Summary: After running into Devimon for the first time, Gomamon and Joe have been separated from the group. Now floating on a bed to who-knows-where in the ocean, Gomamon can't help but do some thinking. And while by the refreshing water, he starts asking about his partner. And he's a little more than eager to learn.


Getting To Know You: Gomamon and Joe


There looked to be nothing except water ahead. There was no land anywhere. All Gomamon and Joe could do was wait as the bed they were on continued drifting aimlessly along the water.

Gomamon didn't see anything ahead of him. It was all ocean. Then he looked up at Joe, who was examining each of his parts. Suddenly, Gomamon was starting to see this as a great opportunity to find out a little more about his partner. After all, they WERE alone.

"What are you doing, Joe?" Gomamon asked curiously.

"What else? Checking for injuries. After all we've been through, I'm surprised I haven't broken every bone in my body."

Gomamon yawned. "You know something, Joe? Maybe I didn't realize it until after the fight with Devimon, but I realize that I hardly know you at all. Is it ok if…I ask you some stuff?"

"Stuff? Like what?"

Gomamon thought about that. He didn't think he'd actually have this opportunity. He wondered what to ask first. Then it hit him.

"Well…why were you so scared of me the first time we met?"

Joe raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No. Why did you scream and run? Is it because you've never seen a Digimon before?"

Joe just stared at Gomamon.

Gomamon sweatdropped. "Ok, maybe I just answered my own question. But you can't be scared of everything like you were scared of me."

"Who said I was?" Joe demanded.

"A friend," Gomamon answered, remembering what Palmon said way back when.

"For your information, it's not that I'm always scared. It's just that I'm…cautious."

"Is that why you're always checking for injuries?"

"You might say that. It's always best to be careful. Since I'm hoping to be a doctor someday, it's often best to spot any injury early."

"Oh, you want to be a doctor someday?" Gomamon asked. "Then maybe you know what's wrong with you. I was talking this over with some of the others and I thought it was just some xenophobia."

"Xenophobia? The fear of strangers?"

"I knew you'd know what it means," Gomamon said cheerfully. "After all, you ARE trying to be a doctor."

Joe shook his head. "You're a little confused. That's a psychiatrist. They're the ones who study things like phobias. I'm trying to be the kind of doctor that helps people when something's broken, you know what I mean?"

"Like if you break your leg while you're swimming?"

Joe thought about that. "Well…I personally wouldn't. I'm not into swimming that much."

Gomamon gasped. "You don't like swimming? You're joking, right?"

"No. Don't like to swim. You might call it a hydrophobia."

"Huh?"

"Fear of water."

"Oh. Well, you have nothing to be scared of, Joe. In fact, why don't you go ahead and take a swim right now. There's no one around. It's just us. Let's just take a swim."

"Uh…Gomamon? I don't think…AAAAAHHHH!!!"

**SPLASH**

Gomamon didn't even wait. He just pushed Joe off the floating bed and into the ocean. What Gomamon didn't expect, though, was to see Joe flailing wildly.

"I should have probably told you this," Joe yelled. "But I CAN'T SWIM!"

"Hmm…that's probably one of those things you might want to tell someone, Joe."

"HELP!!! SAVE ME!!!"

"Whatever you say. Marching Fishes!"

Gomamon calmly looked on as his fishy friends each gathered to keep Joe afloat. They moved him over and placed him back on the bed.

"Thanks, guys!" Gomamon grinned. He looked over at Joe, who was coughing loudly. "Hey Joe, you don't sound so good. You ok?"

"Considering that I almost just drowned…NO! What kind of partner are you?! You're supposed to protect me, not put me in danger!"

"Oh Joe," Gomamon moaned. "I never would have guessed that humans can't swim."

"Actually…most humans CAN swim. Pretty much ALL humans can swim…except for me."

"Really?" Gomamon asked in shock. "Joe, I can't sit back as you miss out on the fun of swimming."

"Gomamon, no. It's ok…AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

**SPLASH**

Gomamon pushed Joe right back into the water. Then he dove in himself and held him up before he sank. That didn't mean Joe wasn't still flailing for dear life.

"Joe, calm down. I'm not going to let you sink. I'm going to help you learn how to swim on your own. Joe…relax…stop struggling. Just trust me."

Joe finally calmed himself. "Fine! But if I drown, I'm gonna be really mad."

"Ok then. Now the first thing you need to do is start kicking your legs. Kick with your legs. Splashing with your legs helps. Ok, and as soon as you do that, you're going to start stroking with your arms. You're doing good. I'm going to let go now, ok?"

"HUH?!"

"And…GO!"

Gomamon let go and Joe managed to stay afloat…for a few seconds. Then he started to slowly sink in the water.

Gomamon shook his head. "Oh Joe…you almost had it. Ok, you can come up now. Joe? I said you could come up now. Um…ok…if you want to start blowing bubbles, you can do that."

The bubbles kept rising to the surface and finally it started to hit Gomamon that something may have been wrong. So he dove in and saw that Joe was sinking fast. Gomamon quickly retrieved his human partner and pulled him back up to the surface, putting back on the bed.

"Joe? Are you ok?"

Joe turned over and started coughing loudly. "Oh great! Now I have swimmer's ear! What's the matter with you?! Didn't you see I was drowning?!"

"I thought you'd do like me and start breathing. Don't humans breathe underwater?"

"NO! Humans don't breathe underwater!"

"So humans can swim, but they can't breathe underwater? Sounds weird to me."

"Gomamon, do me a favor. Next time you see me drowning, give me CPR or something."

"Uh…what's CPR?"

Joe sighed. "Ok…you don't know what CPR is. I'll tell you. It means cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CPR is a life-saving technique used when someone's been in the water too long and can no longer breathe. CPR is used to help get breathing going again."

"Oh, can you show me?"

"Uh…I guess so. Pretend that you've been drowning. Just lie on your back and close your eyes."

Gomamon followed the instructions to the letter. He lied back and closed his eyes. He started to feel Joe's hands pumping on his stomach. Suddenly, he felt Joe's mouth on his own. Panicked by the sudden contact, Gomamon started pounding on the back of Joe's head. Joe let go and Gomamon quickly got up and started coughing and gagging.

"YECH! I don't know what kind of Digimon you take me for, Joe, but I'm not into that sort of thing!"

"That's CPR! That's how you save someone's life."

"So if I'm drowning, I have to choose between death and having some stranger kissing me? That's a pretty tough choice."

Joe blinked. "Aren't you being a little dramatic? I could swear you have a philemaphobia."

"A what?"

"Fear of kissing."

"Oh."

After that brief little escapade in the water, Gomamon decided to cut the swimming lesson short. Now he and Joe were back to lying on the bed, which was still floating along aimlessly through the water.

"I'm getting pretty hungry," Gomamon said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. Seeing all this water is reminding me how much I miss having seafood."

Gomamon nodded. "Seafood, eh? Is seafood what I think it is?"

"Yeah. It's any food that comes from the sea like lobster, shrimp, and fish."

Gomamon's eyes widened. "WHA?! I thought you were talking about having food ON the sea, not food FROM the sea! That sounds…SICK!"

Joe blinked. "You're pretty sensitive, aren't you?"

"How would you feel if I said I lived on a diet of humans?!"

"Well…I wouldn't like it too much. I have a deep phagophobia."

"Ok, what's THAT mean?"

"Fear of being eaten."

"Are you sure you aren't a psychiatrist? What's with all the lingo?"

"My dad may be a doctor, but I have family that know their psychology."

"Ok, ok, now back to this whole seafood thing."

"Gomamon, don't tell me you're offended."

"It's not as much about me. I can live knowing such a horrible little factoid. But my friends might have a little problem with it."

"Which friends?"

"My friends, the MARCHING FISHES!"

With that little call, Gomamon's fishy friends all hopped up in a single-file on the edge of the bed. They all looked rather unhappily at Joe. Joe sweatdropped and Gomamon couldn't bear to watch.

"Hey! Ouch! Ow! Ooh! Stop! OW! Hey, that hurts! OW!"

Each of the fishes took turns getting a piece of Joe. Once they were through with him, they went for the finale. One-by-one they all jumped up and smacked Joe across the face before going back into the ocean. Gomamon finally turned back around to see Joe covered in bruises.

Joe moaned. "This sort of thing could give a guy an icthyophobia."

Gomamon blinked. "Meaning…?"

Joe fell back. "Fear of fishes."

Gomamon leaned over Joe. "Oh Joe. You seem to be so scared of everything. Maybe we can work on that someday. After all, isn't it true that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself?"

"Oh, I'm scared of that, too," Joe noted. "I also have a phobophobia."

"And what does THAT mean?"

"Fear of fear itself."

Gomamon sweatdropped. "Sorry I asked."

"Hey Gomamon, didn't you say you had some questions you wanted to ask…"

"Never mind," Gomamon muttered dryly. "I'd rather just sit here and see where the current takes us."

"Ok, but I hope we hit land soon. I also have a macrophobia."

"Oh don't tell me…"

"Yeah…fear of long waits."

Gomamon sweatdropped again. He didn't really get to any of the questions he was hoping for, but then again, he DID learn a lot about Joe. Perhaps someday, Joe would learn to conquer his fears. And if he ever needed help, Gomamon would always be there for him.

As Gomamon floated down the ocean with his human partner, he couldn't help but think of the others. Were they learning anything new about their partners?


Next Time: We get a look at Biyomon and Sora. We'll see these two partners talk about the miracle of jeans, being a tomboy, and…another soccer game. It couldn't POSSIBLY be as disastrous as Tai's soccer game with Agumon…could it?


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forge to review below!