"…": Characters talking
'…': Characters thinking to themselves
(…): Extra facts about the story/inner thoughts
A/N: So, yeah. I am so sorry that this ended up being a very long and dragged out Christmas fic. Real life got in the way and I was forced to put this on the backburner until I could get back to it. On that note, rather than divide this into a smaller chapter and very short epilogue, I combined the two as an apology for not updating this soon enough for any of you loyal or interested enough to keep a lookout for an update. I hope you enjoy, and your questions on Paul saving Dawn will be answered here.
Chapter 4: Day Three
Oak Laboratory, Pallet Town, Kanto Region, 24 December 2010, 7:30 AM
The next morning, various people took turns in the kitchen cooking breakfast, which ranged from cereal (the only thing Ash could make without risk to the stove), to pancakes (Brock's specialty) to breakfast burritos (a family recipe from Anabel's grandfather); all agreed that the food was delicious. Paul and Dawn agreed with their friends, though the former kept the compliments to himself, as his eyes were subtly trained on the door, waiting for the inevitable screams from the bedroom where Barry and Angie were sleeping. As if on cue, an ear-splitting screech sounded from said bedroom, followed by a series of bangs and a string of loud curses that had Misty covering Chris' ears so that he didn't hear them. Ash and Dawn smirked at each other across the table, and Anabel's eyes caught this movement; the suspicions began to pile up.
"Pervert!" came the final cry and an uncoordinated (and pajama-clad) Barry stumbled into the kitchen, backwards. He tripped over his feet and landed on his back, groaning as his hangover set in with a vengeance. Clutching his head, he looked up and grimaced at the bright lights.
"Too damn bright," he muttered shading his eyes. Blinking a few times, he could just make out his best friend, who was holding a glass of water and some aspirin. "Dawn… why are there three of you?"
"He's totally wasted," Forrest remarked, amused. The Pewter City Gym Leader was nursing an extra-strong mug of black coffee, knowing that in order for him to function properly he had to have a decent amount of caffeine in his system.
"No, really?" Paul remarked sarcastically, sparing his partner an amused glance. Barry, catching the hidden insult looked as if he was going to leap up and attempt to strangle the other man, but then remembered his monstrous hangover.
"Barry, take these and you'll feel better soon," Dawn soothed beckoning Paul over to help. Sighing in resignation, the G-Man walked over and dumped the blonde-haired man into a chair that Gary brought over. Then, after he had taken the aspirin and gulped down the glass of water, Brock handed him a mug of coffee, which Barry began gulping, not caring about the scalding his tongue was sure to have.
"What happened?" Misty inquired having deemed it safe to uncover Chris' ears. The six-year old scowled at his mother for preventing him from learning what was going on before returning to the plate of pancakes in front of him.
"'Kay, so I woke up in a bed," Barry began, glaring at a smirking Ash and Paul (who actually agreed on the ridiculousness of the statement) before continuing, "and I wasn't alone."
"Then again…" Misty muttered covering Chris' ears again. Gary, catching sight of his wife's actions sighed and held up a hand to pause Barry's story. Moving quickly, he whispered something to Delia Ketchum and, smiling in relief motioned for Chris to leave with her. Pouting, the orange-haired six-year old tried to hold out but one look from his mother changed his mind. Stuffing the last of his food into his mouth, Chris hopped off his seat and trotted after Delia, who closed the kitchen door after her.
"Continue." The Oaks were as curious as everyone else; they just didn't want their son hearing anything inappropriate. Barry slowly nodded, not wanting to do anything that would aggravate his headache.
"Anyway, I could have sworn that I fell asleep on the couch, but when I woke up I was in a bed, uh," he paused, a dull blush slowly creeping up his neck. "and I was, uh, with someone."
"Are you sure you want to tell this to everyone here?" Drew Rhosyn pointed out from his position of leaning against a counter. Personally, he was only interested in knowing who the blonde-haired G-Man had woken up next to, nothing more.
"Nothing happened!" Barry exclaimed pointing a finger at the chartreuse-haired Coordinator. "Stop saying crap like that or I'm gonna have to fine you!"
"Uh…"
"Something had to have happened," came a new voice and the gathering of friends looked to the door to see a pissed-off (and fully dressed) Angie Robinson, dark golden eyes glaring at the Twinleaf Town native. "We were practically undressed and in one bed; something had to have happened!"
"I swear to Palkia that nothing happened!" Barry protested launching himself to his feet – deftly ignoring his headache – and getting into Angie's face. As the two adults argued, the rest of the group looked at each other and struggled to contain their laughter. It figured that Barry'd get himself into trouble of some sort; this was just too perfect. Paul and Ash shared another smirk before Anabel pulled her fiancé into a conversation that Paul suspected was, in some way, related to Ketchum's involvement in the prank. The Frontier Brain was too damn smart.
Dawn, meanwhile, was giggling with May Maple about the ridiculousness of the situation and debating whether or not something had actually happened, or if Barry and Angie were putting on a show for their audience. It wasn't unheard of for the amber-eyed man to want to be the center of attention; yet, for him to go to this length… well, Dawn knew that May was curious about why Barry would go this far to get noticed. Dawn, however, knew the truth, and was having too much fun covering her tracks.
Finally, the argument ended when Anabel stepped in and told the two to stop acting like six-year olds. This, of course, got the two adults in alliance against the Frontier Brain, but after another minute of arguing they suddenly stopped and began ignoring each other, a typical method used by Barry when he felt that the situation had changed so that it was beneath him. It was thought that Angie was just sick of being accused of acting like an immature kid.
Ash and Paul smirked at the still-upset Barry, who eventually caught sight of the twin smirks and turned bright red. Tearing through the last of his breakfast, the blonde-haired G-Man forcibly grabbed the two smirking men and dragged them outside, hissing insults underneath his breath. Ash and Paul decided to follow their friend peacefully in order to trick him into letting his guard down. Luckily, it worked as they both escaped and while Ash led the Sinnoh native on a wild goose chase around the various Pokémon habitats for a good hour and a half, Paul snuck away and grabbed Dawn away from an increasingly suspicious May and knowing Drew, determination flashing through his eyes.
"That was fun," Dawn commented after a few moments, the couple having found the relatively empty den down two hallways, right two times, left once and through an archway. Flinging herself onto the chocolate-brown couch (Misty had already given her permission for the guests to use any of the rooms on the first floor without asking; well, as long as the doors were kept open), Dawn grinned at her husband, who was unusually pensive. "What's up?"
Paul didn't answer immediately, his view caught by a fluttering snowflake that hit the glass windowpane and melted out of existence. When Dawn repeated her question he turned to her and replied, "I have a question for you."
"Shoot then!" Dawn chirped eyes glittering. Paul inwardly winced; not the exact word he would've used.
"What do you want to do today?" He smirked at the dumbfounded look on his wife's face, her jaw dropping open in disbelief.
"… What?"
"I said," Paul repeated enjoying this immensely. "What do you want to do today?"
"Why are you asking me?"
Paul shrugged. "Because." Inwardly, Paul knew that he should have told her how much he cared for her, that he wanted to just spend time with her because she was important to him… but he didn't. Dawn was silent for a moment, contemplating just how exactly she was going to respond to this question.
"Hmm… well," she began finger on her chin in her usual thinking position. Paul's eyes never left her, wanting to savor how she looked, burn her image into his mind, and no matter what he wanted to remember how she was everything he wanted, and how much he wanted to protect her…
"Did you hear me?" Dawn repeated for the third time, worried now. 'Since when does Paul not pay attention to anything that's going on around him? Actually, come to think of it, he's been like this for the past few days, since he came back from that mission in Eterna…'
"Hn," Paul grunted in reply and Dawn sighed, knowing that he had not, in fact, heard her
"I said," she repeated slowly getting to her feet and moving closer to Paul. "I want to spend the day with you." With that, she stood up on her toes and, placing her hands on Paul's face brought it down for her to kiss. Smirking, Paul returned it and, grabbing one of her hands with his kept it pressed against his cheek, enjoying the action.
A few moments later, the couple broke apart to breathe and, giggling, Dawn grabbed Paul's hand after a moment and pulled him out the door, running back to then now deserted kitchen (apparently, the chase between Barry and Ash was still ongoing, and the others had decided to take sides in the competition; Paul didn't care one way or another what Ketchum was up to now that the prank had been played on his partner).
"What now?" Paul asked mentally readying himself for something that he'd hate. Yet again, however, he was surprised at Dawn's response (he'd been beyond shocked to hear that she just wished to spend time with him, though the ensuing kiss had masked the shock behind other emotions) when she shook her head negatively while grabbing a box of saltine crackers and some cheese from the fridge. Then, jotting down a quick note that she left on the kitchen counter she motioned for Paul to follow her, which he did in time to catch his jacket in one hand, scarf in the other (the weatherman had been dead wrong when he predicted a warm Christmas Eve; the temperature was now at freezing and predicted to drop further).
"Where are we going?" Paul asked a tad impatient. 'Be patient,' his mind told him even as he struggled to keep his temper reigned in, 'This is her time, not yours. Be patient.'
"You'll see," Dawn shot back as she tightened her scarf around her neck and dragged Paul out after her. The blunette was careful to avoid their large group of friends, who had somehow gotten involved in a miniature tournament. As Ketchum and Oak called out their attacks Paul's free hand moved to finger his Torterra's Pokéball, but withdrew almost immediately.
'Idiot. Do you want to save her or not?' His eyes narrowed as he kept pace with his excited wife. 'This is her day, not yours. Let her decide and in doing so I'll show her that I care for her.' He mentally winced at the last thought. 'Since when did I become a poet?'
About twenty minutes later, the two arrived at Dawn's intended destination: a small lake that was far from the miniature Pokémon tournament, a few Spheal and Seel floating on the water's surface. Looking around, Dawn grinned and motioned for Paul to follow her, which he did without much urging. Finding a spot on the faintly brown grass (snow was rare in Kanto, hence the idea that grass was brown was kind of foreign to many natives of the region), Dawn immediately made herself comfortable and, after a moment's hesitation Paul followed suit.
"So, what are we doing out here?" Paul asked leaning back on his arms. Dawn didn't respond for a moment content to toss a cracker into her mouth then throw the next one into the lake as a Magikarp swam by and nabbed it. "Dawn?"
"As I said earlier, I just want to spend time with you," Dawn replied absently tossing another cracker at the self-same Magikarp, an unusually aggressive variant of his species as he singlehandedly held off a small school of Spheal from encroaching on his territory.
Paul raised an eyebrow, not believing the statement for a minute. He knew her too well. "Bull. Something's eating at you." Dawn's raised eyebrow had him smirking. "Come on, Blue." The smirk widened at the glower he received for his use of the hated nickname he'd christened her with after two months of dating.
"Don't call me that," Dawn muttered popping another cracker into her mouth. Paul snatched one as well as he waited for his wife to gather her thoughts together. 'I can be patient.'
"Paul, if I ask you something, can I trust that you're telling the truth?" Dawn asked throwing the plum-haired man for a loop.
"Duh," was the monochromatic reply, an eyebrow arched, as if to say, 'Why are you asking me this?'
"I'm asking," Dawn shot back interpreting the physical gesture correctly, "because you've been acting so weird since you got back from your mission in Eterna City." She paused noting the slight widening of Paul's eyes. 'Gotcha.'
He grunted and replied, "You're imagining things."
"Am I?" Dawn moved closer so that she was sitting right next to Paul her eyes boring into his. "You willingly bought me breakfast, lunch and dinner on the day of the Hearthome Contest when you tend to want to cook and save money."
"So what? I didn't want to deal with burnt toast again," Paul declared narrowing his eyes.
"Lie." Dawn frowned before continuing, "Seriously, you even came to one of my contests without me forcing you to; that's never happened before."
"Like I told you, I felt guilty for missing some major holidays." Paul was irritated that she doubted his words from two days previous. Arceus above, what would it take for her to stop questioning him?
"Why is it that I don't believe you?" Dawn asked not expecting an answer; obligingly, Paul didn't give one. "You missed the anniversary of Veilstone City's founding last year; what was so different now?"
'I don't know, maybe the fact that I'm actually from the future where you die and I'm determined to prevent that no matter what!' Paul was very sarcastic at this point internally, becoming more and more fed up with every moment that passed in which he felt he was making no progress proving to Dawn that he loved her.
"Then," the blunette continued fingering a chipped cracker which she eventually threw into the lake, the Magikarp grabbing it without pause, "then, there was the party yesterday. I know that you had to come because your boss demanded it instead of you having to work over Christmas –"
"Didn't you want me home for Christmas?" Paul inquired a tad amused at his wife's rambling. He smirked at the half-hearted punch that landed on his shoulder.
"Sh- Shut up!" Dawn commanded having moved a few feet away from Paul so that she wouldn't fall prey to her husband's charms (the man could be persuasive when he wanted to be… and that was what made him dangerous). Taking a breath, she continued, "Paul, you willingly put up with Gary and Misty's kid, you were civil to pretty much everyone, hell, you and Ash participated in a prank. Paul, you've never done that before and, honestly, I'm kind of worried."
"I'm fine," Paul hissed glaring. "So what if I've been acting a bit different? It's not like I'm under mind control or something."
"Yeah?" Dawn suddenly chirped eyes narrowed playfully at him. "Then, does that mean that you've been brainwashed into this really new person?"
Paul rolled his eyes. "Troublesome, troublesome Blue." Moving quickly, he grasped Dawn's chin and tilted her head up for a kiss, reveling in the taste of her soft, soft lips against his. Moving slowly, he peppered kisses along her throat, moving her scarf for better access. As he did so, his mind whirled.
'Should I tell her? What if she thinks I'm bizarre?' His mind made no sense, as half of it told him to return her obvious feelings and tell her just how dam n much he loved her.. .but the other half continuously called him a wuss for even thinking about the second path, which was to not say anything at all. Pausing in his ministrations, Paul glanced up at Dawn, whose eyes were closed, a smile spread across her face. 'Screw it. There is no way in hell that I'm ruining this now.'
After a moment, Dawn's eyes popped open and she pulled away, frowning. "Stop that! I'm trying to have a serious conversation here with you and you're not cooperating." Paul merely smirked, not concerned in the least.
"And then, then," Dawn waved a hand trying to use the correct words, "today you ask me what I want to do for the day." She glared at Paul and continued, "That is something you never asked me, or if you had it was always something like, 'You choose something then I'll figure out what we're going to do next'. What the hell's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Paul snapped abruptly pulling Dawn into a hug, burying his face in her hair. "I, I just," he whispered hoping and praying to Arceus that Dawn wouldn't hear him, "I just don't want to lose you."
Dawn didn't do anything for a moment, too much in shock. After a few minutes, though, she wriggled a bit, managing to free herself enough to look into Paul's eyes. She had, of course, heard everything that had been muttered into her hair and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Sure, she knew that Paul loved her (hell, they wouldn't even be married if he didn't love her), but he wasn't overly verbal about it. He tended to show his affection more than verbally stating it. It was for this exact reason that she found his muttered declaration of love so out of character for him.
"You won't lose me," Dawn whispered grasping Paul's face and bringing his head down for a gentle kiss. "Not ever." As the two embraced, Paul could only think and hope that he'd be able to save his wife from the clutch of death, and prayed that her whispered declaration was true.
The Jade Dragon, Viridian City, Kanto Region, 24 December 2010, 11:00 PM
As the group of friends left The Jade Dragon late that night, spirits were high. It had been uniformly and unanimously determined to eat out that night rather than attempt to cook, hence the fairly expensive dinner that had been purchased, with each paying their due. The Christmas Eve celebration had gone on longer than expected; so long, in fact, that the owners had had to kick the group out, despite the fact that the large number of rather famous people had attracted more customers than the restaurant had seen in years. Young Chris Oak was currently snuggled against his father's shoulder, having fallen asleep hours earlier. When asked why he hadn't been left at home earlier, Misty had shrugged and said that as much as she hated to keep the boy out this late, she hadn't been able to get a babysitter on such short notice.
Dawn was tucked underneath her husband's arm, which was casually draped across her shoulders. Paul was scowling as usual, eyes daring anyone to comment on his action. Ash and Anabel were chatting merrily; well, Anabel was excited about her future wedding and Ash the next challenge or frontier to possibly explore. There were occasional agreements between the two on something, and for Ash those usually involved something related to his upcoming nuptials.
"So, you two, any thought about having kids?" Brock asked, a smirk gracing his face. "Ow." Duplica stuck her nose up at her husband's non-tactful remark before trotting up to talk with Misty, who smirked at her friend. "He's such an idiot."
"That's why you love him," Misty helpfully pointed out before dissolving into giggles at the wounded look on the Pewter City native's face. Duplica glanced back before rolling her eyes and grinning as the Pokémon Breeder apologized with a kiss. Paul turned away, not one hundred percent comfortable with the very public display of affection. Dawn giggled at the action before moving closer to her husband, whom she noticed had stilled.
"What's wrong?" she asked causing the rest of the group to halt. Paul didn't reply as his eyes were fixed ahead, as if he'd heard something. "Paul?"
"Paul? What's wrong?" Barry asked removing his arm from around Angie's shoulder (the two had discovered that they had much in common during the day between various arguments and plots to further take revenge on Ash and Paul).
The G-Man didn't reply for a moment, but then it wasn't needed. A cacophony of screeching and yelling grew louder until two specks were seen in the distance. Squinting, Barry was able to make out what appeared to be two cars, both fishtailing and running into various sidewalk items, the drivers and passengers all yelling insults at the other.
"I think we need to move," Drew stated drawing attention to himself. Emerald eyes narrowed as he continued, "Idiots have no clue where they are, and they're a danger." A loud "clang" drew the group's attention as one of the cars had run into a lamppost, smoke gently curling from the engine. The driver and passenger opened the door and staggered out, both stumbling a few feet away before collapsing onto the pavement.
"Where's the other car?" May asked, panicking. As if to answer her, another crash sounded and as it turned out the second car had mowed down a mailbox. No smoke emanated from the car, but while the passenger was out cold, the driver wasn't as woozy as he seemed. Dismounting, the "click" of a mechanical device sounded, followed by some grunting. Paul's gut screamed for him to run.
"Shit! He's got a gun," he muttered and, turning shouted, "Run! He's got a gun!" The group instantly scattered, finding refuge in alleys and behind dumpsters. Paul, Barry and Ash, as certified G-Men, were keen on hiding themselves last in order to protect everyone else, which was done with an efficiency expected of the elite taskforce. The partners nodded and raced towards the gunman, who, upon hearing the warning had ducked behind his car, the edge of a gun seen peeking above the hood.
"Duck!" The men dove as a stream of bullets whizzed by, not caring why the guy was shooting randomly in Viridian City, but concerned about protecting everyone else.
"Thundershock!" came a cry and a stream of bright electricity flew towards the gunman, who tossed up a ball that absorbed the shock. "Damn, he's onto us."
"No shit, Sherlock!" Paul muttered cursing himself for leaving Weavile's Pokéball back at the lab. All he had with him was Torterra and… wait. "Pidgeot!" With a cry, Paul's Pidgeot emerged and, without a word sped towards the gunman, only to suddenly meet a Swellow mid-air, crying out as he fell a few feet to a wild Steel Wing attack.
"Shit. Use Screech!" Normally, Paul wouldn't resort to such elementary tactics, but this was a situation that required delicacy. Granted, the high-pitch frequency ran the chance of harming the assailant… oh well. No pain, no gain.
Soon, Barry's Staraptor, Pikachu on his back flew up to join the battle and within minutes the enemy Swellow fell to the pavement. The gunman left the wounded bird in favor of attempting to shoot the bothersome pests out of the sky, only to fluently curse as an immaculately aimed Thundershock knocked the metal out of his hand. Diving, Pidgeot managed to grab it with his talons before the alarmed man could reach for it. Practically smirking, the avian deposited the gun into his trainer's hands who unloaded the bullets and tossed the rifle into a nearby dumpster, his smirk matching that of his predatory Pokémon.
"By order of the G-Men, you are under arrest for disturbing the peace," Ash declared moving so that he stood at the front of the trio of protectors. The man laughed at the declaration; Ash narrowed his eyes.
"No way in hell!" the man shouted before jumping into the truck and gunning the engine. Squealing, his tires spun on the pavement before the truck shot backwards, ramming into yet another mailbox (the postal service was going to be in tears the next day) before speeding towards the three G-Men. The three men leapt to the side, landing roughly on the pavement as the truck and the crazy-as-hell driver/gunman drove off down the street, tires screeching. The wounded Swellow was quickly subdued by Staraptor and Pikachu, the former taking a standing position over him.
"License plate number?" Ash asked all seriousness and none of his regular cheerfulness. As Barry reported the number, the rest of the group, beyond shaken slowly walked out into the street; well, Anabel and Dawn flew into their respective partners' arms.
"Oh my god, are you alright?" Dawn exclaimed looking at Paul's scrapped cheek. Her heart had been pounding, anxiety and adrenaline running through her as she watched her husband face death in the eye, no fear or hesitation in his eyes.
"I'm fine," Paul responded running a (faintly) shaking hand through his wife's navy-blue hair, unable to believe how close he'd come to losing her. 'My god, if she hadn't run, if I hadn't heard the asshole coming… I could have lost her.'
Ash was reassuring a shaken Anabel while Angie was interrogating Barry as to what exactly a G-Man did, and if female members were also called "G-Men"; obviously, she was interested in joining if the nature of her questions were any indication. Barry called for the on-shift policeman of the city's taskforce to come and retrieve the wounded Swellow, and after the avian was loaded into the sidecar of a motorcycle, the three G-men gave their stories to the officer. After said officer had driven away, Pikachu returned to his perch on Ash's shoulders and Staraptor to his ball; Pidgeot decided to stretch his wings and hovered above.
Minutes later, the entire group moved to continue their journey back to the garage where they'd parked their set of cars earlier (there had been no room in the restaurant's parking lot earlier due to its use as a dumping ground for last-minute shopper's vehicles of transportation). As they did so, Paul again draped his arm around Dawn's shoulders, pulling her closer than he usually did in public (if at all), Pidgeot soaring overhead.
"That was cool!" Chris was once again hyper, the catnap having restored much of his energy, now in use to talk to his new heroes. Misty rolled her eyes and ruffled her son's hair, fielding questions that the three G-Men didn't hear while Gary carried the six-year old on his shoulders, gently reminding him that as soon as they got home he had to go to sleep so that Santa would come and leave the annual donation of gifts.
As the parking garage came into view, Paul began to feel as if the night (and his plan to save Dawn) had gone well. 'This is it.' He surreptitiously checked his watch a smirk overtaking his face at the thought that midnight was fast approaching. 'Ten minutes and counting. Once it hits midnight, Dawn's safe.'
Of course, Dialga, Master of Time, was a finicky Legendary at the best of times. So, it was totally understandable that when things were not going his way, he got angry. Therefore, when it seemed like Celebi and Arceus' plan to save Dawn Andreas was going to be successful, he just had to interfere somehow, hence what happened next.
Pidgeot's ears picked up a sound that caused him to turn his head to see what was going on behind him. Spotting a pair of headlights, he figured that it was a late-night taxi… then the fishtailing caught his eye. It was this that caused him to worry for the well-being of his trainer and his chosen mate. Chirping down a warning, he watched as the plum-haired man tensed and glanced behind him, eyes narrowed.
"Shit! He's coming back!" Paul's warning was quickly heeded as the group began running towards the garage as fast as their legs could carry them. As they approached the barrier, Paul glanced behind him again and saw the high beams approaching quickly. As the various group members began to dodge through and under the barrier, Paul all of a sudden skidded to a stop, determination flashing through his eyes.
"Paul?" Dawn questioned stopping beside her husband. She watched as he drew Torterra's Pokéball from his pocket and maximized it. "No!"
"Move," Paul commanded gripping the ball tightly. Dawn stubbornly shook her head, withdrawing Mamoswine's Pokéball, intent on standing and fighting with her husband.
"Move!" Paul didn't want to believe what he was seeing. 'No, no, no. No! This is not happening. Shit, shit, sh-'
It was all in slow motion. Ash, Barry, Gary, hell, everyone was on the verge of releasing Pokémon strong enough to stop the rampaging truck before it could reach the group, or more specifically, Paul and Dawn who were still in its path. The headlights showed the scene: a gunshot rang out in the night and without warning Paul pushed Dawn out of the way, taking the shot in the gut. Dawn screamed in horror, tears falling from her eyes as her husband pushed her out of danger, out of certain death. Torterra's Pokéball fell from the Sinnoh G-Man's hand, landing next to a stunned Dawn. The truck continued towards the fallen man, the driver's eyes crazed and bloodshot. With a flash of white light, the truck's tires touched Paul's damaged body only to be pushed back by an enraged Torterra, the normally gentle and pacifist Continent Pokémon glowing bright green.
"Paul!" Dawn's scream reverberated across the city, drawing Torterra's attention once more to the plight of his trainer. A Frenzy Plant devastated the four blocks on either side of The Jade Dragon, but the local police later reassured Lance Thorn that the G-Man's Pokémon would not be held responsible. Dawn didn't care about the ensuing damage around her; all that concerned her was her husband, who was lying bleeding on the ground, hands clenched over the penetration point of the bullet in an effort to stifle the amount of blood.
"D- Dawn?" came the whisper and Dawn's tears dripped down onto Paul's face. By this time, Ash and Barry had forcibly removed the driver from the now wrecked truck and placed him under arrest, Torterra's Vine Whip substituting for handcuffs.
"Y- you, you okay?" The tears came faster now, concerning the man who had just taken a gut wound to save her.
"Ye- yeah, no, are you okay?" Dawn sobbed hair falling around Paul's face as she leant closer to hear his whispers. "Why did you do that? I can protect myself!"
"Duh," Paul muttered drawing a short and strangled laugh from his wife. "Ha- had to save you."
"Why?"
"Lo- lo, lo-," Paul struggled to state, plain and simple, the words that he didn't say often enough, the words that he had really only said a handful of times, the three simple words that would prove, once and for all, that he loved his wife. "I love you." His eyes closed and his breathing began to slow down, enough so that Gary gently pushed Dawn out of the way and began CPR, being careful not to further injure the man's wound.
"Call for a bus!" Gary demanded sweater sleeves pushed up past his elbows, perspiration dripping down his face as he fought to keep the Sinnoh trainer alive. Dawn, by now, was in May's arms, sobbing her heart out as her thoughts became more and more morbid, showing her countless images of a dead husband, a dead Paul, a dead and dull life for her after Paul's death…
"He didn't need to do that," she whispered against May's shoulder, the brunette trying to offer any comfort she could. Drew had taken his sports coat and propped it under Paul's head, hoping that it would bring him some comfort. Brock was keeping track of Paul's pulse, Duplica's Ditto acting as a stethoscope to help him and Tracey was doing the same, keeping an eye on the man's breathing.
"Dawn, he saved you," Misty declared placing a hand on the blunette's shoulder, Melody Sketchit doing the same, just with the Coordinator's other shoulder. Chris, tugging on Dawn's peacoat asked the same question, tears dripping down his face.
"He'll be fine. I promise." Dawn's eyes looked over to the form of her husband, whose eyes were still closed. 'Arceus, I wish that I could keep that promise to Chris…'
Viridian City General, Viridian City, Kanto Region, 25 December 2010, 2:00 AM
The waiting room outside of the surgery wing at Viridian City General was packed with the rather large group of friends, all of whom had been checked for injuries and cleared. Dawn was a wreck, her nerves and emotions frayed beyond all recognition. Chris had taken refuge on the blunette's lap and was now sleeping, his parents curled up together in a chair next to Dawn's. Next to the Oaks sat Brock and Duplica, the latter attempting to keep the mood slightly cheery with her Ditto and their impersonation tricks. Ash and Anabel were also sitting down, but the latter was attempting to reign in the anxiety of her fiancé, who was on the verge of barging into the operating room to find out what his friend's condition was. Barry was worse; his foot was not still and was bouncing every which way; Angie's hand on his arm did nothing to calm the hyper man, whose hand was tangled in his hair.
"News?" May asked hopefully as Drew came around the corner from the nurse's station. Her head fell at the remorseful face of her boyfriend.
"None." He sighed, pinching his nose before turning to Dawn and adding, "They'll let us know as soon as possible."
"Sure," Dawn whispered checking her cell phone for the first time in hours. Upon seeing about ten texts from Maylene, five from Kenny and two from Zoey, she weakly smiled and set about answering them, pleased that she had something to do to keep her mind off her husband, who was in surgery to remove the bullet from his stomach.
Minutes later, a scrub-clad doctor emerged through a pair of swinging doors, hands bare of the surgical gloves. "Is Dawn Andreas here?"
"Here!" A groggy Misty reached over and pulled Chris onto her lap, Gary having stood up at the doctor's entrance. Jumping to her feet, Dawn ran over and stopped in front of the doctor, hands folded nervously in front of her.
The doctor's grim expression broke out into a smile. "He's fine. Groggy, disoriented and weak, but fine." Amid the relieved sighs that broke out he continued, "He's asking for you."
"Which way?"
Soon enough, Dawn and Paul were alone in the hospital room and before a minute had passed since her entrance Dawn was at his side, eyes tearing up at the sight of her normally strong husband so, so pale.
"Paul, I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered placing a kiss on his cheek. Paul's eyes opened and he drunk in the sight of his wife, who was alive and safe, and, and, she was just so damn beautiful…
"Yeah," he whispered smirking in spite of himself. "I'm fine. So are you." He reached up and fingered a loose strand of dark hair, his mind somehow placing it on the head of the small child he'd seen in his mind's eye the previous day, complete with his eyes and her nose.
"You saved me," Dawn continued smiling as Paul continued to play with her hair, not in a rush to interrupt his suddenly playful nature.
"'Course I did," he muttered eyes narrowing. "You're mine." The possessive didn't make Dawn feel anything but elation. He did care, he did care, he… he loved her.
"Yeah," she whispered back pressing a gentle kiss to his mouth, "I'm yours."
As the two talked some more, wanting time alone before their friends interrupted, Celebi materialized in a corner of the room. Paul's eye caught the Time Travel Pokémon who smiled and nodded, reassuring Paul that his mission had been successful and, yes, Arceus was going to let Dawn live.
As the Legendary vanished without a sound, Paul looked into his wife's eyes and smiled a genuine smile. 'I did it. I saved Dawn's life in three days. I did it.'
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Andreas Residence, Veilstone City, Sinnoh Region, 25 December 2012, 2:00 PM
Two years later, Dawn opened the door at the sound of her doorbell and welcomed another group of friends. Taking coats and scarves, she carried them into her bedroom and dropped them onto the bed with the other fifty or so coats and scarves. Reemerging into the main part of the house (a bigger investment than her previous home, complete with two extra bedrooms, another bathroom and a bigger kitchen and living room), she smiled as she ran into Maylene, the Gym Leader hanging onto her husband Aaron's arm, the Elite Four member greeting the hostess warmly as well.
"Nice digs," he offered smiling as he took a glass of wine from Reggie, the older Andreas brother reveling in his role as pseudo-host.
"Paul chose the house," Reggie commented smirking at the dumbfounded look he received in return.
As Dawn wondered towards the back patio, sure that her husband was out there training, she smiled at the gathering of friends and family, admiring how well everyone got on. Chris Oak was attempting to teach his sister Trini how to walk, the cinnamon-haired girl stumbling every other step. His parents nodded in Dawn's direction as she passed them. Kenny and Zoey's four-year old daughter ran by, followed by Bill and May (Oak) Ricerca's six-year old son. Drew and May's one-year old son was content to be held by his uncle, Max's awkward hold sending Harley and Soledad Davidson into fits of laughter. Forrest was attempting to show off to Molly Hale, who nodded politely while eyeing Max; Brock watched as his brother failed to woo the lovely blonde-haired trainer. Tracey and Melody were huddled together in a corner, discussing something important if their looks were anything to go by while Ash and Anabel were showing off their honeymoon pictures to an interested Angie Robinson (the wedding had been delayed another six months due to issues with the G-Men and Ash needing to travel to the Sevii Islands on business). They had only returned a month and a half ago but had been busy with Ash finally conceding to becoming a Frontier Brain, taking up Scott's offer after years of consideration.
"There you are!" Dawn softly exclaimed interrupting Barry and Paul's conversation as she walked out onto the patio deck. Paul had recovered 100% from his injuries and had started his job again two months after that fateful Christmas Eve, though he and Barry hadn't taken any major missions until June of that year due to a lack of criminal activity. Barry, sensing that his best friend wished to talk to his partner chirped a farewell and darted back inside, most likely on the prowl for Angie, with whom he was in an on-again and off-again relationship.
"What's up?" Paul asked nonchalantly sipping his beer. The G-Man had begun training to re-challenge Cynthia of the Sinnoh League on the chance that he'd be successful in beating her. He wanted something else to do besides the G-Men, and something to fall back on if, no, when he quit said group.
"I wanted to give you your gift early," Dawn declared pulling a thin, wrapped present out from an inside pocket of her jean jacket. Smirking, Paul took the present and unwrapped it, the paper falling to the deck. A long, thin box was revealed and, opening it the man's breath caught.
"You, you're serious?" Dawn nodded suddenly shy as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, I, uh, found out today, actually." She laughed nervously. "Was told that I should have known before now, but, well,"
"Doesn't matter," Paul interrupted gruffly voice not matching his eyes, the windows to his soul. "All that matters is that you're sure."
"110%," Dawn chirped grinning when Paul wrapped her in a hug, his head resting on hers. "So, you're okay with this?" Her husband chuckled.
"Dawn, I honestly couldn't be happier." Kissing her, Paul couldn't help but wonder what life would be like if he hadn't walked into that locksmith shop two years ago in another life…
'No. I won't tempt Fate. I have Dawn, I have her love, I have the future. That's all I need, and I won't take it for granted. Not when I have so much, so much to lose.'
"Bravo," a voice echoed in Paul's mind. "Bravo indeed."