be up to something, Umbreon would have been going crazy if someone had broken in.

Pulling her robe around her tightly, she padded down to the far end of the hall where Gary's room was. Was that a drawer shutting? She paled a little and hurried to the door, gently pushing it open. Umbreon was prancing about the floor, seeming excited, while Gary was rummaging through his closet. Daisy felt the color drain from her face as she saw the worn duffel from his younger days lying open on the bed, stuffed with clothes. She watched only long enough to see Gary move from the closet to his bed again before she hurried to him, shaking his shoulder.

"Gary! What are you doing!" She asked, choking on suppressed sobs. She couldn't lose her brother again. She just couldn't. Gary paused, looking up at her and blinking. His eyes were dull and unfocused, making her realize. "You're sleepwalking…" She murmured, running a hand through his hair. She frowned. How would she get him back into bed? "Gary, I'm going to put your duffel on the floor, you just lay back down and you can finish in the morning, okay?" She said slowly, easing him back down. He only stared at her, blinking slowly now and then. Umbreon pounced on the bed, ears flopping as he lay on the pillow beside Gary's head. "Everything will be better in the morning." She said quietly as she watched her brother relax. She sat beside him until she was sure he was sleeping soundly. Then she began to put away all the clothes he had gotten out, wiping away a tear here and there.

What had happened to make him this way? She heard him wake up sometimes in the middle of the night. She would creep down the hall to see him sitting at the side of his bed in the light from his bedside lamp, head in his hands and shaking. Sometimes he would be scribbling away in his journal. He was going to bed later and later too. She was growing worried. He'd been home for over a year now, and just when they thought he was getting better, he seemed to be slipping into a depression; which was a shame, because it was always right when summer was starting.

Sighing, Daisy paused in the doorway of his room and looked back at her brother. Umbreon was licking his cheek, but he was sleeping soundly. Feeling it was safe to leave him alone, she wandered back to her own bed, falling asleep again only after an hour or so restless worrying.

-x-

"Gary, please, would you eat something?"

"I'm not hungry, Daisy. I'm sorry." Gary muttered, downing a glass of milk before he put the cup into the sink. Daisy put a hand on her hip, frowning.

"Don't start this again Gary. Please." She pleaded. "You can't start skipping meals again; you know what the therapist said."

"Well, he's not coming around anymore; never cared much for him anyway." Gary muttered, leaving the tiny kitchen, moving past their grandfather as he came in. He watched his grandson sadly, turning to Daisy.

"Again?" Professor Oak asked. She nodded.

"Again, every time I slip anti-depressants into his food, he goes off it." She shook her head, and scraped the plate meant for her brother into the trash. "I'm worried Grandpa. He seems to be a little more depressed than he did last year." Samuel came up behind her and gave her a hug, rubbing her back reassuringly.

"He'll be alright. You'll see." He said, smiling. Daisy smiled back weakly, and nodded. She truly hoped so. Both jumped a little as the doorbell rang. Samuel left Daisy at the kitchen counter and headed for the door, opening it to see Heather, one of the Volunteers at the lab and a single mother.

"Ah, Heather, good to see you, what brings you by so early this morning," He asked.

"Well, I would have gone right on to the lab, but I wanted you to see these first. My kids found a litter of rattata; I'm guessing the mother was attacked by a larger pokémon. Do you think you could care for them here?" She asked. Samuel smiled.

"Of course, it's no problem. I think Gary needs something to occupy his mind right now anyway." He said. "He's already out there, so you can head right on back. I'll follow in a little while." Samuel said.

"Thank you so much." Heather smiled, and turned to head off the porch and around the house to the labs. Inside, she found Gary at one of the Computers, noting the dark rings under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well again. "Hello, Gary." She said brightly, coming up to him. He looked up, offering a half smile.

"Hello, Heather. What have you got there?" He asked. Heather smiled and gently sat the box down, withdrawing one of the infant pokémon.

"Rattata; my kids found an abandoned litter under our back porch. Your grandfather said you could put them up here."

"We can." Gary said, taking the tiny creature and petting it gently. "Let me get some formula. One of the females might take them, but I don't know." He said, standing up and shifting through some cupboards. Heather watched closely, head tilted slightly, seeing the same warning signs Daisy and Samuel did. She frowned, but smiled quickly as Gary turned back around, and began helping to mix the food for the little Rattata. They sat in mostly silence as they fed the pokémon; Gary seemed wrapped up in his own thoughts, which made him wince and flinch now and then. Heather had been warned that sometimes he thought too much about what he had forgotten, and tended to pass out, so she watched him carefully. However, he seemed to keep himself in check well enough.

Her phone ringing startled her and she smiled sheepishly as she stood to take the call outside. Gary watched, slightly curious, but turned back to the task at hand. He reached into the box for the next, and pulled out a Shiny. He blinked, remembering the flashes of images of his own white eevee. He gently pat its head and gave it the dropper, watching the little thing drink eagerly. Poor thing must have been starving. Heather came back in, seeming torn between happy and worried. She waved off Gary's inquiring question, and the rest of the day passed without incident.

So did the rest of the summer; mostly, however. Gary didn't seem to enjoy the warm weather like he used to. Daisy caught him sleep-packing several more times. And he was sometimes able to snap himself out of it in the morning as he grabbed two pairs of everything as he got ready for the day. Daisy continued to try to slip him pills, but he always somehow managed to avoid them. He began to get more depressed as the days went by, becoming listless, sitting with a blank mind in the shade of a tree for hours on end.

One night, he woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily, his mind reeling. He hurried to his desk, nearly falling over in the process, and pulled out his journal, flipping to the next blank page and began to write. After a while, he shut the book and stumbled back to bed. He was dizzy even after trying to remember the dream he'd had. It was already fading fast. He closed his eyes and lay back on his covers, an arm resting over his face. He fell asleep that way, thankfully a black and dreamless sleep.

August 25th –

Had another nightmare tonight; different than usual. I suppose it can't even be considered a nightmare. It was different than before. I was at a pokécenter, with an injured pokémon in my arms. I ran to the ER, but the damn nurse wouldn't help. Told me to sit and wait. It wasn't Nurse Joy, I have no idea who it was. I can't remember what the nametag said. All I know was she had brown eyes and blonde hair, and an annoyingly sweet smile.

I can't stand not knowing what happened. I want to know where I was.

Who was I?

What did I do?

Why can I not remember?

Was what I did really that bad?

Authors Note: Going camping this weekend, so here's an early update! Hope you're enjoying the story!