(A/N: Sorry I keep disappearing! Life, and Tumblr, have kept me busy. While working on Venus' training story, I decided that Jubei, Jessie's brief partner from "Training Daze", would be the human partner she lasts the longest with, and a new ship sailed. I have so many for her, that on Tumblr, I have a ship challenge, but this is one of my personal favorites. Plus I accidentally discovered Florence Nightingale, and this idea was born. Enjoy!)

Jubei and Mankey were on a roll during training with their new partner. Not a single mistake! It felt good, considering his failure with Jessie still stuck with him to this day. Or her failure with him, more like.

Venus Wisteria may be more... intimidating, for lack of a better word, but for someone who preferred to work alone, she seemed to have a better grasp on the concept of loyalty, and hasn't abandoned him yet. He's lasted longer with her than with Jessie; after two failures, he hated to be switched over again. Third time's the charm, right?

A scream of pain, along with a sickening crunch, stopped him and Mankey dead in their tracks after a high jump. Turns out, Venus landed wrongly on her right leg; very wrongly. He rushed over, Mankey close behind, as his normally tough and stoic partner laid on the ground, tears of agony threatening to fall from her squinting eyes. Her trusty, loyal Zubat was helplessly flying around her, frantic.

When he asked the eternally stupid question, "Are you okay?", her response was merely a pained head shake, instead of a sarcastic quip she was known for. He knew then that it was bad.

He shouted for Sergeant Viper, held her closely while having her focus on him instead of the pain, and before long, the medic team were wheeling her away on a gurney.

He snapped himself out of his trance, as Viper approached him in the waiting room. It had been a few days since she was admitted in, but it felt much longer to him. The dorm had an empty void without her; and her Zubat was sad without its master. Visits weren't allowed, so they couldn't even see her. The doctor told him her ankle AND lower leg had broken from her botched landing, and would require operating to repair it. The thought of her having surgery, as helpful as it was, still made him shudder in discomfort. "Jubei, as you know, Ms. Wisteria is scheduled to leave the infirmary, and return to your dorm today."

"Yes, sir. She went through her surgery well?"

"According to the doctors, she did, but will need to keep off her feet in your dorm, for at least six weeks." All the teams each had a dorm room, with separate bedrooms (thank goodness! no awkwardness there), and one kitchen, living room, and bathroom. And a balcony! "I trust you'll take good care of her until she's well enough to return to training."

"Uh, y-yes sir, I will."

Viper let a little smirk grow, sensing he felt nervous. "Ah, she's not that scary. Just a bit of a firecracker; you can handle it."

"Thanks for the confidence boost, sir. I'll make sure she's comfortable."

Just then, a doctor escorted the patient out of her infirmary room, with her in a wheelchair looking... like her. Broody, but more tired; and back in her purple training uniform. Jubei felt a grin of amusement grow at her thick cast; it was in her favorite color. "Black, huh?"

"Yeah," She shrugged with a small grin, "If I'm going to be injured and bedridden, I may as well have a say in my cast color, right?"

"I suppose," He smirked. Judging by the white-clad woman's composure, it seemed the Goth scared her into using black for her cast. "It suits you."

"Thanks."

The doctor turned to Jubei after pulling her face mask down to her chin. "You'll be her caretaker, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She gave him a paper bag containing a bottle of small, white pills. "Make sure she takes these, two a day at most, every four to six hours every day. These will last you three weeks; by then, she shouldn't need them."

"Thanks; will do."

"If she still feels pain afterwards, over-the-counter ibuprofen will do the trick."

"Got it."

Venus smirked up at them, cheek in palm. "Guys, I'm right here, and not a child; I can just be told this stuff myself."

The nurse snickered, then turned her attention back to him, as he stifled a grin. She was back. "Keep her out of trouble. And make sure she doesn't cause any more damage to her ankle, or lower leg; she's a feisty one."

"Trust me, I know," He chuckled, receiving an eye roll from the patient.

Once Venus signed the papers, Jubei took charge of the wheelchair, and led his petite partner back to their dorm, with Viper close behind. On the way, she was greeted with get-well wishes, to which she responded with tired gratitude; she just wanted to be in her own bed already. Her cheeks blushed red when Butch, in particular, approached her after having Jubei stop. "Hope you heal up good, Venus. See you in a few weeks."

"Thanks; see you."

Before long, they were back in their dorm. After reassuring Viper that he'll take care of her, Jubei entered Venus' bedroom with her in tow. He had a brief glance around while piling extra pillows at one side of the foot of her bed with Mankey's help. There was a sling, but she was stubbornly wary of it, so pillows instead; he hoped she would soon come around, and realize the sling would be better. Since they first teamed up, he hadn't been in her room much, out of respect for her privacy; and a bit of fear as well. This was the first time he had a good look, and frankly, in his opinion, it suited her well; Goth decor of many kinds was all over the room, from random trinkets and portraits to the window curtains, the walls were the same color as the rest of the dorms (painting them was prohibited), and her bed had dark floral sheets, in a nice navy blue. A dartboard was on the wall across from the bed, strangely covered by a photo of a dominantly green-haired family, sans one person trimmed out, and stabbed with darts.

"Um, Jubei?" Her voice brought him back to reality; she was suddenly leaning into him for support, standing only on her good leg, with her arms around his neck. He blushed at the close contact; she smelled clean and sterile, like the hospital room she stayed in. "You can look around after I'm in bed," She joked.

"Sorry, sorry." Feeling sheepish, he helped her lay down, so she was on her back, and tenderly laid her bad leg on the pillow pile. For someone as strong as her, she was pretty light. "That good?"

She shrugged, as she pulled the covers over her upper body. "As good as it gets. Thanks; the pillows help."

"No problem. Sorry I was distracted earlier; I've... never really been in your room before. At least, not long enough to get a good look."

"It's okay. Just don't get comfortable; I like my privacy."

"I understand. Uh, anything you need right now? Drink, heat pad?"

"Actually, water sounds nice," Venus admitted, "Something to wash down my first two pills with."

"Okay; we'll be back." Jubei headed straight for the kitchen with Mankey close behind. An ecstatic Zubat made a beeline for its master's shoulder when they were alone. She giggled, and snuggled its head with hers; she definitely missed it.

As he filled a glass halfway full of cold water for his partner, Mankey discretely grabbed something else from one of the pantries. Something purchased (or possibly stolen) by the big eater of the duo.

A rare, bright smile appeared on Venus' face when she saw a chocolate, white-frosted cupcake in each of the Pig Monkey Pokemon's hands. "Aw," She giggled, "Thanks, guys." As the glass was set on the nightstand, she took the cupcake closest to her, peeled the liner down, and had a large bite. She smiled at Zubat lapping up a mouthful of frosting.

"Mankey, how come you got- oh," Jubei laughed when it handed the other one to him, "Thanks, buddy." He sat on the chair set by the head of her bed, and started eating. After his first bite, he turned to the family photo again. Due to the green hair, albeit different hues, they reminded him of his partner. "Hey uh, forgive me for asking, but who are those people there?"

Venus noticed where his free hand gestured to, and sighed deeply through her nose. "I... I'm not comfortable talking about them just yet. But I'll say just this: they're my... "family". I cut myself out of that picture."

Her air quotes around the particular word, and her hesitance, told him that they were not... ideal. "Oh, o-okay."

"That's all I'd rather say."

"A-are you sure-"

"I don't want to talk about it!" He flinched at her sudden, yet justified outburst, immediately regretting his words. She inhaled deeply, regaining her composure, as she blinked tears away. They may had been partners for a while now, but she didn't want him to see her cry. The time she got hurt didn't count to her.

"I, I'm sorry." He stammered.

"It's okay," She almost whispered, "I'm just... not ready yet."

"I understand. I won't push you on it anymore," He promised with a pat to her shoulder.

"Thanks." They finished their cupcakes, and he threw out the liners for her. "Um... and thanks for taking care of me."

He shrugged modestly, returning to his seat. "It's what partners do."

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed so far! There's more to come! Nobody belongs to me, except for Venus.)