Chapter 9

"Helping Arinia Heal"

The Team Aqua members continued to drive back to their base while Arinia continued to sleep with her head rested against Mark's shoulder. Mark was holding her and gently running fingers through her hair while she slept.

"Arinia...you're gonna be OK," Mark said softly, punctuating the statement with a sigh of relief.

"Mark, is she alright?" Bernard asked from the back seat.

"Well, you're the doctor, but she looks OK," Mark replied.

"Yeah, she looks OK to me too!" Bernard agreed.

Right on cue, Arinia stirred and woke up.

"Hey, Arinia," Mark said, "How ya feeling?"

"Okay, though I'm still exhausted." Arinia replied.

"As odd as this probably sounds, so am I, but you're probably worse..." Mark replied.

Arinia hugged him weakly and snuggled against him as she shifted. Mark snuggled her back and smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Mmmm, Mark......." Arinia said trying to stay still.

Bernard smiled in the back at the two hugging each other. Arinia yawned and laid her head against Mark's shoulder again. Mark pulled his fingers softly through Arinia's hair and smiled. Arinia yawned again and fell back asleep but jolted back awake when their van hit a bump.

"Woooooah, nelly!" The driver cried, after the van nailed a big bump. He steadied the van...but they began slowing down. "Huh?"

Arinia yawned again and fell back asleep not understanding what had just happened.

Two of the Team Aqua members got out of the car to investigate what had happened. After realizing there was a flat tire, one of them cursed. "Hey, everyone! Outta the car! We've got a flat tire here!"

Mark moved Arinia and started to follow. A Team Aqua Admin grabbed the jack that was in the trunk and looked in the van to see if anyone was still in it.

"Alright, no one." He placed the jack under the van and began to turn the crank. Slowly but surely, the van's back wheel that was flat lifted off the ground.

Arinia shifted from where Mark was holding her in his arms but she didn't awaken.

Another Admin handed him a wrench to take the bolts off the tire. After that, he removed the wheel. "Can anyone hand me the spare?"

"I wish I could, but I've got my hands full." Mark said looking at his little bundle who was sound asleep in his arms.

A Grunt handed the Admin the spare who fitted it on and replaced the bolts. "All done!" He lowered the car and placed the jack back in the trunk. "All aboard!" He hopped back into the driver's seat.

A grunt offered to take Arinia for a minute so that Mark could get back into the car.

"Yeah, thanks." Mark handed Arinia to the grunt and jumped back in the car. The Grunt followed suit after handing Arinia back to Mark.

"She's sound asleep?" Mark's fellow Admin, who was driving inquired.

"Yep, she is...no one wake her, OK?" Mark replied.

Arinia clung on tightly to the teddy bear Mark had given her.

"Aaaaw," Bernard replied, "Now that's just cute..."

"I know, she's precious." Mark replied.

The Admin kept on driving. "Well, it looks like we're almost there..."

Mark looked down at Arinia who shifted in her sleep and snuggled closer to him. Mark hugged her back in silence. He didn't say a word. Just then one of the grunts cell phones went off with a very loud ring tone.

"Ah...crap, sorry..." He answered it and with a whisper, said, "Hello?"

Arinia shifted and woke up looking upset that she had been woken up.

The grunt looked at her in a way that said, "Sorry about that..."

Arinia held her bear and laid her head back against Mark's shoulder and tried to go back to sleep.

The grunt hung up. "Alright, look. The call was from an Executive. He said that they had some security outside the base for us just in case."

"Because we're bringing Arinia back?" The Admin who was driving asked.

"Bingo," The grunt replied, "We don't want her taken AGAIN, of course."

Arinia was still only semi-asleep and shook in fear at the thought of being recaptured.

"Oh no...sorry for bringing that up, Arinia..." The grunt apologized.

Arinia nodded sleepily and fell back asleep.

"Alright, we're here," The Admin who was driving added, "And, by God, look at everyone!" There must have been over fifty Team Aqua members with Pokémon standing around waiting for them. He jumped out of the car and looked at everybody.

Mark followed a minute later carrying Arinia and the Team Aqua members on guard duty looked at her curiously. Mark and all the Team Aqua members that were in the van entered the base and stood in the main hall, most of them looking around.

The Executive who had called came over and looked at the little girl Mark was carrying. "Is this little thing Arinia?" He asked.

Mark looked at him angrily. "YES, it's Arinia, but she's not a little thing."

"Oh..... I'm sorry! I misjudged her size....." The Executive replied.

"Hmm," Mark muttered, not really trusting this guy.

The Executive flashed Mark his badge to prove that he was who he said he was.

"Alright, alright, I got it. At least I now know you're an Executive." Mark nodded.

"Yup, sorry if I made ya think otherwise........" The Executive said.

"Yeah, yeah, move it along," A grunt replied.

"Right, got it." The Executive answered, as he began to walk down the hallway.

"Oh yeah..... The boss wanted you to come see him once you arrived. He didn't mind if you brought Arinia with you. He said it would only take a few minutes." The Executive replied.

"Right." Mark nodded, walking down the hallway to a door that said "ARCHIE" on it. Mark knocked.

Archie slowly opened the door. "Ah, hello Mark, I've been expecting in!" He walked into the room to let Mark pass.

Mark followed him into the room still holding Arinia in his arms.

"Ah, so is that Arinia?" Archie asked turning around. "I can't believe Team Magma would do something like that to such a innocent girl..."

"I can't believe it either." Mark said with a deep sigh as he looked at Arinia and held her close.

"Anyway, Archie, what is it you needed me for?" Mark asked.

"For this." Archie held out an Executive pin to Mark.

"Oh, wow...thanks...uh, can you just stick it in my pocket or something, I got my hands full," He replied, in awe.

"Sure thing." Archie replied as he stuck it into Mark's pocket. "Now who was that other man that came in with the rest of you? He was dressed like a doctor."

"Ah, that was Bernard. He used to be a doctor for Team Magma, but don't worry. He ditched the place and he's on our side now." He explained.

"Great! I think I'll hire him if he'll accept." Archie said smiling.

"Cool, want to go get him?" Mark asked.

"I sure do." Archie said. "I'll be right back, oh and feel free to take a seat on my couch if you want to." Archie turned and left the room.

Mark sat on the couch and placed Arinia's head softly on his chest.

"I love you Arinia..... You'll be safe here, I promise!" Mark whispered in her ear as she slept.

Arinia seemed to smile in her sleep and also seemed to nod. Mark smiled at her and kissed her on her forehead. Just then, the door opened and Archie stepped inside followed by Bernard, who shut the door.

Archie walked over to Mark and looked at Arinia again and then faced Bernard, "So while you were Team Magma's doctor did you ever take care of Mark's little sweetheart?"

Bernard nodded. "Yes I did, and when I quit Team Magma, I took Arinia with me so that's how she's where she is now."

Mark smiled at him and hugged Arinia gently.

"Let's get to the point," Archie replied, "Would you like to join Team Aqua?" He asked.

"To do the same thing I did for Team Magma as a doctor?" Bernard questioned.

"Well, sure, of course!" Archie exclaimed with a nod.

"Sure." Bernard replied.

"Then it's settled. Here is your badge." Archie handed Bernard a bronze badge with the word "GRUNT" on it in red letters. "You start out as a Grunt, obviously. Then you can get promoted to an Executive and then to an Admin."

Arinia shifted and began to wake up.

"Hey, Arinia." Mark said, quietly.

Archie looked over at Arinia, "And the sweet kid is awake."

Bernard flashed his new badge at Arinia and smiled. "Hi."

Arinia smiled at Bernard and then hugged Mark.

Bernard walked over to the two and showed his badge up close to Arinia. "I just got hired into Team Aqua. See?"

Arinia nodded and hugged Mark again. Mark hugged her back and kissed her on the forehead.

"Is Arinia still sick?" Archie inquired.

"No, I feel a lot better," Arinia replied, even though she was slightly lying.

"Don't be shy, I'm not going to hurt you, you can trust us, we want to help you. So I'll ask you again, do you still feel sick?" Archie asked her kindly.

"Yeah, sort of," Arinia admitted.

"Then we'll take care of you so that you can get well." Archie told her sweetly.

"Good plan." Mark said, with a nod.

Archie looked at Bernard, "Bernard are you ready to put your skills into action and take care of her for us?"

Bernard cracked his knuckles. "It feels far too long since I've treated Arinia. Of course!"

Mark scooped Arinia into his arms and carefully passed her to Bernard.

Bernard smiled, which quickly turned into a frown. "Where's the infirmary?"

"It's up one floor and on the far end of the hall there on the right." Archie replied.

"Got it," He replied, who walked off to the infirmary.

"So what should I do now, boss." Mark asked.

"Um...follow him. You want to see Arinia, correct? Help him with anything he may need." Archie replied.

"Right boss." Mark replied. Mark walked off, following Arinia and Bernard to the infirmary as well.

When Mark reached the infirmary, he found Arinia in a bed relaxing while Bernard went to get medicine for her.

"Hey, Arinia," Mark said, sitting on a chair at her bedside, "What's going on?"

"Not much, I just don't feel very well....." Arinia replied.

"Yeah, I guessed as much..." Mark said, with a sigh.

Arinia smiled at him weakly. Mark hugged her for what was probably the thousandth time that day.

"I love you Mark." Arinia said quietly before she started coughing.

"Same here..." Mark agreed.

Just then Bernard appeared with the medicine Arinia needed to take to get well and unfortunately for her that included her getting a few shots.

Arinia gasped. "Aw, man...I hate shots!"

"I'm sorry, my dear, but there's no other way. I don't want to give them to you if you don't like them but there's no other choice if you want to get well quickly." Bernard told her grimly.

"Oh, well...shoot away..." Arinia said, shrugging.

"So I guess I'll give them to you now as much as I don't want to." Bernard told her with a deep sigh.

Arinia rolled up her sleeve and grimaced. Bernard took her arm and cleaned a place on it and began to give her the shots. Arinia shook and almost started to cry after each one. Mark threw his arms around her and held her as much as he could while Arinia was getting her shots.

Arinia swallowed after her last shot and shook. She was close to tears. "Hey, Arinia," Mark asked softly, "You alright?"

Arinia nodded but then jumped when she saw that Bernard still had another shot to give her. Arinia gulped as the needle drew closer to her arm... Mark hugged Arinia gently and leaned her head against his shoulder so she couldn't see the needle.

Arinia received the one last shot. Bernard took the needle out of her arm and nodded. "You're all done!"

Arinia started to cry since she hated shots and the ones she had gotten had really hurt. Mark reached behind him and pulled out another stuffed animal to give to her.

Arinia took the stuffed animal and hugged it, calming down. "Thanks, Mark..."

"Shh..... Just take it easy....." Mark told her. Mark hugged her as well. "You'll be OK..."

"Mark......" Arinia coughed hard which was followed by several more coughs.

Bernard looked at her. "Hey, you OK?"

"I..... I.... Think so...." Arinia choked out between coughs.

Bernard pricked her finger just in case. He then took out a cotton swab and took a sample of her saliva, then ran into his office.

"Arinia...... Be strong, sweetheart....." Mark murmured so only she could hear.

Arinia nodded and stopped crying, just breathing heavily. Mark took Arinia in his arms and hugged her. Then he laid her head against his shoulder and just held her. A little while later, Bernard came out of his office frowning.

"What's wrong?" Mark asked worried.

"She's got pneumonia...small traces from the tranquilizers that made her sick were still in her bloodstream and gave her pneumonia," He replied.

"Oh, NO!" Mark cried. "Will she have to stay here for a while?"

Bernard nodded, "Yes, she's going to have to. I've heard of people who've died from pneumonia and I don't want her to be one of them."

"Well, at least she'll be safe," Mark replied, "Right?"

"I'll do my best......." Bernard told him seriously. "I don't want to lose her anymore than you do."

"Right then," Mark said, "What's next?"

"Let her rest for now, she'll need more medicine later but she needs to rest now." Bernard replied.

Mark nodded then got up to leave.

"Mark?" Arinia said softly.

He turned around. "Yes?"

Arinia smiled, "I love you...."

Mark smiled back. "So do I..."

Just then the door opened and Archie entered.

"Oh, hi, Archie!" Mark said. "Whatcha need?"

"I just wanted to check on Arinia, how is she by the way?" Archie replied.

"She's got pneumonia." Bernard replied. "The tranquilizers that Maxie gave to her were still in her blood stream. It gave her pneumonia."

"Oh no....." Archie walked over to Arinia and looked at her concerned since she was still only a child.

Arinia tried to sit up, but became very dizzy, so she laid back down.

"Easy Arinia...." Mark murmured putting a hand on her chest.

"Are you sure you know how to take care of her now that you now she has pneumonia?" Archie asked Bernard seriously with concern clearly in his eyes.

"O-of course!" He said, with a nod, although he wasn't entirely sure.

"You not entirely sure are you?" Archie asked.

"Eeeeeh...no...I've only treated a patient of pneumonia once..." Bernard replied.

"Would you prefer to have her moved to a hospital where they've treated people for pneumonia more often?" Archie asked looking at Arinia and how sick she seemed to be.

"Yes. That would be better." Bernard replied.

"Do you want us to take her there now?" Archie asked.

"Of course, the sooner the better." Bernard replied.

"Should I come?" Mark replied.

Arinia looked desperately at Mark clearly not wanting to be alone when she was taken to the hospital.

"I see that look on your face. Yeah, I'll come," He said with a smile.

Arinia smiled and then promptly fainted. Bernard lifted Arinia onto a stretcher and wheeled her out of the room with Mark following. Archie came out of the room carrying a blanket and walked beside the stretcher and covered Arinia with it to help keep her warm. They wheeled Arinia down several hallways and took her to the entrance hall where they took her outside and loaded her into the back of a Team Aqua ambulance.

"I'll send some members after you as soon as you leave, until then, Mark it's up to you to protect her, and as for you Bernard, I want you to help Mark in anyway you can if the need arises."

Mark and Bernard nodded then they scrambled inside the ambulance and closed the doors. Once they were inside, the driver started up the engine and began to drive them towards the nearest hospital, which was a great distance from Team Magma's base so that she wouldn't be found by them and pestered while she was sick. All that could be done now was to get Arinia to a hospital where she could be treated for her pneumonia and that in itself would take some time as the hospital was a good distance away.