Epilogue: Promises of a Better Future
The small group made their way across the uneven landscape dotted with headstones, finally coming to a stop in front of one in particular. "It's been a long time, Valerie," the man said to the grave's occupant. "I'm sorry for being away for so long."
The young, green-haired woman accompanying him gave his arm a squeeze. "Ve vill vait over zere," she said while pointing to a small mausoleum a short distance away. "I vould like chance to talk vith her before ve leave, though."
"I haven't forgotten," he said with a gentle smile and a pat on the hand holding his arm. "Thanks; I'll try to not be long."
"Take all the time the time you need, Dad," the young man said from behind him; on each of his arms a pair of girls – one with hair the color of night and the other that of grass in springtime – nodded their agreement.
Craig Hart's smile broadened at the support of his family. "All right; thank you all."
The quartet moved toward the small structure to give their patriarch his privacy, though they all couldn't help but look back as he knelt down next to the gravesite. "He seems…happier than the last time we visited," Kevin remarked as he studied his dad.
"Of course he is," Blue replied with a flip of her green lengths. "He has me, and I have verked very hard for his happiness."
The young man chuckled appreciatively. "I know. Thanks."
"Ah never thought ah'd see the day that Papa would be happy…" Caitir mused as she absently played with one of her twintails; she had developed a fascination with her new silky, green locks since her own transformation a month prior. "Ah must say; yer a miracle worker, Blue."
"S-Sank you very much," the former Steenee replied, and the others chuckled sympathetically as she unsuccessfully hid a blush behind her hand fan; even though she was as confident as ever, she would still become quite shy when praised directly. She shifted her gaze from them to her favorite human, who had just placed a single rose by his late wife's headstone. "I know he vill alvays love her," she sighed, "and I vould never sink to replace her. All I can do is make sure to not be jealous of her; after all, it is my job to take care of him now."
Back at Valerie's grave, Craig smiled briefly at his happily chatting family before directing his attention to the smooth gray headstone before him. "Hello, love. I'm sorry for being away for so long." A heavy sigh. "It just became too painful to see you…like this, so I couldn't…" He sighed again, this time with a heave of his shoulders. "I'm sorry."
As expected, no response was forthcoming.
"Heh…" Craig chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair, and he realized that he had likely developed a bit of gray at the temples since his last visit; not much, but enough to denote the passage of time. "Well, I'm sure you've met Kevin's Pokémon. In fact, if I remember correctly, you would have known Amour, wouldn't you? She was a…a…" He looked up, his forehead wrinkling as he tried to remember the name of Amour's original form. "Doggone it; I can't keep track of all those names. Our boy told me that there are over eight-hundred different kinds of them running all over the world. Anyway, she's human now. So are Blue and Caitir-wait, you haven't met her yet, have you? She used to be a…well, a Pokémon, but changed about a month ago." He blinked, than chuckled self-consciously. "Look at me; I haven't visited you in a long time, and all I can comfortably talk about are Kevin's friends." He sighed yet again, his eyes misting as he studied the headstone. "I miss you, Val. Not as much as I used to, but…" He thumped his hand against his chest. "It's not the same; you left a hole that no one can ever fill." He looked over at his family, Blue in particular. "I don't know if I need to ask for your forgiveness, but Blue has been pestering me about becoming my wife, and I think she's winning." He chuckled awkwardly. "Sometimes I wonder if she's a reincarnated version of you, what with how stubborn and persistent she can be at times… But she's definitely her own person." He looked back to where the chiseled stone, barely-warmed by the afternoon sun, regarded him silently. "Anyway, I came to tend to your grave, and to let you know that I'm doing okay…all things considered." Unsure of what else to say, he hesitantly reached out and patted the headstone. "Love you, sweetheart, and…I still miss you." He wiped an errant tear from his eye as he got to his feet.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kevin saw his dad's movement and looked over in time to see him spraying a paper towel with a bottle of glass cleaner before starting to wipe down the front of the gravestone. "I think he's about done," he said, unintentionally interrupting an exchange between Blue and Caitir as he jerked his chin toward his father.
The girls smiled fondly at the sight of the Hart patriarch's tender care of his late wife's grave. "He is good man," Blue murmured to no one in particular. She then rested a hand on her former coach's back. "Vhen he is done zen you take turn."
Craig finished his work, then headed over to the group. "Thank you. Whoever's next can go."
Silently and tight-lipped, Kevin headed over to his mother's grave. He knelt down and laid a second rose next to the one his father had left a short time prior. "Hey, Mom," he greeted in a noticeably-strained voice; while he had come a long way in three years, the last few months in particular, losing a parent was something that would never be overcome, regardless of age. "Just, uh, wanted to give you an update." He rolled back to a seated position on the grass between his mom's tomb and the one next to it. "Things have been pretty hectic since the last time I visited, but I think they're starting to settle down now. Oh! We won the tournament, by the way; Blue did such an awesome job in the final round! See, she was up against a Lucario – they're one of the more powerful Pokémon out there – and she beat him! She didn't do the whole thing alone, though; Amour and Belch did a great job…and Leviathan finally became a Gyrados." He smiled at the memory. "That was awesome. Anyway, um… I don't know how to say this, but Amour and Blue? They're…not Pokémon anymore; they're human. Well, mostly-human. Human enough." He chuckled awkwardly. "And, uh, Amour and I are dating now. She's really cute and really sweet…but she's always been like that, huh?" He glanced over his shoulder at his girl who gave him a finger wave, which he returned. "And I have a new sister, now; her name's Caitir, and she joined our family a while ago. She used to be a Kirlia, but she's human now, too. Well, mostly-…you know what I mean." He looked over his shoulder again. "Well, I'd better wrap it up; Blue and Amour want to talk to you, and we're going to be going to dinner after this, so I don't want to make us too late." He got to his feet and brushed the dirt and grass particles from his hands as well as the seat of his pants. He gazed at the headstone and allowed the memories to return; memories of love, of laughter, of a young boy squirming in his mother's warm embrace… A tear slid down his cheek. "I know I'll be okay, Mom, but…" He drew a shuddering breath. "…I'll always miss you." Feeling sad yet comforted, Kevin trudged back to the group with conflicting emotions. "I'm done."
Blue nudged Amour. "You go next," she said. "Take Caitir and introduce her."
The former Kirlia looked over at Blue with a puzzled expression but decided to keep any questions to herself for the time being. As she followed Amour over to the gravesite, however, she asked, "Why are ye supposed tae introduce me tae her? She cannae hear us since she's dead, right?"
Amour pushed a lock of wavy black hair over her ear as she considered the question. "Is zere…anysing you wish you could say to your former trainer?"
Caitir's expression darkened at the question. "Plenty, tae be sure, but what does that have tae do with this?"
Amour gave herself a moment to carefully consider her reply. "It is called 'closure', and because Madame Valerie died so suddenly zere were many, many sings zat Monsieur Craig and Keveen would 'ave wanted to tell 'er." She gestured to the headstone as they arrived. "So zey come 'ere and tell 'er so zey can feel like she is still part of zere lives."
"Even though she's not here…?" Caitir considered her sister's words as she regarded the grave before her. "Ah cannae say ah ken completely, but ah'll play along if it'll help me ken…and help Papa and Kevin feel better."
"I am sure zey will appreciate it," Amour said with a reassuring smile, then turned her attention to the reason for their visit. "Madame Valerie? I am sure Keveen 'as mentioned 'er already, but this is Caitir. She joined our family several months ago as a Kirlia but became 'uman not too long ago. She is a sweet girl, and I think you'll…" She paused as her breath unexpectedly caught in her throat. "I think you would 'ave loved 'er dearly, as the rest of us do."
"P-Pleased tae meet ye, ma'am," Caitir stuttered, still unsure of what to make of the whole situation. "Yer husband was kind enough tae let me live with his family, and they've been so good tae me." She thought a bit then added, "'Tis a shame we never met; Papa and the others have spoken so highly of ye that it saddens me that ye passed before we could have met." She turned a hesitant gaze over to her companion. "I'm not sure what else I kin say, sis."
"Zat is okay," Amour said reassuringly with a pat on the other girl's shoulder. "Ze point was for you to meet her." She turned her full attention to Valerie's headstone. "As you can see, ma'am, your 'usband is still very much a kind man. As for me…" Her cheeks pinked ever so slightly. "Keveen and I started dating a while back, but do not worry; we are still sleeping in separate rooms, though…" Her blush deepened and spread as her eyes twinkled briefly. "But zat will 'ave to be after 'e starts 'is career, no? Zat reminds me; I became 'uman a while back; I must say, it 'as made interacting with 'umans easier in some ways and more difficult in others."
"For instance; she keeps gettin' hit on even when she's hangin' on yer boy's arm," Caitir added helpfully.
"Caitir!" Amour yelped, her face now crimson. "She does not need to know zat! You 'ave been invited on dates several times yourself, 'ave you not?"
"Aye, but ah'm not datin' anyone right now," Caitir replied with a playful grin. "Ah guess ah'm a little too rough-and-tumble for the lads."
Amour huffed in frustration before addressing the headstone again. "In any case, everyone is doing fine, though we all still miss you. I miss you." She allowed herself a moment to think. "I guess zere is nothing more to say for now. Thank you for raising such a kind boy, and I promise to take good care of 'im as a girlfriend and, eventually…" A blush started to make a return. "…as 'is wife." She abruptly spun on Caitir. "Do you 'ave anysing more you wish to say?"
"N-Nae…" Caitir replied, startled by the sudden movement. "We'd best hurry back, anyway; Blue still needs tae talk tae her, and I dinnae want tae make us late for dinner."
"Zen we will go," Amour said, grabbing her sister's hand to hurry her back to the group, where the trio was talking quietly amongst themselves. "Blue, she ees all yours."
"Sank you," she replied before quickly making her way over to the gravesite while still making sure to not trample on the resting places of other people. She took a moment to study the headstone; it seemed to her as though it had been a long time since her last visit, but she knew that it was simply because so much had happened in her life since then. "Hello, Valerie. It seems like it has been a long time since ve last spoke, but it is just zat so much has happened since zen." She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Ve von tournament, and zen our poor, dear Craig ended up in hospital due to being attacked by bad people using Pokémon, but don't vorry; he finished healing a long time ago because I made sure he had lots of protein and other vitamins and other sings good for healing body. Oh! In case you vere vorried, he vas only bruised; ze poor Pokémon didn't break anysing. After zat, Caitir joined our family." Her pace started to pick up as she became more excited. "After zat, ve vent on picnic and Amour, Caitir, and I got into big fight vith lots of vild Pokémon, and zen Amour and I evolved, only ve didn't evolve into Gothielle and Tsareena. No, ve became human!" She spread her hands as though to present herself, then flinched as she remembered Amour's situation. "Oh, and somevhere in zere Amour and Kevin started dating, but as you know she is human as vell so it is not problem." She sighed heavily with a satisfied smile, which then faded as she regarded the grave of her beloved's late wife. "You know, I vould give up on him in heartbeat if I knew zat it vould bring you back to him." She giggled awkwardly as she wiped a tear form her eye. "After all, ve both vant him to be happy, da?" She giggled again at the lack of response from her silent hostess. "Valerie? I promise to you zat I vill do everysing I can to help him. I vill not try to replace you; I know zat I never could. But I vill do my best to be zere for him. After all, isn't zat vhat being good vife is all about?" She turned to leave but stopped to look back one more time. "He still loves you, and I vill no nossing to take zat avay from him. Take care; even though I never met you, I love you." She thought for a moment, then nodded with a satisfied smile before rejoining the others. "I am ready to go," she announced.
Craig grunted in acknowledgment before turning to lead the way to the restaurant they had chosen for dinner. As she slipped her arm through his, he asked, "Did you get to say everything you wanted to?"
"Da," she replied. "Ve haven't had many sings happen since our last visit; zey have just been big ones."
"That's true," he said while snapping the fingers of his free hand. "You visited Val right before the tournament, didn't you?"
"Da," she repeated. "Ve visited before I showed everyone zat ve are best Pokémon." She briefly studied her hand and glanced over at her shoulder at the other girls before adding, "Vell…ve vere best Pokémon."
"Do you regret becoming human, then?" Kevin asked from behind the couple.
"Nyet!" Blue exclaimed with a disapproving glance over her shoulder at the younger Hart. "If I had become Tsareena, I vould not be able to be vith your father like zis!"
"That reminds me…" Craig said, "…how's your heart holding up?"
"Oh, my dearest Craig…" Blue sighed in exasperation, though she gave his arm an extra squeeze. "Vhy do you keep asking zat? It is fine; Professor Gottum explained it to you, did he not?"
"He did," Craig grunted in admission; during the former Steenee's stay in the hospital, nearly every Pokémon professor visited to perform as many tests as she would allow. When they had compared her situation to those of other transformed Pokémon they found a consistent pattern. "Your heart stopped long enough to change, then it started again." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Lyubov'; it's just that…normally, when a human heart stops beating it's usually because…" He trailed off, unable to finish his thought.
Blue smiled fondly up at her favorite human; she understood that he would never fully recover from his loss. "Kevin, please take Amour and Caitir and vait for us at restaurant."
Kevin took the cue and nodded silently before guiding the girls on his arms down the sidewalk and away from the pair. As they departed, the girls looked back with soft smiles and encouraging nods.
Blue waited until the trio rounded the corner before returning her attention to her distressed friend. "Come, Craig; let us talk." She led him over to a nearby park, eventually sitting with him on one of its many benches. "I am very sorry for upsetting you like zat; I vish I could take your pain avay."
"I know," Craig murmured, then chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair again. "And it's not your fault; your body did what it had to. I just…"
She smiled over at him as he stared at the ground, then scooted over to wrap her arms around him.
Sometimes the best responses didn't require any words.
Aaron checked his watch and compared it with the clock on the wall of the restaurant where he worked; if the time he was seeing was right, he had about fifteen minutes before the end of his shift. "What a long day…" He headed to the podium near the entrance to make sure the check-in materials were ready for his relief.
He had torn off a completed page from the guestbook when the sound of the door opening drew his attention, and he quickly cast his gaze to the group that entered the lobby; the man in front seemed rather nondescript, though he looked nice in his charcoal-colored suit which nicely matched the darkness of his hair that was marred only by a slight salt-and-peppering at the temples. The woman with him… Aaron's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Long, green hair fell behind her statuesque form to her waist, wavy except for the very ends, which abruptly curled upward. Her outfit consisted of a floor-length dress that hugged her generous curves until it reached her waist, at which point it flared outward. The lower part of the dress split in the front, revealing shapely legs. Forcing his eyes upward he discovered that she had the lower half of her face covered by a white, lacy fan held in a delicate hand, though he could see beautiful ruby-colored eyes twinkling at him over the cover. To the young man behind the guest podium, it was like looking at a goddess.
"G-Good evening," he managed as he unconsciously straightened his tie, feeling overwhelmed in the presence of such pure femininity as he forced his gaze to the man. "Welcome to The Gazebo; I'm Aaron, and it'll be my privilege to seat you. Do you have a reservation?"
"Good evening," the older man returned pleasantly as the beauty on his arm gazed at him. "We do; reservations for five for Hart, H-a-r-t; no 'e'."
"Five?" Aaron had been so mesmerized by the woman's beauty that he had nearly missed the trio mostly obscured by the loveliness before him. "Oh! Of course! E-Excuse me!" He sent a friendly wave past the couple before consulting his guestbook. "Hart…no 'e'…ah! Here you are!" He briefly smiled at the group as he collected the appropriate quantity of menus from inside the podium. "If you'll follow me, please." He somehow managed to drag his gaze away to lead the group into the restaurant proper.
As they followed their host, Craig sighed heavily. "At least this one wasn't as bad as the one at the coffee shop," he murmured to the woman on his arm.
"Zat one vas positively beast," Blue huffed behind her fan, which she then fluttered just slightly. "And I even used zis to avoid attention."
"Considering that most women don't use fans anymore, I think it ended up drawing more attention to yourself," he replied evenly, though mild irritation could be heard in his tone as he burned his gaze into the back of their host; behind him, Kevin shared an amused smile with Amour and Caitir. "Besides, you're a very beautiful woman; of course you're going to command attention."
Blue said nothing, but her cheeks darkened behind the lacy accessory. For his part, Craig found himself wondering if Professor Gottum and his wife had to deal with that kind of attention after her transformation.
"Here you go," Aaron announced as they arrived at their booth. "Please let us know if there's not enough room and we'll either get you a chair or reseat you if you wish."
"Thank you," Craig replied as he gestured for Blue to sit down first.
Aaron bowed slightly before addressing the previously unseen trio. "Should-"
What had caused him to freeze were two more visions of loveliness, one on each arm of the younger man, who he realized had to be the man's son. One of the girls wore a black empire-style dress that went to the knees and was decorated with small white bows. Black leggings protected her modesty from the knees down. She had dark – almost black – wavy hair, and her soft blue eyes tried to turn his legs to jelly. The other one, by contrast, had much brighter colors; her white summery dress went well with her green leggings which, in turn, matched nicely with the color of her hair, which had been styled into twintails with a pair of red hair ties, though a lock had been left in the front to cover her right eye. She appeared to be appraising him with her visible eye, which twinkled with mischievousness.
He quickly recovered his composure with a clearing of his throat. "I-I'll be back with your water, and Brandi will be your server tonight." He bowed again. "If you have any questions, Carter will be taking over for me shortly so feel free to ask him."
"Done for the day, huh?" Kevin asked with a friendly smile as he slid into his seat next to Amour; on her other side sat Caitir.
"In about ten minutes, yes, sir," Aaron replied with a smile of his own and a polite incline of his head. "I apologize."
"No problem," Craig said with a smile of his own. "And I must compliment you on your professionalism."
Their host blinked; he hadn't expected the praise, welcome as it was. "Um, thank you, sir. Is…Is there anything more I can get for you? Other than the water, that is?"
"I think we're fine for now, thank you," Craig said, noting the nodding heads around him.
As their host departed, Caitir gave Amour a wicked grin. "He was checkin' ye out, sis."
The dark-haired girl gave her sister a withering look. "Please, do not start zat now."
"He was checking both of you out," Kevin remarked quietly, then chuckled. "Can't fault his taste." An annoyed grunt from the Hart patriarch broadened his smile as he realized that their host must have been appraising Blue as well. "You okay, Dad?"
"I'm fine," Craig grumbled. "Just feeling a little protective right now."
Blue affectionately patted her favorite human on the arm as she smiled up at him. As she looked back to the other she couldn't help but notice that Caitir watch as their host headed away, so she decided to tease the former Kirlia. "Do you like vhat you see, Caitir?"
"Maybe," she replied as she absently brushed one of her twintails over her shoulder. "Ah couldnae help but notice that he was givin' we lasses a once-over, so ah thought ah should respond in kind."
"I'm sure he didn't mean any harm, Caitir," Kevin told her. "Don't tell me you didn't notice all the glances the three of you were getting on our way here."
"And the dirty looks ye were gettin'," Caitir countered. "But with a beauty like Amour on yer arm, I cannae say ah blame 'em."
"They were noticing you as well," Amour pointed out. "You are quite lovely, after all."
Craig shared a smile and a shake of the head with his son across the table. "Okay, let's drop it for the time being," he said gently, and with a raised hand. "I've heard this conversation several times already, and I don't think it polite to dominate our dinner conversation with it…again."
The girls giggled their apologies, and the family spent the next few minutes looking around and savoring the restaurant's atmosphere before turning their attention to their menus. A few minutes later a young woman with large, brown eyes and a dazzling smile arrived to take their orders. "They'll be ready in about ten to fifteen minutes," she told them before presenting another dazzling smile that seemed to favor the younger Hart as she nearly skipped away.
Kevin felt a tightening on his arm and found Amour glaring at their departing server. "It doesn't matter what she thinks,' he said as he gently squeezed her hand. "I'm yours, and that's what matters."
She blinked moist eyes up at him. "Okay, Keveen."
A few minutes later Caitir excused herself from the table. "Ah just need tae use the ladies' room," she said discreetly. "Ah should be back before dinner arrives." She then returned the wave from her family before heading toward the hallway that led to the restrooms. Just as she entered the hallway she saw their host sliding a card through a nearby touchpad, presumably 'clocking out' for the evening. Feeling a little mischievous, she headed over to him with a catlike grin and her hands folded behind her back. "Ey."
He nearly jumped at the unexpected greeting. "Oh, um…hi."
"Gettin' ready to leave for the day?"
He fumbled his employee card, dropping it to the floor. "S-Sorry…" he quickly retrieved it and slid it into his wallet. "Yeah, um… Eight-hour shift and I'm done for the day."
"Ye were checkin' me out, weren't ye?" she asked abruptly.
The flustered young man emitted random syllables before managed to say, "Sorry, ma'am; it's just that you're so pretty, it's…it was tough not to notice. If you want to talk to my manager, I'll get him for you."
"Nae, I'm not offended," she replied, rocking back onto her heels before settling again. "Do ye like yer job?"
"M-My job?" Aaron couldn't believe his good fortune to have such a beauty talking to him. "Uh, yeah, actually; I get to meet and help all kinds of people, and the pay's really good." He shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to get through college without it, to be honest."
"College?" Caitir had heard of the type of school, but since Kevin was still in high school she hadn't had the chance to visit one. "What're ye studyin' to become?"
"A lawyer," he quickly replied. "I've seen the reports about abused Pokémon, so I want to become a lawyer so I can fight for them."
The former Kirlia's breath caught in her throat as her smile faded; her intent had been to tease the young man a bit, so his words caught her completely off-guard. "You…"
"It really pisses me off the way those trainers think they can do whatever they want with their Pokémon," Aaron told her while raising a fist. "They may not be human, but they have their own thoughts and feelings and should be treated with dignity and respect."
"Aye…" Caitir's eyes lost focus as she remembered…
"The one that I remember the most is Trainer Andy's Pokémon," Aaron continued, not noticing the look in the girl's eyes with as absorbed in his train of thought as he was. "I can't believe that he would betray them like that! I mean, a Buneary requires a lot of trust just to-"
"Stop!" Caitir exclaimed, wrapping her arms around herself as she shuddered violently. "Just stop…please."
Aaron snapped out of his reverie to finally notice the state of his guest. "What's the matter? Did I say something wrong? Are you a trainer, too?"
"N-Nae…" she managed as the memories flooded back. "I…I was the Kirlia."
"Oh." He wasn't sure what to say to that, especially considering that he felt like he had stuck his proverbial foot in his mouth. "I'm sorry. Um… Let me help you back to your seat, and then I'll get the manager so you can file a-"
His words were cut off by a burst of laughter. "Good grief! Stop trying tae sic yer manager on yerself!" Her laughter faded to an amused grin. "Thanks for carin'. About me and my sisters, ah mean." Her expression further faded to an awkward smile, complete with darting glances. "Say, ye got a girl ye fancy?"
"Excuse me?" Aaron was certain that he had heard incorrectly. "Are you asking me if I have a g-girlfriend?"
"A-Aye."
His forehead furrowed with his confusion. "Well, no… No, I don't."
"Are ye free on Friday?"
"Huh?"
She crossed her arms, her impish smile making a return. "I asked ye if yer free on Friday."
"I…don't have anything planned, no," he replied cautiously, uncertain as to the intent behind her question.
"Then how aboot a movie and dinner?" she offered, suddenly stepping into his personal space. "I'll pay for the movie, an' you can pay for the dinner. Sound fair?"
He opened his mouth to protest, wondering why she would ask a total stranger on what amounted to a date, when he remembered what she had divulged about her past. "That…sounds great," he replied, allowing a wary smile to spread. "How…How do you want to exchange contact info?"
"Like this," she replied, then grabbed him by the arm to drag him back to her table, where the others watched her with varying degrees of surprise. "Papa, I'd like to go on a date with this nice young man on Friday. Would that be all right?"
Understandably, Craig was concerned. "But…haven't you two just met? Shouldn't you correspond a few times beforehand?"
"He wants tae be a lawyer who fights for Pokémon," she declared while giving her adoptive father a meaningful look.
Her expression was not lost on her adoptive father, who nodded thoughtfully. "I…could certainly see the appeal." He sighed. "As this is a first date, however, I cannot permit the two of you to be alone." He looked around the table and an idea came to mind. "How about we make it a double-no, a triple-date? The two of you, Kevin and Amour, and Blue and myself."
A gasp drew everyone's gaze to the former Steenee. "You…vould go on date vith me?"
Craig's face heated up at the directness of her words. "Well, why not? We've already been out together on several occasions, so…"
"That's an awesome idea, Dad," Kevin said, a smile spreading as he squeezed his girl's hand. "Hey, Caitir; did you have anything in particular in mind?"
The green-haired girl quickly explained her idea, which was met with much approval. "We'd dine somewhere other than here, of course," Craig added. "We wouldn't want you coming to your workplace on your day off."
"I appreciate that, sir," Aaron chuckled.
"Here, let me give you my card," the older man offered as he reached into his shirt pocket. "Give me a call at the cell number listed on here and we'll work out the details. Oh, and you'll probably want her contact info, right?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
Crag extended his hand, in which he held a card. "She and I will talk later to figure out what we're both comfortable with at this time." He gave the aspiring attorney a knowing smile. "I'm sure you can understand my concern as her father."
"Absolutely, sir," Aaron replied as he accepted the card.
"Well, we'd better let ye get on yer way," Cait said, though with reservations; after all, she had just found an advocate so she wasn't too eager to let him go. "I'll just have tae look forward tae talkin' with ye later."
He met her gaze and tried to not become lost in her ruby-red eyes. "I look forward to it as well, Miss…"
A longish pause was interrupted by a snort from across the table. "You mean he doesn't even know your name?" Kevin guffawed. "Do you know his?"
"Eh, what are names when ye have love?" Caitir retorted, causing the young man next to her to pale. "But now that ye mention it…" She looked back to her new friend. "My name's Caitir; Caitir Hart."
"Aaron Carter," he replied, still enraptured by her playful gaze. "It's a pleasure to meet you. To meet you all, really."
They finished their pleasantries and Aaron departed…leaving the Hart family without water. "Vhat did you do to zat poor man?" Blue asked, laughing along with the others.
"I jes' wanted tae tease him a little since he was checkin' us out," the former Kirlia explained, "but then he told me that he wants tae protect Pokémon from abuse."
"Mmm…" Craig intoned; of course someone like that would be appealing to someone with Caitir's history. In fact, her situation was the reason why Craig himself had started to take on cases involving abused Pokémon. "Well, for what it's worth, I hope things work out well between you two."
"Thank ye, Papa," Caitir replied with a duck of her head. "If he's serious aboot helpin' us out, I'd really like tae be a support for him. Ah, it looks like dinner's served."
A few moments later their server arrived with their meals. "And here you go," she announced as she placed steaming plates in front of Kevin and Amour. "John should be along shortly with the rest, but I'll check with him just in case he needs more help."
"Thank you, ma'am," Craig said while eyeing his son's meal; the amount of food on his plate served as yet another reminder that Kevin was no longer his little boy but a man, nearly ready to move out on his own.
The rest of the meal was served and everyone dug in…except for Blue, who appeared to be studying her meal.
Craig couldn't help but notice. "Is everything okay, Lyubov'?"
Her cheeks pinked at the use of her intended name. "I…I vas just sinking…"
"What about?"
She sighed, then set her jaw and looked at her favorite human. "Dearest Craig, please let me out for a minute."
"Um, sure." He put his fork down and rose from his seat to let her slide out. He then sat back down again.
Instead of heading toward the washrooms as he half-expected, she took several steps away and clapped her hands loudly. "Please excuse me, darlings!" she called, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the restaurant. "I am very sorry for interrupting your meals, but I vish to tell you about great man, who means vorld to me."
Craig sputtered, nearly dropping his fork. "Blue, what are you-"
"I must tell you story, if you vill allow me," she asked her fellow patrons. "It is not long, but I must tell somebody."
Understandably, there was a fair amount of murmuring, but a male voice finally said, "Go ahead." Probably a guy who just wanted to be able to look at the beautiful woman with the funny accent.
"Sank you very much," she replied with another clap, one of gratitude. "Zere vas once Bounsweet who vas very silly and let herself get beaten up by Machoke named Goro…"
It wasn't hard to figure out that Blue was talking about herself, and Kevin leaned across the table. "Do you want me to stop her, Dad?"
"Just…let her do her thing…" Craig groaned as he buried his face in his hands. "You know how headstrong she can be."
"Especially when it comes to you," Kevin agreed with a chuckle as he leaned back again.
Craig could only grunt an acknowledgment.
"Zis Bounsweet found out zat big man vas giving ze orders. You know how Pokémon are, of course?" Blue said with a smile. After hearing several murmurs in the affirmative she continued. "Vell, zis Bounsweet like big man, but he knew zat he could not take care of Pokémon, so he gave her to his son to take care of." A few boos could be heard, and she raised her hands. "Vait, please. Sink about it; he knew his shortcoming and acted appropriately. Does zat not seem humble to you?"
Still in his seat, Craig blinked; was that what she really thought of him? He'd never thought of himself in the context of humility, but he couldn't argue with her logic. He sank a little in his seat.
"His son is good boy who taught zis Bounsweet how to talk and to get along vith humans as vell as other Pokémon, so she did not have to live in Poke Ball."
"Are you talking about Professor Gottum?" someone asked.
"No, no, darling," she giggled with a wave of her hand in the general direction of the voice, "though he is good man who I have had privilege to meet. Anyvay, zis Bounsweet lived and ate vith family and learned many sings from good boy, but her heart still vanted to be vith big man." A subdued chorus of 'aww's' brought a tint to her cheeks. "Now, feelings of Bounsweet are very simple; sink of zem as children. So zis Bounsweet make promise to herself and to big man – promise to big man is on inside, of course; vhen she becomes Steenee, she vill help around house, vith cleaning and cooking and other sings." She paused to gather her thoughts. "Thanks to good boy, she becomes Steenee and grows tiny, tiny hands and grows from a foot tall to about two feet tall, so she starts to help. At same time, though, she finds her feelings for big man changing, growing as vell."
Craig shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he forced himself to take a bite from his meal.
"She learns to cook and clean and makes all kinds of yummy sings for big man to eat. Vhen she sees him eat her cooking, she starts to love him…not as trainer, but as man." She blushed more deeply at the sound of several feminine gasps. "She goes to tournament and tries to vin to make him proud. She vins, zen professes her love to him, and you know vhat zis big ma did?" She looked around as though expecting an answer. "He turned her down…which is good thing!" she quickly said over some more 'boos'. "Is good thing, because it could have caused a lot of trouble for both of zem if he had accepted her feelings. Zis Steenee had heard about a Gardevoir's transformation to human, so she vanted to become human as vell so she could be with big man. Because, you see, zis big man is good man, who sinks about big picture as vell as small. I…Zat is, Steenee could not do zat."
Kevin looked around the room with a smile; everyone was still eating, but their attention was solely focused on his friend.
Blue took a deep breath. "So now, former Steenee stands before you to tell you about great man." She looked over at her favorite human, who had frozen in thought with his fork in his hand. "Dearest Craig, please stand vith me."
Craig's head rotated almost mechanically, and he raised his eyes to meet hers. He sighed, then put his fork down and slowly got up from his seat. Oddly enough, several of their fellow patrons began to applaud. "You're impossible," he murmured, just loud enough for only her to hear.
She grinned at his awkwardness before addressing the crowd again. "Zis is dearest Craig, who I love so very much and vish to marry. Vould you be villing to be vitnsesses to our vows?"
Craig blinked in surprise; he knew she wanted to marry him, and as he had admitted to his late wife earlier, he had been warming to the idea. "W-Wait, Lyubov'…" he said, turning her to face him. "A-Are you sure about this? Wouldn't you prefer a big wedding, with the cake and all that?"
"Cake is nice," she admitted, "but I cannot vait any more; I must be vith you!" She took a step away from his and took him by the hands. "Craig Hart, I love you more zan I vould have thought possible vhen I vas Bounsweet. I vill take care of our home and support you to best of my ability. I know zat I am still young and not vise to vays of vorld, but I know zat I can trust you to guide family vith visdom. I vill learn to be good vife and love you vith all my heart. I vill help Kevin be good man, just like you are." A tear slid from her eye. "I vill promise you all of zat."
Craig gazed at her with his mouth slightly open. He wondered how long she'd been planning this, how she'd come up with the words to say to him, how…
But she needed a response, and while he didn't think she'd chosen the venue to manipulate an agreement from him, he knew that it would be cruel to reject her.
Not that he wanted to, anyway. "Lyubov', you've been so good to Kevin and me for the last three…wow, almost four years, now." He smiled gently. "With the way I hear you talk, with the wisdom I hear from you, sometimes it's hard for me to believe that you're only about four years old. Right now, I feel a bit like a cradle-robber." Several people chuckled along with him at his statement. "But I can't imagine my life at this point without you as part of it. With the love you've shown me through all the things you've done, all the meals you've made…all the arguments we've had," he chuckled, casting his gaze to the side. He then straightened and met her teary gaze. "Lyubov', thank you for being in my life. I accept your love, but because the idea of love still carries some pain for me I ask that you be patient while I work my way through it." He cleared his tight throat. "I vow to lead our household with knowledge and wisdom and will seek your wisdom as a husband should. I will cherish you as you should be, and I look forward to our journey through life together."
The tears that had been pooling in Blue's eyes started to spill over, and she released his hands to cover her face. "My dearest Craig…" she whimpered as she pressed herself into him. "My dearest Craig…"
Seated at one of the many tables in the restaurant, Professor Oak gave his wife's hand a squeeze as he looked over at his younger colleague. "There's so much that we don't know about Pokémon, eh Jim?"
Professor Gottum chuckles as he dabbed at his eyes with a napkin before looking over at his wife, who watched the embracing couple with tears in her own eyes. "A lot to learn, Sam."
Rough Draft Complete
Author's Note: I will be hosting an After Action Review (AAR) on my Twitch channel (magnus_prime01) on Saturday, September 4th, at 3:30 PM PDT (UTC -7) and will go until either 5:30 PM PDT or until people get sick of me. I'll be available to answer any questions regarding my fanwork, talk about Pokemon, or just generally shoot the breeze. Hope to see somebody there! ^_^;