Something didn't seem right. Pikachu could tell that the human named AJ wasn't feeling good at the moment. He didn't know why, but he guessed it may have had something to do with that strange box she had. Slowly wagging his tail as he tapped her shoulder, Pikachu saw that he managed to get the human's attention. With her looking at him, the Pokémon asked "Pika?"

"Yeah, I'm with Pikachu here. Everything okay, April?" Doctor Andrew asked.

"No. No, not really," AJ said.

"What is it? What's wrong?" the doctor asked, feeling a bit concerned about the shorter brunette.

"I just got some texts from Kaitlyn. And the last one said that Stephanie's on her way here," AJ said, getting nervous looks from both the doctor and the Pokémon.

Oh dear, my stars, ...other expressions of surprise and slight panic! I'm not sure how long it's been since I last updated this, so I'd just like to apologize for my lateness with this update (I blame this on tiredness that comes from helping babysit my nephew...he's quite the energetic and cute fella).

*claps my hands together* Now, for a quick recap of what happened last chapter: AJ lets Doctor Andrew in on the fact that she found and managed to make nice with the stowaway, something that surprises the good doctor. Promising to keep this a secret, Doctor Andrew proceeds to give Pikachu an examination/check-up that yields results of pretty good health in the adorable troublemaker ...save for some scratches and glass in his paws. Everything seems to be going well until AJ gets some texts from Kaitlyn saying that Stephanie's heading her way. Ruh-roh, this may not be good. So, just how will all of this go? Read on to find out, my loves, and I hope you all enjoy this. =)

"Oh dear. That's not good," Doctor Andrew said before biting his thumbnail. "What are you going to do about Pikachu?"

"I ...I don't know. I won't be able to get away in time enough. And, like you said, chances are Stephanie would be a bit too curious about the suddenly disappeared stowaway," the brunette said, mirroring the doctor's actions. Looking up, AJ asked "What do you think I should do?"

"Hmm," Doctor Andrew said before thinking on this. After a bit of thought, the doctor said "Well, April, you may not want to hear this, but this is just my opinion on the matter: I think you should do the right thing and tell Stephanie the truth about Pikachu."

A laugh escaping her, AJ said "I had a feeling you'd probably say something like that. Yeah, I know I should. But, ...I don't know, I'm just worried, I guess. What should I do if she says I can't let Pikachu stay with me?"

"Well, if how he is now is any indication, I'd say Pikachu's doing his best to show that he wants to break his bad behavior. Maybe you can try telling Stephanie that and see what she'll have to say then. And who knows? Maybe she'll let Pikachu stay with you," Doctor Andrew suggested as he saw AJ rub the Electric mouse Pokémon's back.

"I sure hope you'll be right about that, Doc," AJ said.

...

"So, I figured once we can have a meeting with Maryse, AJ, and Kaitlyn about it, we could possibly try to move forward with you having a heel turn and teaming with Maryse," Stephanie said as she and Alex made their way to the office of one of the doctors.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Steph," Alex said. "It's definitely gonna be interesting talking this out with the others. I just don't think I'll be able to really heel things up a lot."

"I can understand that. But, you know how you've been a tweener in the past?" Stephanie asked, bringing up some of Alex's past.

Laughing a bit, Alex said "Yeah, but that mostly just extended to me pranking a lot of the others until I eventually won the Women's Championship. ...Hmm, I think I could maybe tweak that a bit to work in a potential feud there."

"I'm sure we'll be able to get this all figured out. I just need to let Andrew know about our stowaway search progress, and then we can start to leave for the night."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Maybe getting some sleep'll help us get better heads for our searches," Alex suggested.

"Hopefully, Alex," Stephanie agreed with a laugh as the pair reached the office of Doctor Andrew. Knocking on the door before grabbing hold of the doorknob and giving the metal a twist, Stephanie pushed the door open and said "Andrew? Andrew, are you in here?"

...

"So you know what to do, right, Pikachu? When Stephanie gets here, you're going to be on your best behavior. Meaning no growling, no trying to run away, and no attacking her. It seems like you've shown that you might want to stay with me, so you have to show her that. And don't worry. Like with seeing Doctor Andrew, I'll be right here with you," AJ said as she rubbed Pikachu's back.

"Pika," the Electric mouse responded with a nod as he worked to stay calm. This new human…. The one they called Stephanie…. He remembered the night he first saw her-after all, it was when he first joined this huge group and hid in one of those big boxes that held all of the weird things that he accidentally tore and broke in his travels, something that he still felt some guilt about. If only there was some way he could show he was sorry for what he did to the human named Stephanie and those other humans that tried to battle him, along with their Pokémon….

A light chuckle escaping him, Doctor Andrew said "Don't worry, Pikachu. Just behave like you did when I gave you your check-up, and everything will go fine."

Looking to the human named Doctor Andrew, Pikachu gave him a nod. With both of the humans having faith in him and his forthcoming meeting with the human named Stephanie, the Pokémon sat in wait of what was to come.

Laughing a bit at Pikachu's show of bravery, AJ joined in on waiting for when Stephanie would finally show up at the doctor's offi-

Knocking at the door soon got everyone's attention followed by a familiar voice. "Andrew? Andrew, are you in here?"

"There she is. You ready for your big meeting, Pikachu?" AJ asked in a soft voice.

"Ka Pik Pika," Pikachu nodded in response.

Looking up to Doctor Andrew, AJ gave him a look that said "You can tell her to come in."

Giving a nod in response, Doctor Andrew replied "Yes, I'm in here, Stephanie. You can come in."

Her hand still on Pikachu's back, AJ watched as Stephanie walked inside with Alex.

Her eyes immediately catching sight of the Pokémon in the room, Alex blurted "Aww, there's a Pikachu in here! I'm guessing this little guy is yours, Doc?" as she walked over and scratched the Electric mouse's head, something that he seemed fairly receptive to, given how he closed his eyes and smiled, a content "Kaaaaa" coming from him.

A light chuckle escaping him, Doctor Andrew shook his head as he said "Actually, no, Alex. This little guy here is actually AJ's."

"Whoa, seriously?!" the brunette asked in surprise. Turning to look at her friend and one of her students, Alex smiled before saying "That's awesome, AJ! Congrats on finally catching your first Pokémon." and giving the brunette a hug.

"Um, thanks, Alex. ...But, actually, there's a bit of a funny story about Pikachu here," AJ said after Alex pulled away from her.

"Funny how? Did you catch him with our favorite graffiti artists?" Alex asked with a laugh as she thought back to one time she had seen Paige and Emma along with their Pokémon drawing on the faces of some roster members that had been caught by someone's Pokémon using Sing.

"No, not quite," AJ said before biting her lip.

"Well, what's the funny story?" Alex asked, feeling confused.

"Yes, April. Please do tell us this funny story about your Pikachu," Stephanie said after making her way over to the group.

Taking a breath as she slowly gestured to the Pokémon in question, AJ said "Stephanie. Alex. This is Pikachu, our friend the stowaway."

At first, neither Stephanie nor Alex knew what to say. After all, if April was indeed telling the truth, then that would mean that she somehow managed to catch the ever-elusive stowaway that had been following them for so long. Finally managing to find their words, all Alex could think to say was "Wait. What?!" as Stephanie stood in surprise of this new development.

*needle scratches a record* Oh my! Looks like Stephanie (and Alex, too) now knows the identity of the stowaway that's been following them for so long. Now that the Billion Dollar Princess is aware of this, what will she do? That shall be revealed...next chapter. Until then, don't forget to RR please. =)

(*sends love and good vibes out to you all* Stay safe and healthy out there, lovelies.)