Chapter 7-December 24, Christmas Eve

The last thing Samuel remembered was falling asleep on the couch, Delia on the floor in front of him, studying yet another slide of Kabuto oil. The woman was tireless. He vaguely remembered a dream he had while he was zonked out, for how long he had no idea. He remembered holding Delia's hand, caressing her cheek, and asking her not to leave and then she smiled and kissed his cheek and told him not to worry. After that…Samuel blushed furiously. To put it simply, things had gotten very intimate. Even though he relished the dream at the same time he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. For the longest time he had been the kindly next door neighbor who had shared Delia's love for pokémon and worry for her son, Ash. Since he had been stuck in the lab with her for…he stopped to think for a second.

How long was I out for?

In the time he had shared with her, strange feelings had started to emerge. At first he was sure it was the usual male reaction to being with a pretty woman. But lately, he wasn't so sure. Every time they touched, even if it was innocent, he felt like a flock of Butterfree was dive-bombing in his stomach. It was becoming very uncomfortable. Being a scientist he tried to look at the problem scientifically and logically and yet he still could find no reasonable explanation. That led to only one conclusion and Samuel dreaded the thought of spilling his guts to Delia. More than likely she would see him as a perverted old codger who was having improper fantasies about his neighbor down the hill. He couldn't think of hurting her that way or losing her valuable friendship. His hormones and even more so, his heart, had other ideas, though.

Samuel blinked as he came awake. He looked around and caught sight of the clock on the wall. It was 7:00 and from the looks of it, late evening. His eyes felt gritty and he went to rub them. He was surprised on two accounts. First was the fact that he couldn't move his left hand; Delia held on to it for dear life, even in her sleep. The second was that his right hand was normal. He vigorously rubbed his eyes and found that his hand was covered in stone colored grit. He felt the couch and found it practically coated with it. Looking down at Delia, he realized that she had found a cure. She looked worse for wear, though. Her face was drawn and pale and there were dark purple patches under her eyes confirming that she had been up most of the night. He tried to pull his hand away without waking her, but since she was using it as a pillow he was hard pressed for any luck of the sort.

"Huh? Oh! Samuel, you're back."

"Back? I didn't go anywhere, did I?"

Delia smiled. "No, but I think you slipped into a coma yesterday."

Samuel's eyebrows shot up.

"And worse than that, the uh…rash, I guess you could call it that, had spread. The top half of your head and most of your body looked like it had been turned to stone."

"Well, it seems I'm better though. I take it you found a cure?"

"Yes, but I wasn't completely sure it would work. Oh, and I owe you a new microscope. I accidentally blew one up."

Samuel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I need to take a shower."

Delia and Mimie helped him up and across the room to the bathroom. After she had instructed Mimie to go and get Samuel a new set of clothes she helped him out of his sweatshirt and proceeded to pull down his pants.

"Delia! What are you doing?"

She looked up at him, completely serious. "I'm helping you get ready to shower."

She gently pushed him down on the toilet, took his socks and pants and then ordered him to hand over his boxers.

"Will you get out?"

"Samuel, I was a married woman for five years and lived with Ash for ten years now. I've seen it all before."

That might have been good and all but Samuel still didn't want her in the bathroom with him butt-naked. Delia left the bathroom rolling her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady."

Delia raised an eyebrow. She wasn't even facing him when she'd done that and he had called her a young lady. She wasn't very young as far as she was concerned. She had just turned thirty-six and felt twice that old, especially when Ash came home. That boy has so much energy.

She flopped down on the couch when she heard the shower turn on. Santana was softly playing in the background.

I ain't got nobody that I can depend on
I ain't got nobody that I can depend on
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

She yawned and fought back sleep as her eyelids drooped and then finally shut. A soft snore escaped her as she drifted off.

!Dream Sequence!

Delia was in her garden, working away as the fountain in the center burbled away, happily. The sun beat down overhead and she sat back on her heels and wiped her brow. She softly hummed a tune under her breath.

I ain't got nobody that I can depend on
I ain't got nobody, da-da, da…da…

Something like realization flashed across her face and her eyes began to swim with tears. "I really don't have anybody."

She pulled her gloves off and wiped her eyes. Next thing Delia knew, she was walking in the back door and hanging up her sun hat and apron.

"I'm going for a walk, Mimie."

He didn't look up from sweeping the bathtub and she walked out into the cool night air. A shooting star passed in front of the moon and she made a wish on it. Pikachu ran up and spoke to her with a voice that sounded like a young Ash.

"What did you wish for?"

"Now if I told you, it wouldn't come true silly."

The small, yellow pokémon shrugged its shoulders and went off in search of Ash. Another star shot overhead and Delia watched as it landed softly on the horizon and emitted a pale green glow.

Hey! I know it don't make any sense whatsoever. It's a dream, people. Work with me here!

She couldn't help herself as she began walking towards the strange glow. The sound of running water that had seemed to follow her had finally stopped. She knew that it meant something but for the life of her it just didn't register.

!ELDERSHIPPING!

Samuel stepped out of the shower and threw on his bathrobe. He ran a comb through his messy hair, stopped, and then took a closer look at himself in the mirror. Something was different. He put the comb down and ran his fingers through his hair and found why it looked so different. Peppered throughout his white hair were strands of dark brown. What the…I haven't had any color to my hair since I was forty.

He ran his hands over his face and found that the frown wrinkles between his eyebrows had disappeared and the crow's-feet at the corners of his eyes had diminished quite a bit. He looked, as far as he was concerned, younger. He stared at the mirror, utterly astounded and completely dumbfounded.

"Delia?" He waited a few seconds and when he didn't get a reply he quietly opened the door. There was no sign of her. Cinching the belt of his robe he ventured into the main room. He walked around the couch and found her sleeping soundly.

!ELDERSHIPPING!

She passed Professor Oak's pokémon preserve and saw all the Tauros Ash had caught grazing contentedly in the field. As she neared the strange star she saw it was hanging over the pokéberry tree on the edge of the preserve. It cast a haunting glow but Delia wasn't worried at all. As she stepped into the light Ash ran up with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"There you are mom. I was beginning to worry."

"Don't worry dear. You can always depend on me and I'll always be there."

Ash wrapped his arms around her. "You can bet I'll be there for you too."

She laid her head on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him and gently rocked him. She was wrong, she had Ash. She could always depend on him and knew that no matter where he was he would always run to her rescue. He was her baby and always would be. When she pulled back to look at him, she found she was no longer looking at Ash.

"Who are you?" It seemed as though Ash had disappeared and a complete stranger was now standing in front of her. But when she looked into his eyes she saw something familiar.

"Samuel!"

He took off his lab coat and placed it over her shivering frame. Suddenly, he lifted her up.

!ELDERSHIPPING!

Samuel found a quilt and wrapped it around her shivering body. Her face was flushed and when he felt her forehead, she was burning up. She had been so obsessed with finding a cure for him that she'd forgotten about her own well being and gotten sick. Seeing this, he felt a small flutter in his chest as lifted her into his arms and went to cart her off to one of the beds. He stopped momentarily when he realized there were no shooting pains in his back and very little ache in his knees. He was definitely younger. He placed her as gently as he could on the bed and tucked her in. Not being able to stop himself, and not wanting to stop, he kissed her forehead and lightly ran his thumb across her cheekbone.

"What are you doing to me, Delia?"

!ELDERSHIPPING!

Delia was jostled slightly as he sat on the bench under the pokéberry tree with her in his lap. He tucked his lab coat snuggly around her and leaned down and lightly kissed her forehead. Her eyelids fluttered closed. It had been a long time since a man had held her. Even longer since one had kissed her. He gently cupped her cheek, running his thumb across her cheekbone.

"What are you doing to me, Delia?"

"Samuel…"

!ELDERSHIPPING!

Samuel was surprised when she had said his name.

"Samuel, please…"

He sat next to her on the bed and leaned close to try and hear her whisper soft voice. He brushed the hair from her face. "What, Delia?"

"Please…don't go away."

He chuckled as he stood up. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

Samuel didn't see the smile creep over Delia's face as he quietly closed the door behind him and headed down stairs. Her dream just kept getting better and better.

!ELDERHIPPING!

Samuel had drawn some blood from his arm and was in the middle of studying it under a microscope to try and figure out why his physical appearance had changed when the videophone rang.

Poké-poké, ring-ring-ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Professor Oak!"

"Oh, hello Ash."

"Professor, you look different."

"Uh, yes. Seems your mother had something to do with it."

"Mom gave you a makeover?"

"…Something like that. I'll explain to everyone when you get back."

And I figure out what's going on. He thought silently to himself.

"I guess you're all better then, huh?"

"What? Oh, yes, I'm much better. How are you doing?"

"I'm kind of in a predicament."

Samuel was immediately concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Don't worry Professor. It's nothing serious."

"Well, anything I can help with?"

"Maybe. You're an old guy after all."

"I'm not that old."

"Sorry! I meant like, you've got experience with women."

"Uh, what do you mean Ash?" Samuel hoped to God that Ash wasn't in need of the dreaded 'talk.'

Ash's face turned bright red. "Nothing like that Professor. Brock already told me all about that. I just don't know what to get Misty for Christmas. It is tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"

"Yeah…it is the 24th."

"Sorry, Ash. I've been…sleeping a lot, trying to get better."

"Oh."

"Why don't you ask Tracy or Brock? They would know what Misty would want for Christmas better than me."

"Yeah, but they might tell her. Besides, like I said earlier, you're…old, you've got more experience with this."

"Alright. How about some perfume? Girls love perfume."

"I don't."

"You're not a girl Ash."

"Yeah, but I'm always around her and I don't want to smell it!"

"Then you could get her a dress."

"I don't know what size she wears and if I ask, she'll know."

"You're right, this is a bit of a predicament." Samuel studied Ash for a second. He vaguely wondered why Ash felt he had to get a special gift for Misty. Then it hit him.

"How about you give her what's in here." He pointed to the screen, approximately where Ash's chest was. Ash looked down.

"All I've got in my jacket is some pokéchow and I don't think Misty likes that."

Samuel chuckled. "I meant you should tell her your feelings."

Ash blushed furiously. "Who said I was in love with Misty."

"You just did."

Ash face-faulted on the other end of the line. He stood up and gingerly rubbed the bump on his forehead. "So what do you suggest I do?"

"I'm not an expert on love. Ask Brock for help."

"No way! He goes gaga for every girl he sees. He'd probably tell me to tell her something gross."

"Good point. Then how about this." Samuel brought up some poems on his computer and faxed them to Ash.

"These are good, Professor. Did you write them?"

"Believe me, I'm no poet. They're some old blues standards."

"What do you want me to do with them?"

Professor Oak shook his head. The boy really was dense. "Read one to her or use them for inspiration and write her your own."

Ash heaved a sigh. "I guess. It's better than nothing."

"Oh, yes, one last thing. Since you're over in Goldenrod City, you might want to take a side trip to Azalea Town."

"Why's that?"

"I have a acquaintance there by the name of Kurt. For a small sum he'll turn an apricorn into a pokéball for you."

"Can't I just pick one of those up in the department store?"

"No, Ash. Kurt makes special balls. Ask him for a pink one. Just tell him I sent you to see him. He'll understand."

"Whatever you say Professor."

"Good luck."

"Yeah, and Merry Christmas. Tell my mom the same."

"Merry Christmas, Ash."

The screen went blank and voice from behind startled him. "Who was that?"

"Delia! What are you doing up?"

"I came to see who you were talking to. Was that Ash?"

"Yes. He told me to tell you Merry Christmas. You should be in bed, you're sick and need your rest."

"Oh, Samuel, I feel fine…or maybe not so fine." She started to sway as a wave of dizziness overtook her and she leaned heavily against the wall. Samuel rushed over and picked her up.

"Samuel, put me down. You'll hurt your back."

"My back's fine thanks to you." He started up the stairs.

"What?"

"It seems your cure put an extra fifteen-twenty years on my life. Physically, I'm probably close to your age now. How old are you, thirty?"

She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. It feels nice to be held again.

"Thanks for the complement, but I'm thirty-six."

"Really?" He placed her in the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

"You look very good for someone who's…"

She raised her hand to his mouth and grimaced. "Don't even say it."

"What? You look wonderful. You have no wrinkles and no gray hair." He smiled as he ran his hand through his own.

"Oh, yes I do. They're just well hidden." She lifted her hair to show the sprinkling at the nape of her neck. Samuel leaned close to get a better look and she caught a whiff of the soap he used. She couldn't help herself and leaned closer to him, breathing deeply. He suddenly sat back.

"So you have a few gray hairs. You're still in great shape, especially after giving birth. Most women can't lose the weight." He ran his eyes up and down her as covertly as he could but she still saw him. She blushed a fierce red as he headed to the bathroom. When he returned he shoved a thermometer in her mouth and took her pulse.

"What…"

"No talking." After a minute he took out the thermometer and shook his head.

"A hundred, you need to take better care of yourself, Delia."

She scooted further under the covers and shivered. "I was worried about you. Is it just me or is it cold?"

"It's you. I'll find something to warm you up."

How about you? Delia ducked under the covers to hide her blush as he headed out of the room. After a few seconds she resurfaced.

What a way to think about your neighbor! You should be ashamed of yourself, Delia! Now that Samuel looks younger and cuter, you shouldn't try to jump his bones! But then again, who could resist? Will's been gone for twelve years now. You should let yourself have some fun. But, then again, Samuel has been my next door neighbor and good friend for years. What would he think of me?

Samuel entered and handed her a small pokémon. "This is a Cyndaquil. He's a fire-mouse type. As long as you don't startle him, he should keep you nice and warm."

She cuddled the small warm body close to her. "Thank you for taking care of me, Samuel. It's nice to be fussed over for a change."

"I'm just returning the favor. I only hope I do as well as you." As he turned to leave she stopped him.

"Aren't you supposed to give me a kiss good night. To make sure I don't have any nightmares."

He sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Did you give me a kiss when I was sleeping? I had some wonderful dreams."

She smiled. "As a matter of fact, I believe I did."

He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. His lips lingered there longer than they should have, but neither had any complaints.

!ELDERSHIPPING!

Samuel lay on the couch, listening to the radio and mulling over his thoughts with only the darkness to keep him company. He was curled up under a quilt when Delia came out of her room. She stood in front of him and sniffled until he took notice.

"Why are you out of bed? It's too cold for you to be up and walking around."

"I think the power's out."

"What do you mean the power's out?"

"I tried to turn on the light but it wouldn't work. It's also getting colder." Before she could say anything else, he held a finger to his lips and turned the radio up.

This is Samantha with your weather report at the top of every hour. The blizzard warning for most of southern Kanto is still in effect. And the power plant has called to announce that power has gone out in Celadon, Pewter, and Viridian City and all surrounding area. Their guess about when they'll have the plant up and running is anywhere between two to five days. Bundle up folks it's about to get chilly. Up next are some of your favorite Christmas songs here on PPKM.

"Told you so."

Samuel sighed. "I suppose we're going to have to find some way to keep warm."

He searched through the bedrooms and came back with a sweater for him and his robe for her. He helped her don it and as soon as she had the belt tied he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down on the couch with him.

"Samuel!"

He pulled a quilt over both of them and tucked Cyndaquil against her body as he tried to find a comfortable position. "Shush. It's going to get colder and the best way to keep warm now is with body heat."

She didn't feel any need to say anything. She was content enough to fall asleep in his arms. He wasn't far behind her.