It takes something unusual to say…

On their way to Snowpoint City, where Dawn and Cynthia heard there was a rare pokemon spotted, they stop to rest in a (once again) a cave. The bitter cold region that surrounded the town did little good for Dawn's favourite pet pokemon, Pachirisu, who was happy nestling in Dawn's backpack having his mistress carry him all over. He slept most of the time, and when he wasn't doing his head stuck out of his warm hiding place curiously looking around.

It also did little good for both lovers' sexual drive. The cold, harsh weather forced them to cuddle together late at night, but that was more to get warm, then to satisfy their sexual needs. They hadn't been together since they first came here, 4 days ago. That was very unlike Cynthia, who was usually very sexually active and couldn't keep her hands off Dawn.

All 3 of them were camping in a small cave that just barely kept the cold wind and snow out, when the tremor hit. It wasn't anything serious. Nothing new to the people of Snowpoint who were used to these little shakings of the earth. Dawn and Cynthia didn't come from Snowpoint however, and were surprised when the tremor hit. Unsure of whether to leave the cave, and face the harsh cold again or to stay and risk injury from falling rocks, the couple looked at each other, both with same question in their eyes: 'Which option are we taking?'

Suddenly, Cynthia's eyes widened in terror, as she saw a loose rock straight above her younger partner's head fall down. She opened her mouth to yell a warning, but it was too late. Dawn had just enough time to look at Cynthia and see something was wrong when the rock fell and hit her on the head. She was knocked out instantly. Cold terror gripped Cynthia's heart as she rushed over to Dawn, carefully cradling her in her arms. Pachirisu, who had jumped out of the bag in the nick of time, gently nudged Dawn seemingly urging her to get up. When that didn't work, he turned his pleading eyes to Cynthia begging her to do something. Cynthia continued to hold Dawn's head in her arms and whispered:

'Dawn? Dawn, are you ok? Are you up? Please say something. Anything…. Please…'

No response. Dawn didn't move or give any signs of life. Panic started taking control of Cynthia. She fought to remain calm and do what was needed to help her friend.

'First things first,' she thought. She examined the head wound Dawn had suffered. It was bleeding but it didn't seem to have caused anything lethal, as far as she could tell. Cynthia's mind rushed through the possibilities. 'Breathing, check if she's breathing ok. And her heartbeat. Is it steady?'

She was breathing normal. Cynthia was no doctor but she could tell Dawn's breathing wasn't shallow or troubled at all. She let out a small sigh of relief. That was a good sign. Still, they needed to get out of here quickly, otherwise Dawn's condition would only worsen. Looking around for anything that might help her and finding nothing, Cynthia resorted to one final act of desperation. She quickly wrapped her scarf around Dawn's wound as gently as she could muster, before carefully lifting her in her arms and whispered to her:

'I'm gonna get you out of here, Dawn. I promise.'

With Dawn in her arms and Pachirisu right behind her, Cynthia walked off into the cold. Luckily it wasn't snowing too bad, so she could see where she was going. If memory serves, she thought, there's a lodge near here where travellers can rest. If I can get her there, we'll be fine.

About 10 minutes after Cynthia was beginning to feel the first signs of exhaustion. Dawn wasn't a heavy girl, but under these conditions even the smallest burden seemed to weigh a lot more. Gritting her teeth, determined not give up, Cynthia pushed on. It couldn't be much further. She tried sending Pachirisu ahead to see how far it was, but he wouldn't part ways with Dawn. He kept nudging her hoping she would wake up and maybe cuddle him. The poor little thing didn't know what to do with his worries. Neither did she, but she tried not to think about it.

After about another half an hour Cynthia was bushed. Every step she took was a struggle. The weather was improving a bit, for which she was grateful, but at this rate things were looking grim for all of them. She wasn't about to quit, however. Not until Dawn was safe. She had to press on until she could either find a safe place to rest, or until she dropped dead. Gritting her teeth she pressed on. Suddenly, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, the lodge loomed up in front of her. Renewed by the sight of salvation promised Cynthia hurried over to the lodge. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel gave her the necessary strength to push the last few dozen meters.

She practically kicked the door in, and yelled: 'HELP, my friend needs help. Please.'

Luck was on their side, for nurse Joy from Snowpoint had taken refuge in this lodge and when she saw Cynthia's predicament, she jumped up and guided them to the back, where the beds were.

'What happened to her?' she asked.

'She got hit by a rock in the head, when the last tremor shook, about half an hour ago. I… I checked her wound, covered it from the cold and her breathing's fine, but I'm no doctor. She… she will be fine, won't she?' Cynthia couldn't help but ask. She'd never felt so scared. She couldn't lose Dawn. She just couldn't. Without her… there'd be no point in going on.

Nurse Joy quickly examined the wound and checked her pulse. After what felt like an eternity to the tall blonde, she finally said: 'I think she'll be fine, as long as she rests up and someone takes care of that wound.'

They gently put her down on the bed, and the nurse quickly got to work. She tried ordering Cynthia to wait outside, but she wouldn't hear of it. She shook her head and exclaimed: 'I'm not going anywhere until I speak to her. You'll have to drag me out kicking and screaming if you want to move me.'

The same was true for Pachirisu. He kept close to Dawn at all times, and wouldn't be moved, although he did make sure not to get in the nurses way. He seemed to understand she could help his mistress. After her wound had been properly taken care of, the nurse stepped back and said: 'There's nothing we can do more for her now. We'll just have to wait until she wakes up.'

Cynthia, who had been pacing around the room, occasionally worriedly looking at Dawn, stopped and asked: 'Do you know how long that will be?'

'I'm sorry, but that's impossible to say. Could be an hour, could be several days. She will eventually wake up, but there's no saying when.'

Cynthia nodded her understanding and pulled up a chair next to dawn's bed. 'I'll wait here until she wakes up. Is that ok? Naturally, I'll pay you the rent for as long as we're here as well as for any treatment she might need.'

Nurse Joy made a dismissive sign with her hand and said: 'I don't charge for taking care of pokemon. Why should taking care of people be any different? As for the rent, you'll have to talk to the owner about that. For the moment, I think it's best you two are left alone. If you need me, I'll be just down the hall.'

Cynthia thanked her and waited until she was out, before taking Dawn's hand in her own. Now that she knew Dawn was going to be safe she finally let the tears flow. She cried uncontrollably until she felt she could cry no more. She softly caressed Dawn's hair and it occurred to her, her little lover looked small and fragile, lying in this big bed.

'Dawn? Honey, I don't know if you can hear me, but please… you have to wake up. For me. For us. Please wake up. I… I'm going crazy here. I need to hear your voice again. Just once. Please.'

Nothing. It was probably too soon, but Cynthia felt she had to try. Pachirisu tried too. His usual energy and curiosity had gone and unlike any other time he focused on one thing and one thing only. His mistress. He didn't fully understand what was going on, but he did know he wanted her to get better again.

2 days later.

Nurse Joy walked into the room she had left Dawn and Cynthia in 2 days earlier. There had been no improvement in her situation but she was expecting the teen to wake up any time now. She tried convincing Cynthia of the same but all she could do was look to her lover and nod. She might believe the good nurse, but she wasn't convinced. Either way she planned to stick around until something happened. When the nurse came in, she found Cynthia sleeping on the chair, and Dawn still lay in the bed of course. She moved around quietly as to avoid waking Cynthia up and changed Dawn's bandages. As soon as she'd done that, she blinked and looked closer to Dawn. Had she just imagined this? She thought she'd seen here eyes flutter for the briefest of time. Her cheeks seemed a little more coloured too. She smiled to herself, happy to see she was getting better again. She'd give this news to Cynthia when she woke up. Suddenly, without warning, Dawn's eyes shot open and she spoke a single word: 'CYNTHIA.' Nurse Joy jumped up in surprise but quickly recovered.

'Easy, Dawn. It's ok. You're in a lodge between Snowpoint City and Celestic Town. You were hit in the head pretty bad. Your friend brought you here to have someone take care of you. Do you remember any of this?'

Dawn, wide awake now, seemed to cope with the reality of things quickly. She nodded that she understood what the nurse said. She asked: 'Where?'

'Here… I'm here, Dawn.' Cynthia who had just awoken to the sudden sounds near here, now looked over to Dawn, tears filling her eyes. The nurse thought it wise to use this time to leave.

Both lovers looked at each other, until Dawn finally softly croaked: 'Hey…'

Cynthia flew into her arms and held her tightly. 'I was so scared, Dawn. So scared. Don't ever do that again. You hear me? Never.'

Dawn, surprised by the sudden outburst of emotion from her normally so levelheaded partner, whispered: 'Hey, it's ok. I'm fine now. Everything is fine.'

Cynthia didn't break off the hug immediately though. She continued to hold Dawn in an embrace before finally whispering back: 'I love you, Dawn. I'm sorry it took an accident for me to finally admit this to you, but I do love you. I'm glad I got a chance to say this to you.'

'I love you too, Cynthia. You know that. How did we get here? Weren't we in a cave, somewhere?'

Cynthia laughed and wiped the tears of sheer emotion from her face.

'Long story. I'll tell you later. For now, we need to focus on you getting better.'

'Pachirisu? Where is he? Is he ok?' Dawn looked around the room looking for him, but when she saw no sign of him, she turned her questioning looks to Cynthia.

'Oh, Dawn, honey… I'm… he's… Well, truth is, when you were hit in the head, he wouldn't leave your side. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he just sat there watching over you. Waiting for you to wake up. Until he finally collapsed earlier today. The nurse brought him to the other room for proper treatment. They think he'll be fine, as long as you are. They say he's lost the will to live, but he might regain it when you go see him.'

'I have to see him. Can I?' As Dawn asked this, she struggled to get out of bed.

'Easy, Dawn, you just woke up. Sure you can see him, but don't forget to take it easy yourself. Your health is important too. Here, let me help you.'

Cynthia offered her hand and helped Dawn get out of bed. Immediately Dawn rushed towards the door. Cynthia remained behind and marvelled at the younger woman's recovery rate. She'd just woken up and recovered from her injuries and already Cynthia could see some of the grace and youthful bounce in her step. It wouldn't be long before it would all be back. She was glad. She always enjoyed watching dawn's approach to life in her steps. Full of life and energy.

'You coming?' Dawn asked and looked behind here to see what was keeping her.

'Yea, I'm just…' she grinned and said, 'Well, I was hoping they put you in one of those hospital gowns that was open at the back. But they didn't. Bummer.'

Dawn laughed and felt reassured. If Cynthia felt comfortable enough to make sexual remarks, she knew everything was going to work out.

As soon as they hit the hallway, a little white figure dashed out in front of them and hit Dawn square in the chest. Apparently Pachirisu had recovered as well and his sharp ears must have picked up on their conversation. He chattered happily and excitedly and refused to let go of Dawn. He clung to her gown with all the strength he could muster and rubbed his head affectionately across Dawn chest.

'There you are, buddy. Yea, I've missed you too. You had me worried there for a second, you know.'

Cynthia watched the two get reunited and when she was convinced they had room for one more, she stepped in and hugged both. It felt good to be reunited.