"It's all right, Marill," Tracey consoled his weeping Pokémon. "I know you miss Scyther. I know you guys were really close friends. I miss him, too." Tracey picked up his little blue Pokémon and placed it on his bed. "There, Marill. Why don't you try to get some sleep? I know that none of us slept well last night."
"Marill," the little Pokémon sniffed sadly as Tracey covered it with a blanket.
"Want to take a nap too, Venonat?" Tracey asked the Pokémon standing at his feet.
"Venonat," the bug-type Pokémon nodded as it hopped on the bed next to Marill. As Tracey spread the blanket on it, there was a knock at the door.
"Hey, Tracey," Ash said with a shaky smile. "How're you doing?"
"Okay," Tracey replied. "But Marill and Venonat are taking it pretty hard. Let's let them get some sleep." Tracey closed the door to his room and the two boys headed downstairs. "So where did you go? We were all worried about you."
"I…I just went for a walk, that's all," Ash replied as the two went into the living room.
"That was a pretty nasty thing Gary said to you earlier," Tracey said angrily. "If Misty hadn't slugged him, I would've."
"Is Misty okay?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, she's fine. But you should see Gary's nose – it's purple and about twice the size it normally is!"
Both Tracey and Ash chuckled. "She and Brock left a little while ago. They said they were going to get everyone some lunch and bring it back here. Your Mom's with Professor Oak -- something about his back acting up again." Tracey started taking apart the bier that Scyther had lain upon until a couple of hours ago.
Noticing the sketchbook lying on the coffee table, Ash picked it up and gasped.
"Wow, Tracey. This drawing you did of Scyther is awesome."
Tracey peered over his friend's shoulder. "Thanks. I just wanted to do one last drawing to remember him by. I'll never forget Scyther."
"Yeah, he was a great Pokémon, wasn't he, Tracey?"
"Yeah, he was," Tracey smiled. "Stubborn, too. Almost as stubborn as you."
"Hey, what do you mean by that, Tracey?"
"Sounds like everything's back to normal with the boys again," Professor Oak smiled as he overheard Tracey and Ash squabbling in the hallway below.
"Take off your shirt and let me put some of this vapor rub on your back," Delia said as she emerged from the bathroom adjacent to Professor Oak's bedroom.
"Mmm, Delia, that feels wonderful," Samuel sighed as removed his shirt and lay down on the bed, and Delia began massaging vapor rub on his lower back.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that your back was bothering you?" Delia scolded.
"I didn't want to anyone to make a fuss over me," Samuel replied as he closed his eyes in contentment and regretted not telling Delia about his back earlier.
Delia sighed. "You sound just like Ash. And now see where it's gotten you?"
"Mmm-hmm," Samuel sighed blissfully as Delia's smooth hands slowly caressed his back.
"I want you to tell me when something's wrong with you, understand?" Delia ordered as she put the top back on the tube of vapor cream. "Otherwise, I can't help you."
"Yes, ma'am," Samuel yawned as the muscle relaxant he had taken earlier began to take effect.
"Well, I'll let you rest now," Delia said as she put the tube of cream down on the nightstand.
"Don't leave yet, Delia," Samuel said as he turned his head in her direction. "Unlike Ash, I like it when you make a fuss over me."
Delia smiled as he reached for her arm. "Scoot over."
He moved aside to make room for Delia next to him on the bed and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I don't know what I'd do without you to take care of me. It's funny…when we're younger, we bristle at having someone fussing over us, but when we're older, it's the nicest thing in the world." Samuel snuggled closer to her, closed his eyes, and less than a minute later was snoring softly in her ear.
Delia smiled to herself, gave the man asleep next to her a soft kiss on the cheek, then closed her eyes.
Men were funny creatures.