Disclaimer: Pokémon is not mine. I promise.

A/N Why hello there, people of the internet! I know, I know; it's been forever since I've updated. School does that sometimes. Skewl is not kewl. Also had a bit of writer's block. That's never fun. But I'm back now! Let us rejoice! *crickets chirp*

Oh, before I get into anything, I would like to extend a huge "Thank You!" to an anonymous reviewer, who pointed out that I'd been spelling Heracross wrong all this time (I spelled it with an E where an A should have been. Yeah, point a laugh. I deserve it). I went back and fixed all the mistakes I saw, so it's all good now. And to answer your question, the references to real world animals were completely intentional; since there are references to them in the games, I thought "Why not?" xD

Anyway, this is the first of what will be a series of interludes that will pop up occasionally throughout the story. I thought it'd be fun to get a peak into the main characters' pasts and unravel some mysteries along the way. For all of those who read this and don't like it, fear not, because the next chapter should be up pretty soon, in which we'll get back into the main story.

Now it's time to rewind the clock to nearly fourteen years ago and explore Gold's life as it once was.

Enjoy!

OoOoOoOoO

Interlude 1: Castles in the Sand

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I really don't think this whole sign language idea is that great," Jason said, looking dubiously at his wife and one-year-old son. "If anything, it's making him less willing to talk. Give it up already."

Darby, who was busy showing Gold how to make the sign for 'apple' (of all the random things to teach him), didn't even look up. "Studies have shown it helps them learn to talk faster," she said, smiling as Gold repeated her actions. "That's right, Gold," she said proudly, and planted kiss on Gold's forehead, who responded by giggling and grabbing her hair. That seemed to be his favorite activity lately.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Well, he's certainly dexterous," he said drily, watching as Darby gently pried Gold's fingers out of her hair. Jason put his elbows on the kitchen table and leaned forwards, smirking slightly when he saw Darby try to get her hair back into order.

"Hey, Gold!" he said. "Can you say 'Dad'?" Gold chose to ignore him in favor of trying to climb out of his highchair. Jason huffed. "Whose bright idea was this, anyway? You couldn't have just run across a random book about making kids learn sign language instead of English."

"It's in addition to English, Jay," she said patiently as she pulled her squirming son out of the chair. "But you're right, it wasn't my idea. It was Amanda who mentioned it first."

Jay looked puzzled. "Who?"

Darby looked at him in disbelief. "Amanda Lev? You know, our neighbor three houses down? The one with the foster child? You've met her."

"Oh, right. Yeah, them," Jay said, wracking his brains for some kind of memory of these Lev people.

His wife rolled her eyes dramatically. "What is with your memory?"

Jay scowled. "Like yours is any better," he snapped back.

Darby raised an eyebrow, while an oblivious Gold tried to grab at her hair again. "Oh really? And what, may I ask, have I forgotten recently?"

"Well . . ." Jay said slowly, trying to come up with something. "Do you remember what article I published last Thursday?"

"You're constantly writing articles. You can't expect me to remember every single one."

"Well, there you have it! If I can't expect you to remember everything, then you—"

"It was about the new gym being built."

Jay clamped his mouth shut, feeling put out. "All right then. What was my most-read article from two years ago?"

"You're asking me about something you wrote two years ago?" And before Jay had time to even cross his arms smugly, she added, "It was about the Elizabeth Soul and Karl Giovanni scandal."

Jay frowned, and was about to reply when they heard the front door open, and then quickly slam shut.

"Guess who's here!" an annoyingly chipper voice called out. "Where are you guys?"

Darby flashed Jay a triumphant smile before saying loudly, "We're in the kitchen, Jimmy."

Two sets of footsteps were heard as a pale, navy-haired young man and his smeargle marched into the room. "Your savior has arrived! Well, saviors," he added when Smeargle crossed his arms and looked at him expectantly. He waved at Gold, who was ignoring him completely and yanking his mother's hair—again. "Hey, Gold! Look, it's your Uncle Jimmy!" When he still got no response, Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Well, aren't you welcoming," he said, pretending to be offended. Then he looked over to Jay and raised his eyebrows. "Someone looks cheerful."

"Thank your sister-in-law for that. She's been kindly telling me about my oh-so-horrible memory and how I never pay attention—"

"Now you're just exaggerating," Darby said impatiently. "And I said nothing about you not paying attention. Oh, and Jimmy," she said turning her attention away from her husband, "did you hear about the news about the Levs?"

Jimmy looked slightly confused. "I don't think so," he said slowly. "But if I had to guess, I'd say they were finally able to finalize Lyra's adoption."

"Yes! Yes, they were!" Darby cast a triumphant look in Jay's direction. "See?"

Jimmy looked lost. "Uh, see what?"

Jay looked at him dourly. "Allow me to translate," he said. "See, Jay?" he said, making his voice much higher in an imitation of Darby's. "Look how much more observant Jimmy is than you! Look how he remembers every little thing I ever tell him! Look how wonderful—"

Jimmy held his hands up in front of himself, as though avoiding an attack. "Yeah, okay, I get it," he said hastily, then abruptly changed the subject. "So, uh, how's the weather?"

Jay shot him a disbelieving look, and Smeargle facepalmed. Darby looked like she was trying to keep a straight face. "I don't know, Jimmy," she said, the corner of her lips quirking upwards slightly. "You were just outside. You tell me."

"Oh, right! Well, it's a very good day out, very good indeed. Jay, isn't it a good day out? Of course it is!" he nearly shouted before his brother could respond. "Now," he said, turning to Darby and reaching out his arms, "gimme."

Jay snorted as Darby handed Gold off to Jimmy. "He's not a toy, Jim."

"Hey, it's just—ow!" he yelped as Gold suddenly yanked at his hair. "No, Gold, no! No scalping allowed!"

"Don't yell at him Jimmy," Darby said, reaching out to save her brother-in-law from her son's clutches. "Gold, sweetie, let go," she said as she tried to untangle his fingers from Jimmy's hair. She managed to pry his fingers off and stuff a plush toy in his hands as a replacement.

Jay observed the action silently, trying not to look amused. "So," he said, jumping right back into their previous argument, "I don't even see why you felt the need to remember the Levs. You never talk about them, so I know you don't know them that well." Jay looked at him speculatively. "Do they have an older daughter, too? Because if they do—"

"What? No!" he protested. "I don't know them because I'm looking for a date. I work for Mrs. Lev's parents, so I also know—"

"Wait just one second!" Jay interrupted rather loudly—loudly enough for Jimmy flinch slightly and for Darby to give him a sharp look, though apparently not loud enough not bother Gold, who was busy chewing on his plushy. "Since when does knowing them because you work for their family count as being observant?"

Jimmy looked uncomfortable. Why don't you let the damn subject go? was probably what he wanted to say, Jay thought. Instead, he only said "Um, since never?"

Jay scowled halfheartedly, but decided to let the matter drop. "Well then," he said, turning to his wife, "we ready to go?"

"Hold on, let me go change my shirt and grab my coat," she said, she said, losing her snappy demeanor. As soon as she trotted out the kitchen and to their bedroom, Jimmy turned to his brother.

"So, remind me. How long will you be at your lovely, stupendously romantic date that's not too romantic and also not expensive because you're thrifty like that and also too manly to be really romantic?"

Jay looked at him appraisingly. "Why do I get the feeling you're trying to get me in a better mood?"

Jimmy grinned. "That's my job, isn't it?" he said. He suddenly stopped smiling when Gold decided once again to make his presence known—by reaching up and grabbing another fistful of Jimmy's hair.

"Ow!" Jimmy yelped as several hairs parted company with his head. "How did you get to be so violent?" he demanded.

Gold's only reply was to giggle and pull harder.

Jay watched for several moments as the two fought for ownership of the hair. Eventually, after seeing that Gold was entirely unwilling to let go and Jimmy was just as unwilling to be more rough, Jay stepped in and pulled Gold's hand away. He picked up the toy that had mysteriously fallen to the floor and presented it to Gold, who promptly grabbed it and started chewing on its ear.

Jay surveyed his son critically. "While we're gone, try to make him say something," he said abruptly.

"Uh, sure," Jimmy said agreeably, though he gave him a strange look. "Is there a deadline he needs to meet? I need to plan accordingly if that's the case."

Darby chose that moment to reenter the kitchen, clad in clean clothes and holding a small purse. "Okay," she said, "ready whenever you are."

Jay's eyes snapped over to her. "All right then," he said, then finally smiled as Darby wrapped her arm around his. Together, they strode towards the door. Just as they were exiting, Jay and Darby both called out to him.

"We'll be back in a few hours. Don't burn the house down!"

"Call us if you need anything!"

Then they were gone.

Jimmy let out a sigh as he watched the door close. "Well, looks like it just the three of us," he said.

Smeargle, who had remained entirely silent up until now, clapped his hands. Then he cast a glance at the door and looked questionably up at Jimmy. "Smearg?"

Jimmy frowned. "Who, Jay?" he asked. "Naw, he's fine. He's just in one of his moods . . . again." Then he smiled broadly. "But hey! Now that the grownups are gone, we can have some fun!" He placed Gold on the kitchen floor, balancing him carefully on his feet. "Walk him to the living room, and make sure he doesn't fall," he told Smeargle. "Lemme try to see what we're gonna have for dinner."

Smeargle made a sound of consent, then care led Gold to the living room, catching him several times as he almost tripped. No sooner had they reached the couch than Jimmy strode in after them. "We'll have eggs," he said. "Gold likes those, right?" he asked Smeargle, who only shrugged in response. Jimmy sighed as he plopped down on the floor in front of his nephew, who looked up and smiled at him, showing several tiny front teeth.

Jimmy smiled back. "Hey, buddy," he said, leaning forward. "Can you say 'Jimmy'?" Gold didn't respond. "'Jim'?" he suggested, but got no reply. "'Jimster'?" Still nothing. "'Antidisestablishmentarianism'?"

Gold, instead of replying, toddled toward the couch and promptly tripped.

Jimmy drew in a short breath as he quickly caught him. "Yo, Gold. Say something."

Gold, as before, and as he had always done when someone tried to get him to talk, didn't comply. Jimmy just sighed. "Come on, buddy," he said. "Make your parents happy."

Gold didn't even look at him. He grabbed at the hem of Jimmy's shirt and started giggling for no apparent reason. Jimmy sighed.

The evening passed uneventfully, with Jimmy playing with Gold, trying and failing to make him talk. Gold eventually fell asleep on the floor (his parents would probably object to that), and Jimmy left him in the care of Smeargle while he attempted to make something that would pass as a meal.

It was all going quite well, really—Gold had been fairly unfussy for the past two hours, and Jimmy hadn't managed to do something embarrassing, like dropping a plate or knocking over a houseplant. Everything was going just fine.

That was, until Jimmy burned the eggs and set off the fire alarm.

"Son of a bitch," Jimmy muttered, throwing the pan in the sink and running over to the alarm and waving a towel near it to chase away the smoke. After fifteen painful seconds, the screeching stopped. The ringing in Jimmy's ears didn't have the courtesy to do the same.

Past the painful buzzing, Jimmy heard a loud "Smeargle!" emit from the other room. Jimmy sighed as he jogged over to the living room. Gold couldn't have been too happy to being woken up by the noise.

But when Jimmy came into the room, Gold was still where he'd left him—lying on the carpet next to the couch, definitely not awake. Smeargle was standing next to him, wring his tail and looking worriedly at Jimmy.

Jimmy dropped to his knees next to his nephew. "Hey, Gold, Gold," he said quietly, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "Come on, wake up. Gold!" he said much more loudly. After receiving no response, he reached out a hand and gently shook Gold's arm.

That was all it took for his eyes to start fluttering open. He looked blearily off into space and shifted a little. He blinked sleepily, then yawned.

Jimmy quickly pulled him into his arms. "You okay?" he said, panic slightly abating.

Gold, in response to slightly rougher treatment, came more to his senses. He made whining noise, but otherwise didn't appear overly put out.

Jimmy chewed his lower lip. "Gold," he said loudly, "don't freak me out here. Hey!" he said loudly when Gold started to close his eyes again. He only started to wake up again after Jimmy lightly tapped his face. "Seriously, if I find out you've suddenly gotten sick or gone deaf, I'm gonna flip out. Hellooo?" he said loudly. Gold didn't seem to notice.

. . .Wait a second.

No, that was stupid. That wasn't even possible. They would have noticed a long time ago.

He stood there for several minutes, staring down at Gold and thinking deeply. He only snapped out of it when a concerned Smeargle tugged on his pant leg. "Oh, sorry,' Jimmy said. "Just thinking."

A was a minute later when Jimmy hesitantly asked a question. "Hey, Smeargle?" he said. "Has Gold ever seemed, I dunno, kinda . . . hard of hearing?"

Smeargle tilted his head. "Smeargle," he said slowly. "Smeargle smearg." That was a maybe.

Jimmy started chewing his lip again. "Really? Well, at least I'm not going crazy, right?" he said, laughing weakly.

Smeargle clearly wasn't reassured. Then again, neither was Jimmy.

Suddenly, he had an idea. It wasn't a particularly genius one, and Gold would probably react badly. Then again, that was the whole idea.

"Smeargle, you mind grabbing a couple of frying pans or something? I wanna try something."

As Smeargle trotted off to get the supplies, Jimmy look at Gold apologetically. This wouldn't be fun for anyone involved, but at least they could be completely sure there was nothing wrong with Gold. Better safe than sorry, right?

Smeargle soon returned with a pair of pans. "Smearg!" he said, waving them around.

"Okay, thanks. Now stand close," Jimmy instructed. When Smeargle complied, he issued his next order. "Now clang the pans together, hard."

Smeargle gave him a questioning look, but smacked the pans together anyway. Jimmy watched for any reaction on Gold's part. Nothing.

After a minute, Smeargle stopped the clanging and looked at Jimmy questionably. Gold was now grabbing at Jimmy's shirt, completely unperturbed.

Jimmy stared at him for several long moments. "Gold? Gold, look up here!"

Gold, as usual-no, as always—didn't respond. The pieces were slowly coming together.

Jimmy let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, and said the first word that came to his mind.

"Damn."

OoOoOoOoO

Jimmy spent the next hour trying to get Gold to show a sign—any sign—of noticing any sound at all.

He'd loudly shouted out to him while staying out of sight.

He'd banged some more pots and pans together.

He'd purposely set off the fire alarm again.

He'd even snuck up on Gold while he was sleeping, and shouted "Boo!" right in his ear.

Nothing.

Jimmy sat on the floor and looked wearily at his nephew, who was currently fast asleep in his crib. "What am I gonna tell your parents?" he asked, keeping his voice down out of habit. "Jay, Darby, guess what? Gold's probably deaf!" He turned his head and looked imploringly at Smeargle, who was standing next to him, wringing his tail. "Any ideas, Smeargle?"

Smeargle looked at him apologetically and shrugged. "Smear," he said morosely. He sniffled slightly.

"Yeah. I didn't think so." Jimmy rested his chin on his bent knees, feeling insufficient. He was nineteen, not nine; he should have been able to handle this situation.

"Well, we still have some time to come up with—"

As if on cue, the front door opened.

"We're home!" Darby called out.

Jimmy swore under his breath as he struggled to his feet. He arranged his features in a neutral expression as Jay and Darby walked in.

Jay, of course, immediately realized there was something off. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, sweeping his eyes over Jimmy, Smeargle, and the sleeping Gold.

Jimmy opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He glanced helplessly at Smeargle, who could only give him look that was halfway between sad and apologetic.

"Jimmy?" Darby asked, looking concerned. "What happened?"

Jimmy grasped around for something to say. "I, uh, set off the fire alarm." he said lamely. "Twice."

Jay gave him a flat look. "If you damaged anything . . ."

"I didn't!"

Darby, who had walked up to the crib without Jimmy noticing, shushed them both. "Quiet down," she said softly. Not that the volume would have made any difference—Gold wouldn't wake up either way. "Jimmy, it's fine. As long as nothing's damaged, I think we're good."

His next words came out in a rush. "Gold didn't hear it."

Had Jay been the type to roll his eyes, he probably would have just then. "That's impossible. You'd have to be deaf not to hear a fu—" he fumbled his words when Darby gave him a sharp look, "—a fire alarm." He collected his faltering dignity before continuing. "For Pete's sake, we're not gonna punish you. Gold can take a few scares without it killing him."

Jimmy closed his eyes, as though not seeing their reactions would make things easier. "I'm serious," he ground out. "He didn't hear a thing." When he opened his eyes again, both parents were standing in front of him, looking distinctly concerned. For him.

"Jimmy, calm down," Darby said, putting a hand on his shoulder. For the first time, Jimmy realized he was shaking.

Jay leaned towards Darby's ear. "I have a feeling he forgot to take his meds," he whispered, as though Jimmy weren't standing right there.

He growled as he roughly shrugged off Darby's hand and stepped away from the two of them. "You guys don't get it, do you?" he said. "Gold didn't hear the alarm go off. He didn't hear Smeargle smash and bunch of pots and pans together." Jimmy ignored their concerned looks. "He didn't hear me yell at him, either." He pointed an accusing finger at the occupied crib. "He was just playing around, acting like nothing was happening." He was beginning to feel out of breath. "I tried everything. He. Didn't. Hear. Me."

Darby looked at Jimmy with wide eyes, but only for a moment. She realized the implications—that much Jimmy knew. She quickly crouched down next to the crib. "Gold," she called out to him, voiced slightly raised. The sleeping toddler didn't react. "Gold!" she shouted. When she still didn't get a response, she quickly stood up and scooped him out of his crib.

That got a reply. Gold's eyes fluttered open, and he looked at his mother in confusion. Then, as if to remind everyone of his age, he burst into tears.

A white-faced Darby began to walk out the room, sobbing child in her arms. "We're going to the hospital," she said shortly, sounding on the verge of tears herself.

Jay stared blankly at her disappearing form for a moment, but quickly pulled himself together as he marched on after her. He even had the presence of mind to grab Darby's jacket on the way out. "Stay here, Jim," he called out over his shoulder. The barely noticeable shake his voice was the only thing that betrayed his worry.

Before Jimmy could really take any of this in, he heard the door slam shut.

He stumbled over to the couch and collapsed on it. Curling up into a ball, he squeezed his eyes shut and clamped his hands over his ears, trying to block everything out of his own little world. It was only then that he realized his breathing was shallow and uneven. And his chest hurt. A lot.

He nearly jumped when he felt something lightly poke his arm. He forced his eyes open and saw Smeargle next to the couch, hold a glass of water in one hand and a pair of pills in another.

Ah. So he had forgotten his anxiety medication. That explained a lot.

Jimmy sat up and took the offered items and swallowed the pills almost without thinking. Smeargle took the glass from Jimmy's trembling hands before he could drop it. Jimmy would have thanked him, but he couldn't quite bring himself to say anything. He blearily thought about how much Jay and Darby had to put up with when he was around.

And it looked like they'd just found something else they would have to endure.

OoOoOoOoO

Gold wasn't sick, the doctors told them.

He was deaf.

They suspected as much when he failed the screening test. Their suspicions were confirmed when he was further evaluated. "Profound deafness" was what they said it was.

Jay's head buzzed as information was thrown his and Darby's way—something about missing hair cells and not hearing anything below ninety-one decibels and I'm sorry sir and ma'am, but you'll be fine and you'll cope—look, we even have pamphlets! Or something like that.

Now a doctor whose name escaped him was talking about people they could contact. She told them there were many places they could go and therapists they could see so Gold could receive the help he would need so he could develop language skills and all that. She told them Goldenrod City had one of the biggest schools for deaf in Johto, where children could attend from kindergarten to the twelfth grade. It was quite affordable, she told them, and had a good reputation.

Then she suddenly started talking about the possibility of him getting cochlear implants, which, from what Jay could gather, would basically let him hear things except it wasn't the same as regular hearing because technology wasn't that advanced yet.

So people could put pokémon in little spheres and store them online, but they couldn't give someone proper hearing. What a joke.

Darby hadn't said much this entire time. She was looking at Gold, who was now sleeping peacefully in her arms. Her face was hard to read. But she probably felt lost. Confused. Devastated. Jay certainly did.

"Why did this happen?" she whispered, not looking up.

Jay didn't have an answer to that.

It was funny to think that before this, life had been normal. It had been good. Jay would look at his son and wonder what he would grow up to be. He could have been a doctor, a lawyer, or even a journalist like him. Or maybe a teacher, like Darby had once been. Jay saw potential there, a chance of a great career, of a great life. He saw a little of himself in Gold.

Now when he looked at his son, he didn't see any of that.

He saw a stranger.

OoOoOoOoO

A/N Well, that happened. Gold is deaf, Jimmy has problems, and Jay and Darby's relationship is a bit dysfunctional. In fact, the whole family seems to be dysfunctional. Also, Jay is one of those people who have to feel like they have to win every single little argument a always have the last word. You know those kind of people, right? They annoy me.

And yes, it is completely possible for parents to not notice their child is deaf or hard of hearing until long after they're born. There are many instances where parents have gone eighteen months without finding out. This can cause a lot of problems for the kid, due to delayed language development, which is why it's a good idea to have your child's hearing tested soon after they're born. Sure, everything's probably completely in order, but better safe than sorry, right? I was tested for hearing problems when I was a baby; my grandmother was deaf, so my parents wanted to see if I'd inherited it (disclaimer: I hadn't). So yeah. Just thought I'd share some information with y'all. If you're interested in getting more in-depth info about deafness, the internet has loads of resources. Just be sure the site ends with a gov or and edu, not a com. Orgs are usually okay, but I wouldn't recommend them (i.e. don't use Wikipedia).

So, what did you like about this chapter? What did you hate? Did anything about this chapter surprise you? What do you think of Jay and Jimmy? How do you think the family's gonna cope with Gold's deafness? Whatever you have to say, feel free to review. I don't bite, I promise! :D Even simply putting a smiley face in the review box is just fine with me. :)

P.S. Anyone who reviews gets a cyber hug from a character of their choice. And cyber brownies from me. I have a great big plateful of them right here, fresh out the oven! :D

Also, there are currently 69 reviews for this story. That is not a family-friendly number. Be a hero to society and help Soundless become family-friendly once more! :B

~Geek