A/N: Haven't touched this for over a year. Hopefully, I can get back into it. I started writing for the Naruto fandom and have enjoyed myself. Comments and reviews feed me. Please let me know y'all are interested.

Noivern awoke inside a recovery room, a pounding headache making itself known quickly. She groaned while pulling herself into a sitting position, gazing about the room with a cautious glare. She spotted Phoebe in the corner, resting with Gambit by her side. Yet Milo was nowhere to be found. She snorted while she flexed her wings, testing them. A good stretch did her a lot of good. She looked around and saw they had modeled the place after a forest. Many Pokémon relaxed in the hiding spaces provided while she rested near a tree. She stood and walked over to the resting pair, cocking her head while examining Phoebe. An odd thing. She approached her without fear. Gambit chose this moment to stir and growled a warning. Noivern merely raised a brow before taking flight. This wasn't worth it. Time to find a nice tree and settle in for a good rest.

"Cassandra, time to go!" Eirwen called as she entered the computer room.

"New friend!" she called back.

"That's wonderful! Sammy mentioned them. I have a surprise for you, but we have to leave to go get it. When we get back, you can call your friend and tell them all about it. How does that sound?"

"No number. School ending."

"What do you - Oh, you don't have their home number?"

Eirwen turned her attention from Cassandra to the boy on the screen, giving him a smile, to which he smiled in return. She hummed a bit, thinking of what to do next. She watched as his Marowak entertained Cass; both of them were having fun. Pidgey took this moment to fly over and perch on Eirwen's shoulder for attention, nuzzling the woman's cheek. Eirwen smiled while she loved on the tiny bird and hummed a gentle tone while watching Cass.

"Ten minutes, ok Cass?"

"Kay!"

"Growlithe, help her keep time, please."

Growlithe nodded his head. "Growl!"

Eirwen walked out of the room and headed downstairs to prepare for the trip.

"Do you have to go now, Cassandra?" Kaleo asked, "I can ask my mom if I can share my number with you."

"Not yet. Soon. School over?"

"I think in another hour. But hey, we can talk later. It was awesome to meet you!"

Kaleo's Marowak smiled while waving. "Maro!"

Cassandra frowned and sighed, earning herself a yip from Growlithe. She turned her attention from the screen to the clock hanging on the nearby wall. Time had passed too quickly. She heard someone's voice, yet could not make out the words. The service Pokémon barked, and Cassandra's eyes flickered to the screen once more.

"See Mew later, Feraligatr!" her cousin called out.

She smiled. "After a while, Totodile."

Cassandra sighed while backing up, turning to face the door. A click of the tongue was all Growlithe needed to open the door wider. She hummed a tune while she wheeled herself out of the room. Growlithe quickly glued himself to her side, yipping to encourage her to use the harness. She nodded, and he happily took over the task. It didn't take long for the elevator to open and take them to the first floor. The pair traveled at a moderate pace, with the puppy Pokémon leading her to the front of the home.

"Cassandra!" the pair flinched.

Out of the corner of their eye, Eirwen had left the kitchen, Carver following behind her with concern in his eyes. They turned and faced her, a frown on Cassandra's face and a whine from Growlithe. Eirwen sighed softly when she closed the distance, inspecting Growlithe's harness with a keen eye. She clicked her tongue once while doing a hand gesture and Growlithe spun slowly in a circle. Slowly, she knelt down and inspected the harness.

"Grandma, what's wrong?" she asked softly.

"Did you harness him?"

"No, Espeon did."

"When?"

"Before Sammy. Didn't notice?"

"No, but fair enough. However, I have told you before, Cass. Growlithe cannot pull both the chair and you. Work together. If he does all the pulling, it could hurt him."

Cassandra turned her attention to Growlithe. "Are you ok?"

He turned his gaze elsewhere, which led Cassandra to believe he was hiding something. She gently bent over to hug him, silently apologising for troubling him, being mindful of his shoulders. As she leaned back, she glanced at his harness. As if reading her mind, Growlithe barked a negative, shaking his head for emphasis. He did his best to convey he was fine, yet his acting skills failed him with Eirwen's observant eyes.

"Growlithe, is it the padding? Do you need more?" Eirwen asked.

He shook his head.

"Let me see, boy." Eirwen gently commanded from her place on the floor, ignoring the joint pain.

Growlithe emitted a series of quiet grumbles, but complied. Eirwen patted his head in thanks, but frowned when she spotted the problem. She went to work removing the harness and slowly stood up with Carver's help. She silently passed the harness to Carver, who walked away. Cassandra and Growlthe eyed each other cluelessly. Several minutes later, Carver returned with the harness, a smile upon his face as he reattached the harness.

"Feels better, doesn't it? Espeon accidentally grabbed the wrong one. The one you had needed repairs. I put it in the closet, out of the way. I'm sorry I didn't tell you both." Eirwen explained softly.

He yipped and resumed his place beside Cassandra, cocking his head as if to ask a question. She merely nodded with a smile. It was time to put the plan into action. Cassandra's day would be filled with joy and laughter if her family had anything to say about it.

Cole woke up in a recovery room similar to a stable stall, his tack removed and his wounds bandaged. He grumbled while he made his way over to the nearest door, snorting while head-butting it. The area shook, and it didn't take long before he heard footsteps. He pawed the ground, wanting out. Growling while backing up, he prepared to charge. It was then someone ran over.

"Whoa boy, easy now, there's no need to destroy anything." The person said while out of breath. "You have a nasty infection. The bandages will come off if you move too much."

Cole growled low, lowered his head, and prepared to charge. They both knew there was little the human could do if Cole did anything rash; the human was squishy and, judging by his build, much lighter than any Rhyhorn. Cole would not be the only one requiring medical care.

The pair arrived at their friend's ranch after a short drive. Eirwen got out first, followed shortly by Growlithe. The pair worked together to get Cassandra settled into her chair. The child hummed contentedly while watching the ranch Pokémon. Out of the corner of her eye, a blue streak of fur came into view.

"Luka, I went looking for you!"

"I asked him to help Lara with chores today, sweetheart; Davis is in the hospital, remember?" Eirwen intervened.

"Could have told me." She retorted with a pout.

"I could have," she agreed with a nod. "But it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

Luka snickered at the pair and took his place beside Cassandra, gazing kindly at her while she wheeled herself forward. Happy to see her in a good mood, he grunted at her, hoping she'd understand. At first, she did not. He was about to do it again, but a stern look from Eirwen persuaded him otherwise. With a snort, he instead motioned her to follow him up a path.

"Lara's house is the other way; the barn is that way."

Luka raised a brow and jerked his head in the barn's direction.

"You sense her that way? Ok," she replied with a sigh, not liking the uneven, uphill path. "Lara, you up there?!"

Everyone continued up the path, with Cassandra relying on Growlithe's help to get her up the hill. Luka went ahead of the group and called out, earning a shout from inside the barn. A crash soon followed, leaving the trio outside to wonder what happened. A Pokemon cry inside the barn got Cassandra's attention, but since the barn wasn't wheelchair accessible yet, she had to wait outside.

"Lara!" she called out again.

"Just a sec!"

Several minutes later, a dirty Lara emerged covered in the hay with her Growlithe in tow. They flashed her a warm smile before Lara nodded at Eirwen. The Grandmother nodded silently with a smile of her own upon her face. Lara whistled loudly before walking over to Cassandra, offering a hand to her. Cass gazed at her for a moment before accepting the hand, pulling her down for a hug.

"How're y'all, Cass? Wanna go for a ride? I got sumthin to show ya. You can leave your chair'ere."

Cassandra looked down, hesitant, as Lara released the hug. She turned her gaze towards the barn, still curious about the cry from before. She hummed while making her choice. The trotting of hooves soon could be heard as Rapidash made its way up the trail. It greeted everyone with a warm nicker before turning towards Cassandra. Slowly lowering its head, it waited to be acknowledged. The young girl turned her gaze back to Lara and smiled at Rapidash. She wheeled herself over and hugged its shoulders.

"Missed you!"

"Rapidash has worried about you since your accident, sweetheart." Lara supplied with a smile, watching the exchange.

"I'll head over to your porch, Lara." Eirwen said. "My knees are bad today."

"No problem," Lara replied.

"What's in the barn?" Cass asked while she watched her grandma walk away.

"Ah, ya heard that? That's a part of your surprise, but for later." Lara explained while getting on Rapidash. "Riding or walking?"

"I'll walk."

"Meet us over by Gate B."

"Kay!"

Everyone watched as Lara rode away, leaving the trio to themselves. Cass hummed, tempted to find a way inside the barn. She turned her chair in the barn's direction, clicking her tongue as she did so. Growlithe yipped a negative, already knowing where this would lead. She frowned and turned to look at Luka, who repeated the action. They would not allow their friend to repeat her past mistakes.

"Come on, it was only once!" she grumbled.