Once the group had returned to the Pokémon Center, the computer's video telephone started ringing. Nurse Joy tapped a button on the computer and a familiar face appeared.
"Nurse Joy? This is Professor Hale. Where is everyone? I tried to call my house, but no one answered."
"Papa!" Molly shrieked as she ran to the computer.
"Molly?" Spencer was overcome with joy at the sight of his daughter. "Oh, Molly. Are you all right?"
"I'm okay, Papa. Mama, I mean, Mrs. Ketchum took care of me while you were gone."
"Mrs. Ketchum?"
Delia's face appeared on the screen behind Molly's. "Hello, Spencer."
"Delia? What are you doing there?"
"We came to help take care of Molly while you were away. She's fine, by the way. How are you?"
"A little shaken up, but otherwise I'm fine. Tell Molly that I'll be home tomorrow."
"Yippee!" Molly jumped up excitedly and hugged Delia.
During the entire telephone conversation, Samuel watched Delia interact with Spencer and Molly.
She seems so happy when she's talking to him. And Molly obviously loves her; that poor little girl really does need a mother. And Spencer's much closer in age to Delia, not an old man like me. Perhaps she really would be better off with him.
"Professor Hale?" Skylar peeped over Delia's shoulder.
"Skylar! Have I got a lot to tell you!" Spencer exclaimed at the sight of his research assistant.
While Skylar and Spencer chatted, Molly ran over to her butler and maid and eagerly informed them that her papa would be home tomorrow. Delia, noticing the serious expression on Samuel's face, went over to him.
"Everything all right, Samuel?"
This is going to be so hard for me to do. But it really will be the best thing for her.
"Delia, why don't we go outside for a moment?" He took her arm and led her outside to the patio.
"Samuel, what's going on? Is something wrong?" Delia was concerned about the way he was acting.
"Delia, I've been doing some thinking about…well, about us."
"Samuel, you're starting to scare me when you talk like that. What's going on?" she demanded.
"It's just that…that…"
Just say it and get it over with.
The words started tumbling out. "That maybe you'd be better off with Spencer. He loves you, Molly needs a mother, and you're obviously fond of him. He'll be able to provide for you more than I ever will. You won't have to worry about being left alone since he's much closer to your age than I am." He smiled ruefully. "He's probably much better in bed, too, since he's a lot younger than I am."
"Samuel, what the hell are you talking about?! Have you lost your mind?" Delia was enraged. "Are you still mad at me for telling you about what happened between me and Spencer? That was one time and it was fourteen years ago!"
Samuel was stunned by her reaction. "No…no…it's just…" he stammered.
"Then why are you telling me that I'd be better off with Spencer?"
"Well, it's because…because it's probably true."
"Let me be the one to decide that, Samuel. Not you!" Delia was livid.
"Wow, your mom's really mad at Professor Oak," Misty informed Ash as she looked out the window.
Brock peered over her shoulder. "Whoa, you're not kidding. I don't think I've ever seen your mom so angry, Ash."
Ash shrugged his shoulders. "Nahh. Mom yells at me like that all the time. Maybe he forgot to tell her where he was going or something like that. Girls can get so upset over the littlest things."
"What do you mean by that, Ash Ketchum?" Misty said as she smacked him on the head.
"Ow! Misty!" Ash ducked to avoid being hit by Misty's flying backpack.
"And let me tell you another thing, Professor Samuel Oak! It drives me absolutely crazy when you shut me out like you did in the car! Don't you see that I want to help you when you're mad or upset about something? But you just shut yourself off from the world and bury yourself in your work." Her voice took on a softer edge. "Samuel, I love you. Don't shut me out of your life. And as for Spencer." She took his hand in hers. "I'm always going to care for him. He and I are friends. But you're the man that I love."
"Oh, Delia. I love you, too."
Ash and Misty were too busy fighting (with Brock trying to pull them apart) to notice Professor Oak and Delia kissing on the patio.
---
"Now be sure to stay out of trouble and call me as soon as you get to Goldenrod City."
"Don't worry, Mom. I will." Ash, Brock, and Misty were preparing to continue their journey in Johto.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Ketchum," Misty assured her. "I'll keep him in line."
Ash cringed, recalling how painfully Misty had clobbered him with her backpack earlier.
"Remember what we talked about, Ash," Professor Oak reminded the boy.
"I will, Professor. Oh yeah, one more thing." He took Professor Oak aside. "Could you keep an eye on my mom? Watch out for her while I'm gone? I get kind of worried about her sometimes."
Professor Oak, momentarily taken aback by Ash's surprising request, stammered, "Oh…um…well, I…" Finally, Professor Oak regained his composure. "I'd be happy to, Ash. Don't worry about a thing." He smiled in Delia's direction. "I'll take care of your mother."
"Great. Thanks, Professor."
"We'd better get going, guys. We want to make it to Goldenrod City before nightfall." Brock gathered up his backpack.
Professor Oak and Delia stood side by side and waved until the three teens were out of sight.
As Ash's head disappeared around the bend, Samuel nudged Delia's arm. "Do you think Ash suspects that there's something going on between us?"
Delia smiled reassuringly. "Even if he does, he doesn't seem upset about it." She gathered up her things. "Come on, let's get back to Pallet."
As the two were heading down the road back to Pallet Town, they drove past a quaint-looking house.
"Greenfield Bed and Breakfast," Professor Oak noted as he read the sign.
"It's so lovely," Delia commented as she admired the roses cascading from the front porch. "Maybe one day we can come back here and stay for a couple of days."
Samuel stopped the car and backed up to the driveway of the pretty little inn.
"Samuel? What are you…"
"You'll see," he said as he hopped out of the car and bounded up the front steps.
"Can I help you?" asked the man at the front desk.
"How much is your best room?"
"Well, it's two-fifty per night…"
"Great. I'll take it." Samuel tossed his credit card to the innkeeper. Delia walked in just as the innkeeper was handing Samuel the keys.
"Samuel? What's going on?"
"Since we don't have to be back at Pallet Town right away, I decided to take your advice. Besides, we still have some unfinished business to take care of."
Delia knew that gleam in his eye all too well.
He extended his hand to her. "Let's go upstairs and check out suite number three."
"You really are impulsive sometimes," Delia giggled as she followed him up the stairs. "Now I know where Ash gets it from."
"You haven't seen impulsive yet, my dear," Samuel said as he whisked her inside the room and locked the door.
He made love to her with an urgency that surprised even her.
She smiled as he traced the outline of the mole on her shoulder blade with the tip of his finger.
Everything's fine, he reassured her.
She laughed as he kissed the scar on her belly.
I love to hear you laugh, he told her.
She moaned in pleasure as he sank his fingers into the softness of her breasts, feeling that the left one was slightly fuller than the right.
You're absolutely perfect, he murmured.
Finally, once he was inside her, he swore to her that he would never let her go again.
Not now. Not ever.
Even now as he lay asleep next to her, his arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, keeping her close to him.
Don't worry, Samuel, Delia smiled contentedly as she closed her eyes and snuggled against the man she loved. I'll never leave you again.
As the occupants of suite number three laid in blissful slumber, three teenagers were passing by a pretty little inn with climbing roses trailing along the front porch.
"Hey, isn't that Professor Oak's car?" Brock said, pointing in the direction of the driveway.
"Black SUV, 'POKEPROF' license plate. That's Professor Oak's, all right." Ash said. "Wonder what it's doing here?"
"Maybe Professor Oak and your mom stopped to get some lunch before heading back to Pallet Town," Misty commented as she sniffed one of the pink roses wrapped around one of the posts on the front porch.
"But the sign says 'bed and breakfast'. Not bed and lunch," Ash said with some confusion. "Maybe we should go see why they're here."
Brock, who had correctly deduced the real reason why Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum had stopped at the inn, grabbed Ash's arm as he started up the front steps. "Uh, that's okay, Ash. I think they're fine."
"Oh!" Misty had figured it out, too. "Yeah, Ash. Besides, we need to get going to Goldenrod City."
"But I'm hungry now," Ash whined. "Maybe we can join them for lunch."
Misty grabbed Ash's other arm. "Come on, Ash. I don't think they serve hamburgers and milkshakes here."
Brock studied the map. "There's a town up ahead, about five kilometers from here. They should have something to eat there."
"Besides," Misty said as she dragged Ash away. "You just ate twenty minutes ago."
And as the occupants of suite number three continued to sleep, the three teenagers continued down the road on their journey.
THE END