Chapter 9: Love Pulls You Through
When Carla came back inside from feeding all of the many Pokemon on the preserve she was extremely happy to see that Tracey was awake. She had spent the entire time she was working thinking about him.
"Hey. How do you feel, hon?" Carla asked as she went to sit beside Tracey.
"I feel better after a good night's rest and getting some food in my stomach. Thanks for being there for me last night. Your support really means a lot to me." Tracey smiled.
"I would never let you go through this alone. I love you too much for that. I'm just glad that you were finally able to get some sleep. You seemed like you had some peace for the first time in days."
"Maybe that's because I was both physically and emotionally spent. I didn't realize what I was doing to myself. Once we were relaxing last night it finally caught up to me."
"Well you know that you have people and Pokemon alike around you that care a whole lot about you. So what's on the agenda for you today?" Carla asked.
"Well, Professor Oak and I are taking a day off today so you and I can do whatever we want to today. Actually I was thinking that maybe we could saddle up a couple of the Ponyta and go riding for a little while." Tracey answered.
"That sounds like a terrific idea. I love riding the Ponyta. It'll give us a chance to get some alone time too."
"Okay. Let's go out to the stables and saddle up so we can get started."
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes later, Tracey and Carla had saddled up the Ponyta and were starting out on a ride around the grounds. It was soon obvious that this was a good idea because Carla noticed that Tracey seemed more relaxed than he had in days.
"Hey, hon. Can I ask you a question about something?" Carla asked casually.
"Of course you can. What's on your mind, babe?"
"Well, when I came up to check on you this morning I realized that you had left the light on over the desk. When I went to turn it off I realized that you had something lying on the desk so I looked at it and I was shocked. Where did that come from if I may ask? I never knew you could do that."
"I hope you liked my poem first of all. The reason I don't tell people that I have the ability to write is because I can't do it very often. It's like when I get upset or really stressed something just pops into my head and I have to write it down." Tracey explained.
"Well, I am very impressed. I wish I could do that. I think what you wrote is a very beautiful piece. Did it help you feel any better?"
"Yeah. Actually it did."
"I'm glad. I also think it was a good idea to come out for a ride. This is fun and it's absolutely the perfect day for a ride." Carla smiled as they rounded the last corner and headed back for the stables.
* * * * *
Two hours later, Tracey and Carla came back to the house to get ready to have some dinner and just relax for the evening. The first thing they did was get cleaned up from their day of riding and after a while reemerged into the dining room where Delia had everything set up for them to have some spaghetti.
"So how did you two enjoy your ride today?" Professor Oak asked casually when they were all sitting around the table.
"It was fun. I always enjoy taking the Ponyta out. Plus it was a perfect sunny day to do it." Tracey said.
"Yeah. I liked the fact that Tracey and I got to spend some quiet time together."
"Well I'm glad you had a good time."
Soon they were finished with dinner and as Carla helped Delia clean up in the kitchen, Tracey and Professor Oak remained in the dining room talking.
"Thanks a lot for taking care of my Pokemon while we were away. I knew I could count on you for that. I also appreciate you giving me the time I need to process all that's happened."
"You're welcome. Your Pokemon were very worried about you when you left without them but I reassured them that you were all right and that you were coming back and weren't abandoning them. I know that you need some space to deal with the loss you've suffered so I have no problem at all giving you that space. Actually can I make a small confession to you Tracey?" Professor Oak asked.
"Sure. I guess." Tracey was slightly confused by this.
"Well, the reason that you got such a good rest last night wasn't solely because you were exhausted."
"I don't understand what you're getting at, Professor." Tracey said, now even more lost than he had been before.
"Okay. Yesterday when you were working yourself to death to take your mind off of your pain, Carla was worried about you and so was I. She mentioned to me that you hadn't slept in three days and I decided that I should do something about that."
"Okay. I think I'm beginning to understand a little."
"So last night when Carla came to me and said that you needed to get some aspirin because you had a backache I decided that I was going to take that opportunity to help you. I only gave you two aspirin last night, Tracey. The third pill that I gave you was a mild sleeping pill. I knew that you needed to rest and also I knew that after being awake for three days it wouldn't take much to put you to sleep. I hope you aren't too angry at me." Professor Oak was expecting a big fallout from this confession. He was pleasantly surprised at what happened next.
"I'm not angry at all, Professor. Actually I appreciate you doing what you did. The reason that I hadn't slept in three days was because every time I closed my eyes and tried to doze off I kept having these nightmares of my mother on her deathbed and kept hearing the last words that she said to me and I just couldn't handle it. I really needed to be sedated even though I wouldn't have admitted that yesterday. Last night I slept like a log and I didn't have any of those dreams. In fact I didn't have any dreams at all. When I woke up and Carla convinced me to let her be there for me I just lost it. I had been keeping everything bottled up ever since my mom died and it all came out. I ended up crying myself to sleep and after that I was zonked out until this afternoon when I finally woke up." Tracey said.
Just then Carla and Delia came back in the dining room and rejoined the men at the table. Carla was happy to see that Tracey seemed to be getting back to normal.
"So what were you guys talking about?" Delia asked pleasantly.
"Not a lot. I was just telling Tracey something that I think he needed to know and we were just talking about some other things as well." Professor Oak answered.
"Hey, I have an idea what we can do, Tracey. Why don't we go watch some of the Pokemon League matches that are on television tonight? I've been wanting to see those." Carla suggested.
"Yeah. Ash and Misty were going to go down there today so maybe we might see them on television."
A few minutes later, Carla was sitting on the couch with Tracey lying down with his head on her lap and they were watching the Pokemon opening ceremonies and then they were going to watch the first round matches. About halfway through the matches, Tracey began to feel fatigue catching up to him again. Gradually he felt his eyes begin to get heavier and, even though he tried to fight it, a few minutes later Tracey drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
During a commercial, Carla noticed that Tracey was oddly quiet so she glanced down at him and smiled as she noticed that he had dozed off with his head resting in her lap. For a moment she considered waking him so that they could go upstairs but he seemed so peaceful that she decided to just let him sleep for a little while and turned her attention back to the Pokemon matches on television.
When Carla came back inside from feeding all of the many Pokemon on the preserve she was extremely happy to see that Tracey was awake. She had spent the entire time she was working thinking about him.
"Hey. How do you feel, hon?" Carla asked as she went to sit beside Tracey.
"I feel better after a good night's rest and getting some food in my stomach. Thanks for being there for me last night. Your support really means a lot to me." Tracey smiled.
"I would never let you go through this alone. I love you too much for that. I'm just glad that you were finally able to get some sleep. You seemed like you had some peace for the first time in days."
"Maybe that's because I was both physically and emotionally spent. I didn't realize what I was doing to myself. Once we were relaxing last night it finally caught up to me."
"Well you know that you have people and Pokemon alike around you that care a whole lot about you. So what's on the agenda for you today?" Carla asked.
"Well, Professor Oak and I are taking a day off today so you and I can do whatever we want to today. Actually I was thinking that maybe we could saddle up a couple of the Ponyta and go riding for a little while." Tracey answered.
"That sounds like a terrific idea. I love riding the Ponyta. It'll give us a chance to get some alone time too."
"Okay. Let's go out to the stables and saddle up so we can get started."
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes later, Tracey and Carla had saddled up the Ponyta and were starting out on a ride around the grounds. It was soon obvious that this was a good idea because Carla noticed that Tracey seemed more relaxed than he had in days.
"Hey, hon. Can I ask you a question about something?" Carla asked casually.
"Of course you can. What's on your mind, babe?"
"Well, when I came up to check on you this morning I realized that you had left the light on over the desk. When I went to turn it off I realized that you had something lying on the desk so I looked at it and I was shocked. Where did that come from if I may ask? I never knew you could do that."
"I hope you liked my poem first of all. The reason I don't tell people that I have the ability to write is because I can't do it very often. It's like when I get upset or really stressed something just pops into my head and I have to write it down." Tracey explained.
"Well, I am very impressed. I wish I could do that. I think what you wrote is a very beautiful piece. Did it help you feel any better?"
"Yeah. Actually it did."
"I'm glad. I also think it was a good idea to come out for a ride. This is fun and it's absolutely the perfect day for a ride." Carla smiled as they rounded the last corner and headed back for the stables.
* * * * *
Two hours later, Tracey and Carla came back to the house to get ready to have some dinner and just relax for the evening. The first thing they did was get cleaned up from their day of riding and after a while reemerged into the dining room where Delia had everything set up for them to have some spaghetti.
"So how did you two enjoy your ride today?" Professor Oak asked casually when they were all sitting around the table.
"It was fun. I always enjoy taking the Ponyta out. Plus it was a perfect sunny day to do it." Tracey said.
"Yeah. I liked the fact that Tracey and I got to spend some quiet time together."
"Well I'm glad you had a good time."
Soon they were finished with dinner and as Carla helped Delia clean up in the kitchen, Tracey and Professor Oak remained in the dining room talking.
"Thanks a lot for taking care of my Pokemon while we were away. I knew I could count on you for that. I also appreciate you giving me the time I need to process all that's happened."
"You're welcome. Your Pokemon were very worried about you when you left without them but I reassured them that you were all right and that you were coming back and weren't abandoning them. I know that you need some space to deal with the loss you've suffered so I have no problem at all giving you that space. Actually can I make a small confession to you Tracey?" Professor Oak asked.
"Sure. I guess." Tracey was slightly confused by this.
"Well, the reason that you got such a good rest last night wasn't solely because you were exhausted."
"I don't understand what you're getting at, Professor." Tracey said, now even more lost than he had been before.
"Okay. Yesterday when you were working yourself to death to take your mind off of your pain, Carla was worried about you and so was I. She mentioned to me that you hadn't slept in three days and I decided that I should do something about that."
"Okay. I think I'm beginning to understand a little."
"So last night when Carla came to me and said that you needed to get some aspirin because you had a backache I decided that I was going to take that opportunity to help you. I only gave you two aspirin last night, Tracey. The third pill that I gave you was a mild sleeping pill. I knew that you needed to rest and also I knew that after being awake for three days it wouldn't take much to put you to sleep. I hope you aren't too angry at me." Professor Oak was expecting a big fallout from this confession. He was pleasantly surprised at what happened next.
"I'm not angry at all, Professor. Actually I appreciate you doing what you did. The reason that I hadn't slept in three days was because every time I closed my eyes and tried to doze off I kept having these nightmares of my mother on her deathbed and kept hearing the last words that she said to me and I just couldn't handle it. I really needed to be sedated even though I wouldn't have admitted that yesterday. Last night I slept like a log and I didn't have any of those dreams. In fact I didn't have any dreams at all. When I woke up and Carla convinced me to let her be there for me I just lost it. I had been keeping everything bottled up ever since my mom died and it all came out. I ended up crying myself to sleep and after that I was zonked out until this afternoon when I finally woke up." Tracey said.
Just then Carla and Delia came back in the dining room and rejoined the men at the table. Carla was happy to see that Tracey seemed to be getting back to normal.
"So what were you guys talking about?" Delia asked pleasantly.
"Not a lot. I was just telling Tracey something that I think he needed to know and we were just talking about some other things as well." Professor Oak answered.
"Hey, I have an idea what we can do, Tracey. Why don't we go watch some of the Pokemon League matches that are on television tonight? I've been wanting to see those." Carla suggested.
"Yeah. Ash and Misty were going to go down there today so maybe we might see them on television."
A few minutes later, Carla was sitting on the couch with Tracey lying down with his head on her lap and they were watching the Pokemon opening ceremonies and then they were going to watch the first round matches. About halfway through the matches, Tracey began to feel fatigue catching up to him again. Gradually he felt his eyes begin to get heavier and, even though he tried to fight it, a few minutes later Tracey drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
During a commercial, Carla noticed that Tracey was oddly quiet so she glanced down at him and smiled as she noticed that he had dozed off with his head resting in her lap. For a moment she considered waking him so that they could go upstairs but he seemed so peaceful that she decided to just let him sleep for a little while and turned her attention back to the Pokemon matches on television.
